Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

jmasterj206 · August 2010

Has anyone gone through the certification partners practices tests? I've found that they are quite terrible. I answer the questions correctly by the explanation, but it still marked them wrong. I'm trying not to worry about it too much, but my test is on Friday. Maybe I should have studied more.

earweed · August 2010

By certification partners do you mean examforce? If that's what you're referring to it's a joke. I've been trying to get WGU to change to something else for a while now. I think WGU just took the lowest bid for their practice tests.

jmasterj206 · August 2010

Actually earweed it appears to be directly from CIW. CIW Online
It may be as bad as examfarce...

earweed · August 2010

Oh hell..I misread the title there. Those CIW practice tests are actually good for that. They're harder than the actual test but they have the same format and are pretty well in line with the exam. If you can score a 60% on those you're usually good. I never scored higher than a 70% when I took those practice tests.

never2late · August 2010

earweed wrote: »

Oh hell..I misread the title there. Those CIW practice tests are actually good for that. They're harder than the actual test but they have the same format and are pretty well in line with the exam. If you can score a 60% on those you're usually good. I never scored higher than a 70% when I took those practice tests.

That's a relief. I have been scoring consistently in the 90's for the CIW practice tests but decided to take the Exam Force and scored 67. Questions there were either totally foreign to the study material or just badly formatted. I hope it's better for the A+ practice tests.

Plan on taking this exam early next week, followed closely with the TEV and TTV.

earweed · August 2010

Exam force doesn't get better for anything. It's total crap. Go to the WGU community and you'll find my discussion about examforce there. It's titled "exam force: a big waste of my time" and it has a lot of people agreeing with me.

bwcarty · August 2010

earweed wrote: »

Exam force doesn't get better for anything. It's total crap. Go to the WGU community and you'll find my discussion about examforce there. It's titled "exam force: a big waste of my time" and it has a lot of people agreeing with me.

Yeah, I always thought of those as ExamFarce.

The vCampus practice tests for the CIW exams were good, though.

erpadmin · August 2010

As some of you may have read here, I have now passed TSV1 with what seems like a very high score. I did spend some serious study time in Security+ prior to starting WGU and I wanted to pass it so I didn't have to take it every three years. (My certs are mine forever...whoo hoo!).

As you can also see from my signature, I'm done with my required 12 CUs. My question is, would it be ok since I started my term this August 1 and basically slayed my 12 CUs in under a month to just take a small break. (Like a couple of days or maybe even a week). I would like to not do any required reading (would like....but if I gotta, I gotta...). But I am afraid I might lose momentum. But I'm equally afraid that I might burn out if I'm not careful. Also, wifey is starting to act out and feeling neglected....not terribly, but enough to get me to notice.

I'm going to burn off some steam tonight at a cigar bar. Smoking my Cuban cigar and drinking like it's there's no tomorrow to celebrate. But what do you guys think? Should I keep pressing on, or can I take a nice one week break and then get back into it?

I think it goes without saying and at the risk of sounding sappy, I really do value the collective wisdom of this forum. You guys got me to go back to school AND even made me get a certification on top of it (ok, not made me, but you know what I mean...lmao). If I can get a few before I talk to mentor tomorrow, would be most appreciated.

uhtrinity · August 2010

erpadmin wrote: »

As you can also see from my signature, I'm done with my required 12 CUs. My question is, would it be ok since I started my term this August 1 and basically slayed my 12 CUs in under a month to just take a small break.

If you have finished your 12 cus, and that is all you had signed up for, you are technically done for the term. I believe the only requirement is to be in contact (by phone) with your mentor every 2 - 3 weeks.

erpadmin · August 2010

uhtrinity wrote: »

If you have finished your 12 cus, and that is all you had signed up for, you are technically done for the term. I believe the only requirement is to be in contact (by phone) with your mentor every 2 - 3 weeks.

I am done with term (technically), right? I was thinking I still had to deal with the weekly phone calls during the first 6 months, regardless of how many CUs you had. I guess I'm wrong?

never2late · August 2010

Since WGU is a "flat rate" type of tuition I am almost compelled to complete as many classes as possible to get the most "bang for the buck". On the other hand 12 cu's in a month is a lot of work and something you should be proud of. So, take a few personal days with the family and recharge the batteries. You are the best judge of what you need to keep going forward and stay on the path.

Good luck

earweed · August 2010

Since you're done with your 12 CU's he may drop you down to every 2 weeks. Take a little break so you don't burn out but not so much of one that you lose momentum. Take about a week and then get back on that horse.
Have fun tonight, you earned it. You did score 15 points higher on the Sec+ test than I did back in March.

erpadmin · August 2010

earweed wrote: »

Since you're done with your 12 CU's he may drop you down to every 2 weeks. Take a little break so you don't burn out but not so much of one that you lose momentum. Take about a week and then get back on that horse.
Have fun tonight, you earned it. You did score 15 points higher on the Sec+ test than I did back in March.

To be fair, I know I didn't have the same exam as you did; based on what you stated when you wrote your score in the community.

Security+ really does test you on your experience and a lot of it I really did know. It's just that the objectives for these things are all over the place and when I personally hear of people who failed it on the first time, it had me a bit nuts. Plus when I failed the Network+ 99 objectives (only because of the Novell crap...) I felt a bit unsure. When I got the guide, I was like "Oh yeah, I get that; I did it."

I believe I'm going to take the week when I speak to my mentor tomorrow. I do not believe it's going to kill my stride. Better to take a week and not burn out, then go straight and burn out in the middle of a paper. When my mentor asks me what I want to do, I'm going to tell him NOTHING! I will not enroll in any classes tomorrow, but if he wants to enroll me, to call me the following Friday. I want and need me/us (wifey and I) time. I think I earned it.....

petedude · August 2010

erpadmin wrote: »

I want and need me/us (wifey and I) time. I think I earned it.....

Most mentors are understanding of those sorts of needs, so far as I've heard.

I agree with you 100%-- take that week off.

And +1 out to earweed for his two cents.

erpadmin · August 2010

petedude wrote: »

Most mentors are understanding of those sorts of needs, so far as I've heard.

I agree with you 100%-- take that week off.

And +1 out to earweed for his two cents.

I was hoping for that.

Seriously guys, thanks a lot for your input. I am going to take my week and if he tries to get me to "keep it going" I'm going to politely but firmly put my foot down. I don't think he will have problems though. I'm still gonna look over stuff, it just won't be "heavy..." in fact it won't even be light....just less than casual. But I want to spend my free time with the wife when I get home.....she is deserving of my time.

Thanks guys! For real.

jmasterj206 · August 2010

Congrats on the pass erp!

I have to take CIW foundations tomorrow and CLC1 on Saturday morning. Hopefully, I pass both that will put me at 10 credits for the first month. I am a little scared about CIW since I have had hardly any time to study. I did retake the A+, Net+, Sec+, and Proj+ in the last three months, so it should give me a good foundation and I do some website work so hopefully I will be good.

earweed · August 2010

Having taken those certs recently plus having website design (html not just gui) experience you should be fine. I've heard the CLC1 is a piece of cake so you should be ok there too.

uhtrinity · August 2010

jmasterj206 wrote: »

Congrats on the pass erp!

I have to take CIW foundations tomorrow and CLC1 on Saturday morning. Hopefully, I pass both that will put me at 10 credits for the first month. I am a little scared about CIW since I have had hardly any time to study. I did retake the A+, Net+, Sec+, and Proj+ in the last three months, so it should give me a good foundation and I do some website work so hopefully I will be good.

The CIW exams are cake compared to the MS exams and slightly easier than the CompTia exams.

erpadmin · August 2010

jmasterj206 wrote: »

Congrats on the pass erp!

I have to take CIW foundations tomorrow and CLC1 on Saturday morning. Hopefully, I pass both that will put me at 10 credits for the first month. I am a little scared about CIW since I have had hardly any time to study. I did retake the A+, Net+, Sec+, and Proj+ in the last three months, so it should give me a good foundation and I do some website work so hopefully I will be good.

Thanks jmj.

I would definitely heed the preceding advice, as well as this: Don't psych yourself out. In fact, I think I'm going to put that permenantly as a signature. I was expecting Sec+ to be somewhat of a challenge. I expected a pass, but I didn't expect to pass with a high score. If you took those 4 CompTia exams (I don't care that Proj+ gets taken next year after three years, as I'm using it to parlay into PMP at some point any damn way...I just wanted Sec+ to be lifetime), the CIW should definitely be cake!

Pretty much what I did for Sec+, unlike A+ and Network+ as I know I did those after work, was I woke up bright and early for the exam, had breakfast, had coffee, relaxed and crammed on train, got off train, had more coffee at Starbucks, got on ferry, took shuttle from ferry, arrived at test center, emptied pockets as if I was visiting a buddy in jail, took test, passed it, went to work.

You'll be fine man. I look forward to reading your pass. Just don't psych yourself out!

erpadmin · August 2010

Well, I spoke to mentor today. He seemed very understanding that I wanted to take advantage of the window I had. I think he thinks I'm some sort of prodigy or something (believe me, I wouldn't go that far), because he was really impressed with my Sec+ score and that I passed it within the first month, and also the fact that I finished my SAP in the first 26 days of my term. I explained to him that I had studied for it off and on starting in June/July. I only wanted Sec+ this term so that I would be "forced" to take it (the mental gun to the head, for some folks, like me, that type of motivation works well). Plus, with BBC1 and LAE1, English isn't exactly a hard language for me. If it were math, then it'd be different and that's getting done 2nd term. (No acceleration on that...I want to take my time...however quick or slow that is). He's taking screenshots of my AAP to show to his boss as I believe I'm the quickest student he's had complete SAP. (Prior to that, it was 2 months). I just shruged and said "ok...."

I did ask him since I was done for the term (technically), if I would still get the weekly phone calls. He said yes, they would still happen for the whole 6 months. But he's going to give me my week break so I can just chill/concentrate on a project for work (No "For next week" stuff.) I'm just going to do very light planning for LAT1 and LUT1 (no work though). WFV1 will also get thrown into the mix. These I'm gonna try to do simultaneously. I gotta see.

veritas_libertas · August 2010

erpadmin wrote: »

Well, I spoke to mentor today. He seemed very understanding that I wanted to take advantage of the window I had. I think he thinks I'm some sort of prodigy or something (believe me, I'm wouldn't go that far), because he was really impressed with my Sec+ score and that I passed it within the first month, and also the fact that I finished my SAP in the first 26 days of my term. I explained to him that I had studied for it off and on starting in June/July. I only wanted Sec+ this term so that I would be "forced" to take it (the mental gun to the head, for some folks, like me, that type of motivation works well). Plus, with BBC1 and LAE1, English isn't exactly a hard language for me. If it were math, then it'd be different and that's getting done 2nd term. (No acceleration on that...I want to take my time...however quick or slow that is). He's taking screenshots of my AAP to show to his boss as I believe I'm the quickest student he's had complete SAP. (Prior to that, it was 2 months). I just shruged and said "ok...."

I did ask him since I was done for the term (technically), if I would still get the weekly phone calls. He said yes, they would still happen for the whole 6 months. But he's going to give me my week break so I can just chill/concentrate on a project for work (No "For next week" stuff.) I'm just going to do very light planning for LAT1 and LUT1 (no work though). WFV1 will also get thrown into the mix. These I'm gonna try to do simultaneously. I gotta see.

LOL, my Mentor thinks the same thing

jmasterj206 · August 2010

Well I made it through WFV1 for the CIW web foundations associate (I think that is what it is called now) with a 90% with basically no studying. The funny part is that of the questions I got wrong they were all in the Site Development associate section, which is by far the area of least experience for me. This exam is definately an inch deep but a mile wide. Off to CLC1 tomorrow.

neuropol · August 2010

I passed the CIW Web Foundations Associate today, too. I had to study the networking side of things, as it's been ages since I last touched most of that stuff.

On a somewhat funny note, towards the end of the exam I had to use the bathroom so bad that I just burned through the questions and didn't bother going over the questions I had marked earlier. Still correctly answered 74 questions, which is about an 87%. No water next time.

eansdad · August 2010

erpadmin wrote: »

He's taking screenshots of my AAP to show to his boss as I believe I'm the quickest student he's had complete SAP. (Prior to that, it was 2 months). I just shruged and said "ok...."

Nice job, gives me something to shoot for when I start at WGU soon.

themagicone · August 2010

My mentor, Adrian, thinks I'm crazy. I will have finished 39 CU's in 4 Months (if I take my math and S+ test and pass next week). This in it self isn't that big of a deal, people done more in less time. But I had back surgery, numerous personal issues, took almost 3 week total in those 4 months as breaks, and a few other things. I want to be done with this as quick as I can, I need to get on with life. This math class is killing me but I hope to be done with all 3 by the end of my term (10/31). Good luck everyone!

erpadmin · August 2010

jmasterj206 wrote: »

Well I made it through WFV1 for the CIW web foundations associate (I think that is what it is called now) with a 90% with basically no studying. The funny part is that of the questions I got wrong they were all in the Site Development associate section, which is by far the area of least experience for me. This exam is definately an inch deep but a mile wide. Off to CLC1 tomorrow.

neuropol wrote: »

I passed the CIW Web Foundations Associate today, too. I had to study the networking side of things, as it's been ages since I last touched most of that stuff.

Great job you two! A Win is a Win. And JMJ (like you'll need it...

) good luck on CLC1 tomorrow. Look forward to seeing the other "W".

earweed · August 2010

Man you guys who get so many CUs done in a term make me feel like a slacker. I haven't got over 25 in a term but I've taken a LOT of breaks during my time here at WGU.

erpadmin · August 2010

earweed wrote: »

Man you guys who get so many CUs done in a term make me feel like a slacker. I haven't got over 25 in a term but I've taken a LOT of breaks during my time here at WGU.

EW, in my case, I don't work nights and I can get by on a few hours sleep. LAE1, for example was the one class I did the COS through-and-through and I averaged about 4-6 hours a night for a week. It wasn't until I got to the very end that I realized I could go straight to the assessment, (I didn't do the peer review jazz.)

Also, I dedicate alot of my hours on the weekends. A true family guy like you is going to have to find some hours for his education hustle. Yes, I got wifey, but I don't have a child (currently). If a kid was in the picture, you'd be seeing slightly different posts....

Also, this isn't a race. It goes back to the basic tenets of why we did WGU in the first place: It's all about the time at the pace we choose and are confined to. As long you put in the required time, everything else is bonus and gravy.

Plus, you're almost done anyway, correct?

Point being...you are definitely not a slacker.

LinuxRacr · August 2010

eansdad wrote: »

Nice job, gives me something to shoot for when I start at WGU soon.

Ditto..

uhtrinity · August 2010

Just requested information for an Masters of Education - Learning Technology, they called 15 minutes later to set up a phone meeting. Quicker than my original WGU experience.

Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

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