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College Advice

CCNTrainee

Beginning next year, I am looking to start school again... Right now I am working on Technical degree and need to knock out my general arts credits in order to achieve it. I was looking into University of Maryland University College in knocking out the generals, but I was wondering if WGU would be a choice for the General classes as well? I know WGU operates differently than other Colleges but I can't find a source that really defines how WGU differs from the rest. Should I stick with a regular college for my generals or give WGU a look??

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Comments

Xonis1

The main difference is, its competency based. If you show you are competent in a course, you can move on to the next. For example, English comp 1 is 4 essays, you could knock those out in 2 weeks and be done with it with 3 credits. One person my mentor said is done with 70 credits (or competency units) in 4 months.

Another way is it includes alot of certifications (many are useless) but you can learn a lot.

CCNTrainee

Do they supply books or is it just an Online catalog?? Is there any group discussions or everything on your own with no Hand-holding?? It sounds like you are just given objectives to complete a particular cousre and you're good to go.

Danielm7

CCNTrainee wrote: »

Do they supply books or is it just an Online catalog?? Is there any group discussions or everything on your own with no Hand-holding?? It sounds like you are just given objectives to complete a particular cousre and you're good to go.

The books are all online, you have a lot of video courses too. There is group discussion if you want to participate, webinars, etc. There are mentors for each course, if you need help they are there, if not, then you can work on your own. I hit up the course mentors a few times while working on my Cisco material and they were very helpful.

If you want the total equivalent of a regular classroom, this isn't it, just have to be honest about your own learning style and personality before going in and not just try to give the school the answers they want so they allow you to get in (meaning telling them, "oh sure I love independent learning! I totally have the time to work by myself 15-20 hours a week and I'm self motivated!").

Xonis1

Everything is e-books format provided, and they have sites like measureup, labsim, mindedge and lynda.com to supplement. There isnt much handholding, there are course mentors for every course, and there are forums both wgu and student run. So if you need help, its definitely there. For IT majors there are certifications for classes. A+ is 2 classes 220-801 and 220-802..counts as 8 credits. There isn't homework , just tests or projects (essays, websites, etc).

Also they are great with transfer ins, your comptia trio would transfer in if in the last 5 years.

CCNTrainee

How well do they prepare you for the certification Tests and do you have to pay for the test out of Pocket?? I am going to assume that they don't teach in a boot camp manner, since I hear people suggesting that you should get your certifications first before starting school with WGU.

Danielm7

CCNTrainee wrote: »

How well do they prepare you for the certification Tests and do you have to pay for the test out of Pocket?? I am going to assume that they don't teach in a boot camp manner, since I hear people suggesting that you should get your certifications first before starting school with WGU.

Well they don't "teach" it to you really. You are given the study materials, it's up to you to use them and learn it. For example, I did my CCNA Security recently, I was giving the CBTNuggets video access, the Cisco Press book, access to other books and forums. Then on my own I setup virtual labs, simulations, asked the mentor a few questions when I was stuck, etc.

The test fee is part of your tuition. Don't quote me on this but I think after 3 failures of a specific test you have to pay for it yourself. Otherwise if you're prepared and know the material and pass the test you don't have to pay anything other than the standard tuition.

milieu

Yup, you get 3 tries at a test that WGU pays for, and then you have to pay for further retakes yourself. That said, they give you plenty of resources to prepare yourself with. If you don't pass a test, it's on you.

I don't see any point in paying for certs before going to WGU. If it's so easy you can pass it on your own, then why not let WGU pay for it? Sure, you're paying tuition...but it'll only take you a week or two to get that cert done, and you can move on to the next. There's no limit to the number of classes you can take in a term.

Danielm7

I think the only time it makes sense to do it on your own is if you feel it might take you a couple months to really learn the material, and you won't get any grants or financial aid. Then you'd be paying 500ish a month to self study for a cert. For a lot of people though a grant or student loans are an option and the support if you need it is really helpful.

CCNTrainee

Well I am in the Military and currently deployed, so Majority of the skills I know is a mix On the Job training and ALOT of my own self-study.

Thanks for the feedback guys/gals, the funny thing is that majority of my effective study materials is almost the same in what WGU offers. My primary source materials are CBT Nuggets and Simulators that I was able to acquire, which has helped me with my certifications so far. Since I work 12-14 hours every day, it is going to take a month or two to test in-between certifications. It took me an entire month for CCENT and if I had another month probably would have got my CCNA before the 30th. Thou testing for free 3 times is a very nice perk, after getting my CCNA I'll probably take a little break from certifications and pick up learning Scripting + Linux.

Anyways after doing some research, the fact that I am trying to get my Applied Science degree from the Air Force is what got me asking in the first place. I only need General credits to achieve my degree with the AF, most likely I will be going with UMUC since I only need certain individual classes. Once I complete that, I'll transfer whatever credits I can get to WGU and start my BS track, studying for the other Certifications in the mean time.

CCNTrainee

I do have another question about WGU thou... how much do the IT tracks differ?? My interest would be Network, Network Design, or Security thou I understand the different Certs how do the Academic class differ for each track???