Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

nhpr · July 2011

Jourdsh wrote: »

My mentor strikes again, can't write an essay for LAT1 without talking to the course mentor first. However if I understand it correctly, the subject of the paper is hidden, until your mentor unlocks the assessment in taskstream. How can I be ready if I don't know what I am writing about?

Every Taskstream class I've taken, I just immediately requested the "evaluation." I think the mentors know this and will just approve it. It's another bureaucratic annoyance, but if you can't wait a day to start your papers then you're probably a little over enthusiastic!

sheckler · July 2011

Anyone have any advice for the ciw database exam? Planning to take it monday, this material is pretty tough.

Jourdsh · July 2011

Well, if I don't get it today (Friday), then I won't be able to work on it until next weekend, so it isn't that I can't wait a day, its that I would like to be able to work on the classes during the time I set aside. The bureaucracy involved sometimes makes that impossible, despite me trying to get things done quickly. I requested the class on Tuesday, he waited until Thursday to approve it, asked on thursday for taskstream, he waited until today to say talk to your mentor. So it takes a week just to be able to start the classes after I finish the last one, waste of time for me.

Raidersfan81 · July 2011

Nobylspoon wrote: »

+1

Most of it is common sense stuff but there are still several textbook answers that you probably wont know unless you review the material. I did not read any of the ebook chapters, I just used the MindEdge along with their PDF review sheets (usually 1-2 pages per chapter).

My pretest score was 76% (no material). After reviewing the material I just mentioned, I passed the final test with an 87%.

Started the class today. Took yours and Hypntick's advice on doing my first pre asses before touching anything and passed with a 74% and I'm now going to study my lower score areas and go through the MindEdge.

Thanks to the both of you for the heads up

nhpr · July 2011

sheckler wrote: »

Anyone have any advice for the ciw database exam? Planning to take it monday, this material is pretty tough.

The practice exams are almost exactly like the actual thing. Focus on the domains you're weakest in and do practice problems!

Lemonade727 · July 2011

Passed Project+ earlier. Definitely an easy exam if you're able to get through the mind-numbingly boring material. Now onto INC1 and that should finish up my enrolled classes for this term.

petedude · July 2011

sheckler wrote: »

Anyone have any advice for the ciw database exam? Planning to take it monday, this material is pretty tough.

Get any reading resources you can for anything you're not understanding. I ended up buying book chapters from cengagebrain.com as well as picking up a used database design book from Amazon.

Good luck!

ccna5 · July 2011

Hi everyone,

Lurking on these boards has helped tremendously with my ccna studies- and now I am asking for help with referral link.

Thanks!

hiddenknight821 · July 2011

ccna5 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Lurking on these boards has helped tremendously with my ccna studies- and now I am asking for help with referral link.

Thanks!

I will send you one now. I will come back here with an update if I have any issue sending you one.

EDIT: I just sent you the referral via email through your TE account. I hope you got it.

petedude · July 2011

UGH. . .

So I just now notice that I have to use an UNbuffered file read method for GTT1 Task 2 part 1. . . glad I caught THAT before I got too much further. . .

JoshD779 · July 2011

Lemonade727 wrote: »

Passed Project+ earlier. Definitely an easy exam if you're able to get through the mind-numbingly boring material. Now onto INC1 and that should finish up my enrolled classes for this term.

Nice! I've got the Project+ scheduled for the 18th. I'm going to assume that you read the Sybex book, but did you utilize any other resources to prepare for this exam? Good luck on the INC1 exam. If the course mentors are still providing their study guide in the communities, use it. I copied the whole thing into a word file and printed it out. Then after the initial reading from the COS, I went back through the book and answered every question in the study guide. I wrote each answer in the margins. It was very thorough preparation for the exam and got me my second highest score on any of the gen. ed. exams.

As for Project+, I've studied the Sybex pretty extensively, along with all of the material on the included disc, plus all of the uCertify exams. I'm scoring well with the Sybex material, but only mid to upper 600s in uCertify. I've seen questions that weren't included in the Sybex book, and some that lined up with LET1/ORC1. While going through uCertify, I got several questions on motivation theory, leadership styles, etc. Perhaps a bit beyond the scope of the Project+. It's my understanding that Ucertify is a bit more difficult than the actual exam so I feel with one more week to review, I should be fine......, I'm thinking.

I've found uCertify to be somewhat helpful, but a little weird and very slow. It literally averages 7 seconds for a page to change when you click the "next" button. Sheesh, what is this, 1996?

bishun · July 2011

I have a copy of Organizational Behavior 12th Ed. that I no longer need. It's used for LET1, ORC1, and part of MGC1. I'm willing to ship it anywhere in the continental US for cost of shipping + $5.00.

It's a used copy of course, but pages are all crisp with minor highlighting (a plus really). PM me if interested.

WGU provides a blurry digital copy that is frustrating to navigate; flipping through the book is worth a few bucks.

EDIT: THIS HAS BEEN SOLD

petedude · July 2011

bishun wrote: »

WGU provides a blurry digital copy that is frustrating to navigate; flipping through the book is worth a few bucks.

Amen to that. This and Project+ are the only courses I'd directly recommend buying printed texts for .

YMMV on some other courses-- some folks may need extra reading for the database exam, as I did.

Hypntick · July 2011

petedude wrote: »

Amen to that. This and Project+ are the only courses I'd recommend buying printed texts for.

Or borrowing them from someone who bought them....Thanks Lemonade727.

BTW, once again grats on the pass, although I had no doubts you'd walk out of the room grinning lol. Was funny, the lady at the front is always there when I am, she laughed and asked if I was there to do a test too.

petedude · July 2011

JoshD779 wrote: »

. . .
It's my understanding that Ucertify is a bit more difficult than the actual exam so I feel with one more week to review, I should be fine......, I'm thinking.

I've found uCertify to be somewhat helpful, but a little weird and very slow. It literally averages 7 seconds for a page to change when you click the "next" button. Sheesh, what is this, 1996?

You're right. uCertify is more difficult than the real exam-- which makes it a good prep tool. In my case I found it was grading about 10% lower than I was really at-- so if was scoring 600 I'd really be hitting 700 if I took the real exam at that moment. Can't tell you how many times I got fed up with studying and finally took the stupid test because uCertify was going to keep me in limbo for another month if I let it.

uCertify makes some very quirky software, indeed, in terms of its layout, UI, etc. But it can be dirt cheap and a solid exam prep to boot.

scalpelrush · July 2011

Nobylspoon wrote: »

+1

Most of it is common sense stuff but there are still several textbook answers that you probably wont know unless you review the material. I did not read any of the ebook chapters, I just used the MindEdge along with their PDF review sheets (usually 1-2 pages per chapter).

My pretest score was 76% (no material). After reviewing the material I just mentioned, I passed the final test with an 87%.

Thank you for the comments, I'll review all the modules on MindEdge along with their PDF review sheets....

medackal · July 2011

I passed CIW JavaScript exam (1D0-635). My score was 52 out of 55. The exam was just like the practice exam. I read the whole study guide and practiced with practice exams. When I was studying with the study guide, I thought I never going to pass this exam. If you feel like that, don’t worry I know exactly how you feel it. I skipped all exercises. If you want to pass this exam, spend more time with practice exams. Once you can score good grade on practice exams, don’t waste your time. Go head and take the test. It’s not that hard. Good Luck!

sheckler · July 2011

Passed databases with a 41 out of 50, now it's on to the dreaded java programming classes.

demonfurbie · July 2011

i just completed qlc1 over the weekend, took about 4 days including taskstream grading times

some tools that will help others complete it are

Online Graphing Calculator: 1-Click Delivers Complete Graphs (graphing calculator)
Create A Graph (graph creation wizard much easier than excel)
Find Vertex and Intercepts of Quadratic Functions - Calculator (helps with vertexes and understanding)

Excellent1 · July 2011

Took and passed 1D0-635 (Javascript) exam today. Test was straightforward, know your syntax and make sure you understand how AJAX works. I had meant to reschedule this out to next week, but forgot to do so. I went in today feeling like I would probably drop this exam, since I hadn't studied 4 of the 13 chapters, but I passed easily.

In hindsight, rather than spending as much time going through all of the labs, I should have just reviewed the study guides, reviewed the summaries at the end of the chapters, and moved on. Regardless, I found that I actually enjoyed coding, so I had some fun applying some of the stuff I learned to various things. Hopefully I will still feel the same way when I take the Java courses. I keep reading horror stories, so time will tell...

Nobylspoon · July 2011

Passed BAC1 last night. My grade wasn't as good as I would have hoped. I somehow overlooked the all of the statistics stuff in my studies. I don't recall seeing any of those in the pre and post unit assessments but a pass is a pass at WGU so I'm not complaining.

Starting on GAC1 & HHT1 today. Hopefully these don't take too long to complete.

Jourdsh · July 2011

Congrats on passing BAC1. Kudos for wanting to get all the math out of the way. I am putting all that stuff off until next term. For now doing LAE1 and LAT1.

On LAT1 is it only one paper that gets graded? So the 4 papers are all practice and hence optional?

Nobylspoon · July 2011

Jourdsh wrote: »

Congrats on passing BAC1. Kudos for wanting to get all the math out of the way. I am putting all that stuff off until next term. For now doing LAE1 and LAT1.

On LAT1 is it only one paper that gets graded? So the 4 papers are all practice and hence optional?

Thanks!

When I was working on my associates, I told myself that the math classes would be the last ones I take for my degree. I was 4 classes from that degree, half of which was math but I had to withdraw for a relocation.

I decided I wasn't going to let the math classes intimidate me when I started at WGU. It will be so much easier finishing my degree knowing that they will all be behind me soon. As much as I hated math over a decade ago when I last took it, I am starting to like it a lot more after relearning some stuff.

Hypntick · July 2011

Nobylspoon wrote: »

Thanks!

When I was working on my associates, I told myself that the math classes would be the last ones I take for my degree. I was 4 classes from that degree, half of which was math but I had to withdraw for a relocation.

I decided I wasn't going to let the math classes intimidate me when I started at WGU. It will be so much easier finishing my degree knowing that they will all be behind me soon. As much as I hated math over a decade ago when I last took it, I am starting to like it a lot more after relearning some stuff.

I hated math years ago and unsurprisingly enough, I still detest it. I'm doing it, but it's an uphill battle all the way. Even with BAC1, the most basic of concepts just do not click for me. I can do subnetting in my head fairly quickly, but ask me to solve an equation and my eyes glaze over.

However I look at it like the dentist, it sucks, it's painful, but it'll be much worse if you don't get it done.

demonfurbie · July 2011

odd i have my last math class at 4:00 pm today QMC1

Jack2 · July 2011

Had to resubmit my 1st LET1 paper 5 days ago...still no results...argg..

Excellent1 · July 2011

This time of the month is usually the worst time to get assignments graded. The 15th is the last day for people to submit performance assessments on the last month of their respective terms, so it's usually a bit longer.

themagicone · July 2011

Don't over think the math classes! The answers are right in front of you!

x + 5 = 15, what is x?

a. 4
b. 7
c. 10
d. 12

Just plug it in and try it. (yes I know that question is overly simple, but you get the point) Just remember basic concepts like order of operation and you'll be fine.

erpadmin · July 2011

nhpr wrote: »

Nope. My only Windows experience was using Win 3.1-XP for my home computer. The biggest help for me was doing *every* *single* *question* in LabSim; that along with watching the free Professor Messer videos and recreating the labs he did right after watching.

Are all the MS exams on the enterprise administrator track as ridiculous as 70-680 or was that one an outlier?

This is one post I wanted to respond to before I posted my own experience of MS exams (after two months of not reading this thread, I have some catching up to do...

)

As someone who started with IT with DOS 5.0 (and later Win 3.1) I can tell you that the "Microsoft way" is a pain in the rear. The 70-680 (and from what I've read the 70-270 [XP]) are definitely "beasts"...using the O/S every day is much different than knowing what's under the hood on the client exams. However, NO Microsoft exam should be taken for granted...they are difficult for a reason and anyone taking these exams with an ego (and I'm guilty of that) will get the sweetest slap in the face.

There is a ridiculous factor, but if you learn to read for the subtle cues, any MS exam can be passed. However, they can't be treated like a CompTIA or CIW exam....these exams are seriously no joke and I can't stress that enough.

erpadmin · July 2011

Well, I had posted this in the MCITP:EA forum but wanted to let you guys know here too that the 70-640 is over and done with and I'm done with my term. My mentor did give me the option to do the Tech Writing and Capstone early and then finish off the MS exams, but I'd rather get the exams out of the way. 4 MS exams plus those two and I'll be a college graduate myself. I am hoping to have everything done by the latest January so I can do that walk in Atlanta in February (I'll actually drive there and fly my parents in).

I was also feeling burn out. There were times I just wanted to say f--k it and came very close to not doing the 640. I got smacked out of that funk though. Now it's on to the 642, which will start beginning my 3rd term in August. 31 CUs have been done. I missed RCD of 6/30 but my mentor told me I had until the end of this month to complete the 640...I was cutting it close but I got it done.

I just have to say that my mentor is effing awesome! His initials are AA and he understands IT and folks who works in it. One of the reasons I want to walk is to just shake the man's hand. He has never given me crap and has always been available whenever I needed him, whether or not it was my scheduled time or not. We did have that "proving myself" time in the beginning but it was over after about a month. I say this because if there is a mentor who is not in your corner, drop him/her and get another one. You're paying the tuition and it shouldn't be a luxury that you end up with a good mentor. If there is a mentor who needs to shape up, contact Student Services. I can not stress that enough.

I did miss you guys and glad to see many of you progressing, including a few I referred. JMJ, it is looking like you won this race....LOL [j/k]!

In any event...my WGU trek continues for hopefully my last term.

Student Experiences at Western Governors University (WGU)

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