Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

This thread is intended for students to write about their experiences at Western Governors University.

Please keep it civil, and do not spend your time bashing the school, and its policies. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if you have a problem you need to take it up with your professor or mentor. Please no Flaming on this thread.

You can ask for help with a referral (used to avoid paying the application fee) on the following thread: http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/55634-wgu-refer-friend-thread-those-seeking-referral.html

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Comments

jmasterj206

A pass is a pass. Congrats on getting it done. I figured you wouldn't have too much trouble with it.

It is not looking too good for me getting done this semester. Work has been a nightmare and the 70-642 fails aren't helping. if I end up not getting done this semester I may just change tracks and do the EA instead of the SA.

Thxlbx

erpadmin wrote: »

Well ABV1 has been slain! I wrote the good stuff right here:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/windows-7-exams/71307-70-680-passed.html

JMJ, as I said in that post, you really were right...but I could not break 800, let alone get 900. I spent a good hour, hour and 15 maybe on that exam making sure I was comfortable with my answers.

I'm also having signature issues and I will contact about it at a later time...

In about two weeks, I'll be taking the 70-643...I was studying for that earlier, but all of those 680 failures spooked me. I'm pretty confident about the 643 and 647.

I can't believe it really is almost over!! I'm gonna rest now and enjoy some DS9.

Congrats on the pass!

I am starting ABV1 with my new term Nov. 1st. My mentor has already hooked me up with the labsim, and I bought the Microsoft self train kit on sale a few months back, so I will start studying this week while waiting for my last taskstream task for this term to get graded. Hopefully anyday now1

erpadmin

jmasterj206 wrote: »

A pass is a pass. Congrats on getting it done. I figured you wouldn't have too much trouble with it.

It is not looking too good for me getting done this semester. Work has been a nightmare and the 70-642 fails aren't helping. if I end up not getting done this semester I may just change tracks and do the EA instead of the SA.

I saw a good amount of overlap from the 70-680 and 70-642. 642 had a good number of branchcache questions and direct access....of course, subnetting was also involved, both for IpV4 and IPv6.

When you sit for the 642 again, make sure you fill the survey out "correctly" AND just skip questions you are 50/50 about but answer questions you are SURE about (the latter is not so circumstantial because the MS exams are adaptive in nature.) I have no doubt you'll pass next time....

I think you should be done by January, at the latest. Let's both finish WGU in three terms.

(We do get a free month from WGU though...if you think you're gonna need it.) I'm just motivated to walk and have my name in the commencement book so all I'm doing is work and school....I haven't even "hung out"....

I think I'm gonna do the "NA" track by March....it's one test, so I figure why not.

Then maybe I'll work on SQL 2K8...gives me something to do before graduate school.

MiikeB

Stuck in my hotel room in Italy because lots of rain and no rental car (coworker took it). Gonna hopefully get through this TWA1 today.

Lemonade727

Everything checks out in regards to my term break ending on the 31st, 2nd term (and hopefully last term) starting up next Tuesday! I'm hoping the 2 month term break wasn't long enough to get me completely out of school-mode, want to get back in gear relatively quickly. WDV1, INT1, and LAT1 are first up on the grindstone. Starting studying the material for WDV1 last week (saved it before my term break so I could access it without the AAP) and hoping it will only take up ~2 weeks out of the term.

It feels good to be back

Psoasman

Did my intake interview yesterday, all set for a December 1 start.

jmasterj206

Well I failed the 70-642 for the third time today. The material just isn't deep enough for this exam. I actually got a worse score that my first two attempts. I'm not sure what to do now. One more fail and I am screwed.

Thxlbx

Finally got my final task graded for LET1. Passed all of my Taskstream tasks on the first try for this term, so I am pleased about that. All done for term 2. Term 3 starts off with 70-680 and Project + on Nov. 1st. My mentor has already hooked me up with the study tools, so I am going to get started on some of them this week. For those of you who have done Project +, can it be done in a month to six weeks? Am thinking I am going to study the 70-680 from now till the end of the year and take the cert in Jan. Would like to finish off Proj + and maybe fit in one more class while studying for the Windows cert. Thoughts?

Thxlbx

Psoasman wrote: »

Did my intake interview yesterday, all set for a December 1 start.

Welcome to WGU!

Hope you find your experience to be a rewarding one. Many of us on here have, including myself (I am getting ready to start my 3rd term).

Best of Luck to you!

spiderjericho

Thxlbx wrote: »

Finally got my final task graded for LET1. Passed all of my Taskstream tasks on the first try for this term, so I am pleased about that. All done for term 2. Term 3 starts off with 70-680 and Project + on Nov. 1st. My mentor has already hooked me up with the study tools, so I am going to get started on some of them this week. For those of you who have done Project +, can it be done in a month to six weeks? Am thinking I am going to study the 70-680 from now till the end of the year and take the cert in Jan. Would like to finish off Proj + and maybe fit in one more class while studying for the Windows cert. Thoughts?

Because I was interested in WGU and was misinformed about the compTIA cert-renewal policy (not realizing it only applied to the big three), I literally crammed for the exam in four days (three days to read the Sybex book, one day to review using the practice test included on the CD) and passed with a 7 something. I had 0 project management experience. I'd say the biggest thing is getting familiar with the terminology and the different formulas. You really should be fine for two to three weeks. Read a chapter a day, do review questions, maybe make flash/note cards.

It's just like any compTIA test. From what I read, it looks like the Windows exam is the difficult one.

Thxlbx

spiderjericho wrote: »

Because I was interested in WGU and was misinformed about the compTIA cert-renewal policy (not realizing it only applied to the big three), I literally crammed for the exam in four days (three days to read the Sybex book, one day to review using the practice test included on the CD) and passed with a 7 something. I had 0 project management experience. I'd say the biggest thing is getting familiar with the terminology and the different formulas. You really should be fine for two to three weeks. Read a chapter a day, do review questions, maybe make flash/note cards.

It's just like any compTIA test. From what I read, it looks like the Windows exam is the difficult one.

Thanks for the heads up. The Windows exam, by all accounts, is a difficult, which is why I was pairing it with the Proj +. Both my mentor and I figured pairing an easier cert with a harder one would be less difficult. Am planning on taking the Windows exam after the holidays...figured a couple of months should be enough time to get it done if I keep at it.

RIP_Leroi

Greetings,

I am in my 1st term at WGU and have completed 20 credits thus far. I am looking for student experiences with WSV1. I took WFV1 and passed the exam with 79/85 without reading or studying any material. I have done web design in the past, but it's been a few years, so I don't know a lot of the newer tags and/or standards. Is WSV1 much more difficult than WFV1?

petedude

RIP_Leroi wrote: »

Greetings,

I am in my 1st term at WGU and have completed 20 credits thus far. I am looking for student experiences with WSV1. I took WFV1 and passed the exam with 79/85 without reading or studying any material. I have done web design in the past, but it's been a few years, so I don't know a lot of the newer tags and/or standards. Is WSV1 much more difficult than WFV1?

Surprisingly, the CIW Web Site Designer exam is not much more difficult. I used uCertify, some Googling and one of the Foundations books. Didn't even touch the two Web Site Designer books!

rwdomineck

Did anyone ever get back to you on this one? Would you be so kind as to enlighten me with your findings?

NOLAJ

1st term coming to an end. ahhhhhhh

drew726

taking my 70-646 tomorrow...and then its only technical writing and capstone left. i can smell the finish line.

Psoasman

Good luck on the 646!

drew726

Psoasman wrote: »

Good luck on the 646!

thanks, def one of the hardest exams ive studied for

petedude

Got a surprise today-- WGU is apparently still issuing Amazon cards for referrals prior to some date that enroll through October.

That's alongside another nice surprise that turned up a few days ago-- a WGU logo-embossed tablet binder. Really nice, even though it would have been more cool with a Daytimer inside. Came with a pen and card pockets-- think I'll put some of my cert cards inside it when I start using it for work.

echo465

I haven't gotten Amazon gift cards, but I'm about to start building a fort out of notepad/pen sets.

drew726

I got two portfolios and a flash drive. I'm not sure if the flash drive was a gift though. I passed my 70-646 today with a score of 770.

Excellent1

drew726 wrote: »

I got two portfolios and a flash drive. I'm not sure if the flash drive was a gift though. I passed my 70-646 today with a score of 770.

Nice job on the 646 pass!

As for WGU gear, I have a couple of the flash drives, no binders or pens, though. Occasionally random things show up--I just put them with the rest.

erpadmin

My gifts since I've been at WGU

The Student Welcome Kit (I LOVE my coffee mug!)
2 x $50 Amazon Cards
4 Binders and Pens (really stylish looking at meetings)
1 4GB flash drive
and a $25 gift certificate for purchase of one WGU hoodie. When it took over a month to send me one, they rushed one to me and my original one was sent to me as well...so I got two hoodies!

veritas_libertas

drew726 wrote: »

I got two portfolios and a flash drive. I'm not sure if the flash drive was a gift though. I passed my 70-646 today with a score of 770.

How was the 646? Congratz...

drew726

veritas_libertas wrote: »

How was the 646? Congratz...

It went by pretty quick even though it would have been nice if I did a little better, but whatever, a pass is a pass. The new mentor they assigned me is so much better than my old one. He approves stuff and adds things to the AAV within 24 hours. He also doesn't forget to call me every other week. I'm not sure if this is normal or my old mentor was terrible; She quit the job without a 2 weeks notice.

petedude

erpadmin wrote: »

My gifts since I've been at WGU

The Student Welcome Kit (I LOVE my coffee mug!)
2 x $50 Amazon Cards
4 Binders and Pens (really stylish looking at meetings)
1 4GB flash drive
and a $25 gift certificate for purchase of one WGU hoodie. When it took over a month to send me one, they rushed one to me and my original one was sent to me as well...so I got two hoodies!

Lucky b@$^@#d!

Two hoodies, even. And I didn't get a welcome kit, but I'm a transfer student.

Excellent1

drew726 wrote: »

It went by pretty quick even though it would have been nice if I did a little better, but whatever, a pass is a pass. The new mentor they assigned me is so much better than my old one. He approves stuff and adds things to the AAV within 24 hours. He also doesn't forget to call me every other week. I'm not sure if this is normal or my old mentor was terrible; She quit the job without a 2 weeks notice.

Last time I talked to my mentor, she mentioned that she has well over 100 students. That's pretty crazy, considering the amount of calls / emails that must be. If they keep spreading the mentors that thin, I'm sure more of them will be pulling the eject handle.

erpadmin

petedude wrote: »

Lucky b@$^@#d! Two hoodies, even. And I didn't get a welcome kit, but I'm a transfer student.

Ummm...me too and probably close to 100% of us.

I think they started doing the welcome kit back in 2010....maybe 2009, but definitely 2010. You should find that "swag" thread in the WGU communities. Definitely a lot of h8ers....but as I said then, I didn't ask nor expected any of the things I got (except of course, the referral swag....).

erpadmin

Excellent1 wrote: »

Last time I talked to my mentor, she mentioned that she has well over 100 students. That's pretty crazy, considering the amount of calls / emails that must be. If they keep spreading the mentors that thin, I'm sure more of them will be pulling the eject handle.

Mentors like mine work for WGU's project management team and are part of the IT team. My mentor doesn't just do mentoring. When he had to go on leave, another guy took his place for awhile until he came back. All I told him was I was in no mood for bullcrap (in a polite way of course, but yet firm.) I didn't want to go through proving myself with a different guy and if I wanted a class approved, I didn't want to wait longer than necessary. I had no issues with the temporary replacement; in fact, he proved very helpful in my mentor's absence. Still...I wanted to finish with my original one.

I had a very positive student-mentor experience. That's why when I read about folks who haven't, I will always advise to give Student Services a call.

Remember...whether one is taking tax dollars out of my pocket to fund one's education ( :P [relax, don't take that negatively--a small part of me wishes I could still get federal aid as well] ) or paying out of pocket/using loans...you are still paying for the service. If you are unhappy with the service, say so.

snokerpoker

I never got a welcome kit! The only "goodie" I received from WGU was a flash drive for 100% SAP on my first term.

Oh well...... I did get a diploma from them so I can't complain!!!!