Getting into competitive graduate programs

[Mint Berry Crunch]

There is a big difference between satisfying the formal requirements and being a competitive applicant. Again, it might work fine for chrisv, but the odds are not that great in my opinion.

chrisv should probably ask professors at both SNHU and Utah for advice instead of posting here.

Sure, they can ask the faculty at the University of Utah what they should do if they were interested in being a competitive applicant, but then again, is the school really that competitive? Not from what I can see, though that doesn't make it not a good school. If they were to go to some public ivy or an ivy school, then I'd say absolutely make it your priority to be the most competitive. I'm sure their on the right track. I can't see ACE credits that helped satisfy some gen eds for an undergrad degree at a regionally accredited, private, non-profit, brick and mortar institution (often looked at as the golden ticket/blue ribbon winner) gate keep him from a PhD program at a public university. They probably care more about the graduate degree that is needed for entry into the program compared to an undergrad degree (not discounting an undergrad, but I'm sure a graduate degree gets you in compared to an undergrad).

The real advice should be directed towards what graduate program should they go to, in which case I recommended UIUC's Masters in Environmental Geology. I'd also recommend doing some thesis work to make themselves more competitive

[soba]

The real advice should be directed towards what graduate program should they go to, in which case I recommended UIUC's Masters in Environmental Geology. I'd also recommend doing some thesis work to make themselves more competitive

I agree. I assumed from the wording of his original post that he intended to go directly into Utah's PhD program. If he completes an online master's first, then that would greatly increase his chances.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

The real advice should be directed towards what graduate program should they go to, in which case I recommended UIUC's Masters in Environmental Geology. I'd also recommend doing some thesis work to make themselves more competitive

I agree. I assumed from the wording of his original post that he intended to go directly into Utah's PhD program. If he completes an online master's first, then that would greatly increase his chances.

I at first missed that they were already in an undergrad program and I was recommending them TESU's BA - Environmental Studies. But there are so many options for them out there to meet the requirements. If they don't do UIUC, I would then recommend them to check out Unity Environmental University. They have several relatable programs that would work for them (and I would honestly be interested in if money was infinite). I would probably check out their Masters in Environmental Data Analytics or their Wildlife Ecology and Management.

If it were me however, I would absolutely choose their Master of Science in Marine Conservation Biology because that sounds incredibly cool. Each credit costs about $550, so roughly $16,500 for a masters there... not bad at all actually! And it takes about 1 year to complete. 

Curse you soba! Now you have me monloguing about graduate programs that don't even apply to me that for some reason I am now interested in

Edit: I change my mind. OP! Do one of the graduate programs from Unity Environmental University. It may be a great or better option compared to UIUC depending on how you look at it. These programs look excellent (I'm totally not bias because I found one cool program!)

Unity Environmental University: https://unity.edu/programs/?location[]=o...e[]=master

[chrisv]

I think the plan is I'm going to just do the entire degree at SNHU with no degree hacking. My schooling is paid for and time isn't of the utmost importance. The more classroom work with professors the more chances I have at developing references for grad school.

I forgot to mention the goal is to be a TA/RA, thus increasing the competitiveness. Thanks for all the advice from everyone!

[LevelUP]

I think the plan is I'm going to just do the entire degree at SNHU with no degree hacking. My schooling is paid for and time isn't of the utmost importance. The more classroom work with professors the more chances I have at developing references for grad school.

I forgot to mention the goal is to be a TA/RA, thus increasing the competitiveness. Thanks for all the advice from everyone!

Recommendation Letter
The best approach is to contact the professor at the start of the course and explain that your goal is to pursue a graduate degree. Let the professor know that you would like to receive a recommendation letter if you perform well in the class, aiming for an A or at worst an A minus. 

This way the professor will keep you in mind throughout the course and your chances of securing a recommendation letter will be much higher.

Taking 10 courses at SNHU versus 40 won't increase your chances by much. With 10 courses, your odds are probably already pretty high, maybe 90% or higher, that you'll get at least one recommendation letter.

[fmsoa]

I'm attending SNHU for a BS Geoscience, about half or slightly less will be Sophia/Study credits to make my graded coursework at least 60 credits.

I would love to get into the University of Utah's Masters/PhD in Geography afterwards, and was wondering if anyone knows if a degree hacked degree can actually get into competitive grad school.

Thoughts?

As someone who earned two online master's from GT and UT, there is a huge difference even within "competitive Graduate schools", you have to be specific.

For example, Master's are money-makers (especially online Master's) for colleges across the board so admissions are not difficult at all. 

However, if your goal is in-person PhD (which looks like it because you want to get an RA/TA position), admissions is super competitive and the (lack of) rigor in hacked degrees like SNHU, TESU, or WGU might not do it.

Case in point. The UT online MSCS had an acceptance rate of ~33%, but the in-person MSCS & CS PhD program had an acceptance rate of just ~5%!

[PauFraTat]

I'm attending SNHU for a BS Geoscience, about half or slightly less will be Sophia/Study credits to make my graded coursework at least 60 credits.

I would love to get into the University of Utah's Masters/PhD in Geography afterwards, and was wondering if anyone knows if a degree hacked degree can actually get into competitive grad school.

Thoughts?

As someone who earned two online master's from GT and UT, there is a huge difference even within "competitive Graduate schools", you have to be specific.

For example, Master's are money-makers (especially online Master's) for colleges across the board so admissions are not difficult at all. 

However, if your goal is in-person PhD (which looks like it because you want to get an RA/TA position), admissions is super competitive and the (lack of) rigor in hacked degrees like SNHU, TESU, or WGU might not do it.

Case in point. The UT online MSCS had an acceptance rate of ~33%, but the in-person MSCS & CS PhD program had an acceptance rate of just ~5%!

Not trying to stray away from Geoscience/Geography and make this a Computer Science thing, but I will share my perspective on the whole "hacked degree" label.

In order to get into my CS and AI graduate programs, I needed certain prerequisites at the undergraduate level, and I chose to obtain them (and more) at TESU. I couldn't just do Straighterline or Sophia or SDC for courses like Computer Architecture, Algorithms, etc., I needed to actually take those courses. So I took 12 courses altogether, which covered prerequisites for multiple programs (like UT Austin MSCS/MSAI and GT OMSCS) and a few others that I felt could strengthen my application and increase the odds of being accepted. So "hacking" a degree in this manner is different from what a lot of people are doing to get the degree with minimal credits.

Another interesting thing is that the PhD CS program I was accepted to doesn't allow any transfers from my WGU Master's degrees, since they are not given an actual grade. Even with WGU stating the equivalent grade being 'B' for completing a course. Had I only had WGU graduate degrees I most likely would not have been accepted into the program.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

I'm attending SNHU for a BS Geoscience, about half or slightly less will be Sophia/Study credits to make my graded coursework at least 60 credits.

I would love to get into the University of Utah's Masters/PhD in Geography afterwards, and was wondering if anyone knows if a degree hacked degree can actually get into competitive grad school.

Thoughts?

As someone who earned two online master's from GT and UT, there is a huge difference even within "competitive Graduate schools", you have to be specific.

For example, Master's are money-makers (especially online Master's) for colleges across the board so admissions are not difficult at all. 

However, if your goal is in-person PhD (which looks like it because you want to get an RA/TA position), admissions is super competitive and the (lack of) rigor in hacked degrees like SNHU, TESU, or WGU might not do it.

Case in point. The UT online MSCS had an acceptance rate of ~33%, but the in-person MSCS & CS PhD program had an acceptance rate of just ~5%!

Not trying to stray away from Geoscience/Geography and make this a Computer Science thing, but I will share my perspective on the whole "hacked degree" label.

In order to get into my CS and AI graduate programs, I needed certain prerequisites at the undergraduate level, and I chose to obtain them (and more) at TESU. I couldn't just do Straighterline or Sophia or SDC for courses like Computer Architecture, Algorithms, etc., I needed to actually take those courses. So I took 12 courses altogether, which covered prerequisites for multiple programs (like UT Austin MSCS/MSAI and GT OMSCS) and a few others that I felt could strengthen my application and increase the odds of being accepted. So "hacking" a degree in this manner is different from what a lot of people are doing to get the degree with minimal credits.

Another interesting thing is that the PhD CS program I was accepted to doesn't allow any transfers from my WGU Master's degrees, since they are not given an actual grade. Even with WGU stating the equivalent grade being 'B' for completing a course. Had I only had WGU graduate degrees I most likely would not have been accepted into the program.

Surely credits and a conferred degree with your DSc, Information Technology at Middle Georgia State University transferred over into the program given that there are a lot of similarities between IT and CS (though not 1-for-1)

[PauFraTat]

Surely credits and a conferred degree with your DSc, Information Technology at Middle Georgia State University transferred over into the program given that there are a lot of similarities between IT and CS (though not 1-for-1)

Thankfully, I was able to transfer research design and methodology courses from my DSc IT program. Everything else came from my CS and AI programs. Each transfer was handled as a substitution, so I had to find a similar DSU course applicable to the program, provide the syllabus, and explain why it should be considered a substitution.

Given that the DSU PhD CS option is new this upcoming term, I was going to post an update soon to the thread Jonathan started with these details and more.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Surely credits and a conferred degree with your DSc, Information Technology at Middle Georgia State University transferred over into the program given that there are a lot of similarities between IT and CS (though not 1-for-1)

Thankfully, I was able to transfer research design and methodology courses from my DSc IT program. Everything else came from my CS and AI programs. Each transfer was handled as a substitution, so I had to find a similar DSU course applicable to the program, provide the syllabus, and explain why it should be considered a substitution.

Given that the DSU PhD CS option is new this upcoming term, I was going to post an update soon to the thread Jonathan started with these details and more.

I'd be very interested as well. You have a handful of enrolled programs; are you going to do those all at the same time?