Cue the Confetti

[Mcroberson]

Today marks 4 weeks since the summer II session started and I submitted my last final today. Its very surreal but quite the relief. I really appreciate this forum and the usual suspects that are always here for advice and guidance (You know Who you are). 

I'll give a little bit of info about my journey. I'm a 39 year old plant manager, married with 2 children. I took one semester of college after HS but life just got too busy. I never even considered going back to school until recently. My wife is an RN that got her BSN from WGU. I originally applied last December to WGU and was told to go to WGU academy because it had been so long since I was in school. Shortly after that I found this site and Sophia. I started Sophia with the intention of apply at WGU again until I found out about UMPI. I took much longer with Sophia than necessary but had several things going on early this year and it really wasn't a priority to speed through it.

I transferred in 83 credits to UMPI. I English class was from community college so I needed to complete 13 courses at UMPI. I fully intended to need 2 sessions but once I started I couldn't stop. These are the courses that I took in no particular order.

Art108- Intro to Graphic Design
BUS 260 - Leadership
BUS 321- Human Resource Management
BUS 330 - Marketing Management
BUS 343- Project Risk & Cost Management
BUS 415- Operations Management
ENG 121- College Comp II
POS 370- Arab- Israeli Conflicts
POS 301- European Gov & EU
POS 332- Constitutional Law
POS- 335 Modern Political Thought
POS- 343 Marxism
POS- 439 The Vietnam Wars

This was for BLS- Management but as you can tell, once I took one of Zaborneys classes I was hooked on his class format and prompt grading so I added a Political Science minor to my degree. 

So here's the deal for anyone who stumbles across this post. I'll admit that I was very intimidated going into this, I was a horrible student in high school. Don't second guess yourself, just do it. Get started and just keep going. If it feels daunting at first just chip away at it and you'll surprise yourself. Like I said, I was aiming for 2 sessions but completed 13 courses in 4 weeks. Now, I probably barely escaped divorce by a week or so for lack of engagement with my family, I just mowed my lawn yesterday for the first time in weeks, and I worked on school every waking moment that I wasn't at work. Working every waking moment probably wouldn't have been necessary but, I'm also in the Civil Air Patrol in which I have weekly obligations to as well as I had to travel two weekends during this period for, and I've been battling a kidney stone for 2 weeks in which I'm having surgery for tomorrow. 

Anyway, Thanks again to everyone on this board for the advice and encouragement. I know I wouldn't been here today with out all of you!

[bjcheung77]

@Mcroberson, Great job! That's amazingly fast... wow, congrats in getting the double minor for your Bachelors!

[grogers14]

Very similar here, BLS Management, I finished all courses last week but my one and only course with Zabornery was so fast I decided to add a Social Studies minor since I'm only 4 classes away. I like Dr. Zaborney because it seems he just wants you to enjoy the class and learn the material , hence why the few milestones and light finals despite being upper division .

[Mcroberson]

@Mcroberson, Great job! That's amazingly fast... wow, congrats in getting the double minor for your Bachelors!

Thanks, I really appreciate it. Like I said, that wasn’t my goal but once I knew that I could fly through Zaborneys classes I thought why not. Being a history buff doesn’t hurt either.

---

Very similar here, BLS Management, I finished all courses last week but my one and only course with Zabornery was so fast I decided to add a Social Studies minor since I'm only 4 classes away. I like Dr. Zaborney because it seems he just wants you to enjoy the class and learn the material , hence why the few milestones and light finals despite being upper division .

Great job!

---

Very similar here, BLS Management, I finished all courses last week but my one and only course with Zabornery was so fast I decided to add a Social Studies minor since I'm only 4 classes away. I like Dr. Zaborney because it seems he just wants you to enjoy the class and learn the material , hence why the few milestones and light finals despite being upper division .

Great job!

[davewill]

Totally and completely awesome! I love when people come here and tell us about their successes. I don't really believe your family was that unhappy, I suspect they are really proud of you and your dedication.

So many people find that they are better students as adults than they were as teens and early 20 somethings. I always encourage people who come here doubting themselves to give it a try for that reason.

[LevelUP]

Today marks 4 weeks since the summer II session started and I submitted my last final today. Its very surreal but quite the relief. I really appreciate this forum and the usual suspects that are always here for advice and guidance (You know Who you are). 

I'll give a little bit of info about my journey. I'm a 39 year old plant manager, married with 2 children. I took one semester of college after HS but life just got too busy. I never even considered going back to school until recently. My wife is an RN that got her BSN from WGU. I originally applied last December to WGU and was told to go to WGU academy because it had been so long since I was in school. Shortly after that I found this site and Sophia. I started Sophia with the intention of apply at WGU again until I found out about UMPI. I took much longer with Sophia than necessary but had several things going on early this year and it really wasn't a priority to speed through it.

In defense of WGU, they have implemented a practice of making people take an online course before attending the university, which is quite standard for WGU.

In the past, there have been instances where some individuals attended WGU but did not complete any or only a few courses, leading to a negative impact on WGU's reported dropout rates. This has been a challenge for the university.

It is likely that if you apply to pursue an MBA at WGU with your UMPI degree, they might not have as many questions or concerns.

UMPI History

To provide some context, in the past, after TESU and COSC began requiring 30 RA credits, the options for alternative colleges were limited, leaving WGU as one of the main choices along with the "big 3" institutions.

In late 2020, Ss20ts discovered the UMPI YourPace program, which had initially fewer than 100 students. Ashkir then identified which Sophia's courses could be transferred, completing all of them in 2021.

Previously, it was challenging to finish in one session due to the limited course offerings. However, as the YourPace program gained popularity, all courses became available in each session.

In any case, congratulations on earning your UMPI degree!

[Mcroberson]

Totally and completely awesome! I love when people come here and tell us about their successes. I don't really believe your family was that unhappy, I suspect they are really proud of you and your dedication.

So many people find that they are better students as adults than they were as teens and early 20 somethings. I always encourage people who come here doubting themselves to give it a try for that reason.

No it wasn’t that bad, I’m joking obviously. She’s been giving me a hard time though, I think it’s her way of showing how valuable I am to her. At least that’s the way I’m going to view it. 

We have a 16 year old that has struggled with school and that has been my number #1 motivation to getting my degree. We hold him to a high standard and although I’m fairly successful, I started to feel like a hypocrite holding him to a standard that I wouldn’t have held myself to.

---

Today marks 4 weeks since the summer II session started and I submitted my last final today. Its very surreal but quite the relief. I really appreciate this forum and the usual suspects that are always here for advice and guidance (You know Who you are). 

I'll give a little bit of info about my journey. I'm a 39 year old plant manager, married with 2 children. I took one semester of college after HS but life just got too busy. I never even considered going back to school until recently. My wife is an RN that got her BSN from WGU. I originally applied last December to WGU and was told to go to WGU academy because it had been so long since I was in school. Shortly after that I found this site and Sophia. I started Sophia with the intention of apply at WGU again until I found out about UMPI. I took much longer with Sophia than necessary but had several things going on early this year and it really wasn't a priority to speed through it.

In defense of WGU, they have implemented a practice of making people take an online course before attending the university, which is quite standard for WGU.

In the past, there have been instances where some individuals attended WGU but did not complete any or only a few courses, leading to a negative impact on WGU's reported dropout rates. This has been a challenge for the university.

It is likely that if you apply to pursue an MBA at WGU with your UMPI degree, they might not have as many questions or concerns.

UMPI History

To provide some context, in the past, after TESU and COSC began requiring 30 RA credits, the options for alternative colleges were limited, leaving WGU as one of the main choices along with the "big 3" institutions.

In late 2020, Ss20ts discovered the UMPI YourPace program, which had initially fewer than 100 students. Ashkir then identified which Sophia's courses could be transferred, completing all of them in 2021.

Previously, it was challenging to finish in one session due to the limited course offerings. However, as the YourPace program gained popularity, all courses became available in each session.

In any case, congratulations on earning your UMPI degree!

Thank you! And to be clear, I have nothing against WGU. My wife loved it and I had every intention of going but once I read about UMPI I knew it would be a better fit for me. I’m not ruling out a Masters if the future necessitates it but I’ve achieved my goals for now.

---

Totally and completely awesome! I love when people come here and tell us about their successes. I don't really believe your family was that unhappy, I suspect they are really proud of you and your dedication.

So many people find that they are better students as adults than they were as teens and early 20 somethings. I always encourage people who come here doubting themselves to give it a try for that reason.

No it wasn’t that bad, I’m joking obviously. She’s been giving me a hard time though, I think it’s her way of showing how valuable I am to her. At least that’s the way I’m going to view it. 

We have a 16 year old that has struggled with school and that has been my number #1 motivation to getting my degree. We hold him to a high standard and although I’m fairly successful, I started to feel like a hypocrite holding him to a standard that I wouldn’t have held myself to.

[Tswede]

We have a 16 year old that has struggled with school and that has been my number #1 motivation to getting my degree. We hold him to a high standard and although I’m fairly successful, I started to feel like a hypocrite holding him to a standard that I wouldn’t have held myself to.

I second this as a reason.  We have two teens/young adults and while my wife has a masters and I am very succesful in my field, I wanted to be an example to them/meet my own expectations and hopes for them.  It's ok if it takes them a bit too.  My wife did hers through alt education after some fits and starts (and then finished a terminal masters in a brick and mortar top school) and I didn't start until I was 20 years into my career.  But I want to show them I value education not just as something I say, but something I do.  I show them my finished papers and we talk through the topics sometimes at dinner or over messages.  I hope it inspires them to keep trying to better themselves.

[joshua27]

Congratulations! My story is very similar in that I only learned about UMPI after being told to attend WGU Academy. I too finished in one semester with a B.B.A and it has been incredibly surreal having checked that box. Congratulations again, once you get your actual diploma in the mail it really sinks in.

[rachel83az]

Congrats and way to go in finishing so quickly in spite of your other commitments!