Is WGU for me?

Arnie335

Hi Everyone,

My GI Bill benefits will be expiring soon and I'd really like to further my career by obtaining a BS in IT Security. I've read a lot about WGU in the forums here and have decided to apply. One problem is that I do not have any "real" previous college experience. I earned some semester credit hours for Training/5 Level school from the Community College of the Air Force while I was enlisted, but I don't think any of these "Semester Hours" will transfer over. Will this be an issue for me?

I'm also really curious as to what paths you guys have taken.. It seems like 95% of you WGU students/alumni have already had some or most of your credits earned prior to starting WGU. Is it OK to start from scratch at a university like this?

I've been employed in the IT Field for over 8 years, with the last two in InfoSec. Currently have my SSCP and ITIL V3-F, so I am definitely capable of self study - but I also have a full time job, kids, mortgage, etc so I know this will take almost all my free time. How do you guys manage?

Thanks for the help.

AC

markulous

You can also get in with a certification. I'm not sure if the ones you have qualify but an enrollment counselor would be able to tell you or you can check their website.

I have a lot of down time at work but always made the time when I didn't.

stryder144

You should be able to get in with your experience plus the SSCP is an acceptable, transferable certification. As for funding, remember that you might qualify for a Pell Grant, which should help significantly when your GI Bill benefits run out (if you qualify for the full Pell Grant, and your GI Bill has run out, you will only owe a few hundred dollars a year).

The only word of caution I have is to know whether or not you need structure in your learning processes. If you do, WGU can be a major challenge. If not, it should be quite easy. My biggest obstacle is that sometimes life gets in the way and I will try to apply a variety of excuses as to why I shouldn't log in and study. I have to look to the family, crawl out of my study-less shell, and drop a hammer on some learning. I am doing it for them and that is what keeps me motivated. Just make sure you communicate with your family when you need time to study. That can, often times, be the key to their understanding. That understanding is crucial to my success at WGU.

dark3d

^ truth.

Arnie335

Thanks for the info. Will speak to WGU tomorrow for
more details.

Dark3d - how were you able to knock out 53cu's so fast? Testing out of GE's?

aspiringsoul

I would highly recommend WGU for anyone seeking an online degree in IT (especially Veterans).

Whatever you do, stay away from For Profit Schools (UoPhoenix, Devry, ITT Tech, Kaplan, Strayer, etc...)

TLeTourneau

Arnie335 wrote: »

Thanks for the info. Will speak to WGU tomorrow for
more details.

Dark3d - how were you able to knock out 53cu's so fast? Testing out of GE's?

Just remember that the enrollment process can be the worst part of WGU. Once you make it through that the school is very good. As others have mentioned you must be self-motivated and dedicated otherwise it can be very easy to lose track of time left in a term.

DeezyFF

I used my GI Bill to work on my IT-Security degree with WGU. Only transferred in around 5 CUs. I also have a full time job, wife, kids, and a mortgage. The trick is to schedule time and be consistent. I have worked on many papers and studied many certs between 10pm - 12pm. That is about the only time my house is quiet. I managed to even use my lunch breaks at work to study or do some tasks. With that as my system I was able to knock out between 18-30 CU every 6 months. I will probably be done with my degree around December.

As a side note if i was ever to do it again. I would take the pre-assessment on all the classes that i could to get ready to take knock the Core classes out of the way.

Good Luck on your journey.

Arnie335

Thanks everyone. Great information and recommendations.

I just got a call that I've been accepted into the BS in IT - Security! WGU was able to transfer in 7 CU's from a couple classes I took at a local CC from 2001 - better than nothing, right? Looking at a Sept 1st start date and just waiting on the GI Bill stuff to come in.

Deezy - So I'll need 18 CU's a term to get the full BAH benefits from the GI Bill. How big is the burden from going from 13 to 18 CU's a term?

Thanks everyone!

ImThe0ne

The good thing with how WGU is structured, is that you only do one class at a time. In my opinion this allows one to focus more solidly on the class at hand instead of 4 or 5 classes at one time.

jrcarr2

Arnie335 wrote: »

Deezy - So I'll need 18 CU's a term to get the full BAH benefits from the GI Bill. How big is the burden from going from 13 to 18 CU's a term?

Thanks everyone!

I thought that the Post 9/11 GI Bill did not include full housing allowance for online schools? If that's changed great, if not then I would seriously consider options.

If you are in the LA area then you have access to some pretty excellent community colleges.

SteveLord

It isn't full housing. There's a few calculators out there that you can use to determine roughly what you're getting.

Arnie335

They don't per se, but in order to get the MAX for online schools you need to take 18 CU's according to the VA enrollment counselor I spoke with.

Tyb

You should be fine with 18cu's a semester. Consistency (as stated above) is the key, good luck with your studies.

colemic

Arnie335 wrote: »

They don't per se, but in order to get the MAX for online schools you need to take 18 CU's according to the VA enrollment counselor I spoke with.

I believe that MAX is 50% of the BAH for the area you live in...

SteveLord

Half the national average. E5 w/ dependents.