WGU - Degree Plan/Cost/Opinion

[EducationSeeker]

After the evaluation from WGU for the Bachelor's in Business, it was a little frustrating to see that only 12 credits were awarded out of 120 hours needed.  I get that my wife did not take a lot of business classes.  Due to the file size limit, I am attaching the credit evaluation.

I did appreciate the fact that WGU is very transparent and straightforward about their tuition and the credits required to get the degree. No equivocating or double talk like Excelsior.

From the research I can see online, it sounds like my wife could do a combination of WGU Academy or SL and take the normal WGU competencies in about 1 - 1.5 years. Knowing my wife's ambition, work patterns, real life commitments, and amount of credits. I think this is a reasonable guess. However, the longer time period is a definite drawback.

So, from a cost standpoint, I am guessing the following:

Costs

Tuition (2 semesters)  $                                $6,740
WGU Academy or Modern States (free)
(Acad - 60 cr hrs @$150 x 6 months)               $900
Total                                                            $7640

It sounds like a $2000 scholarship is a very likely possibility.  This would bring the cost down to about $5640.  It is still about $1500 more than Excelsior.  Due to the longer time (i.e. 6 months/1 year vs. 1 year/1.5 years, this is a less attractive option.

Thoughts?

EducationSeeker

[akr680]

Wgu academy - 150$ per month. Maximum you can complete 5 courses.

SL and Study.com has most of the courses.

2000 scholarship - They'll apply 500 per semester/term

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[dfrecore]

WGU won't take many of your wife's credits because they only have about 25% of the degree that is Gen Ed - the rest are in the major, and she has none of those.

But looking at what credits comes in is looking backwards: looking at how quickly and cheaply you can complete a degree is looking forward.

[Merlin]

Keep in mind that you can transfer in up to 90 credits to WGU. So the quickest and least expensive option to earn a WGU undergrad degree is to complete as many ACE recommended credits (which includes CLEP) as possible, transfer those to the school, and then officially enroll in the college. This way you only have to focus on completing the last 30 credits (10 courses) directly from WGU in a single 6-month term. This makes WGU the least expensive way to earn a degree, and in many cases the quickest way too.

To do this you can look up the transfer guidelines for the business degree to create a list of courses that you want to take to meet the degree requirements. Keep in mind that some courses cannot be transferred in, so focus on those as part of the 30 you must take with the school and try to maximize the number you take from CLEP/Modern States, Study.com, Straighterline, or any other ACE recommended provider (aside from Shmoop).

Also remember that you have to do the ACE credits first because once you start your first term you cannot transfer in any additional credits.

As akr680 mentions, you'll find that Study.com and Straighterline will have most of the courses needed for the BS in Management.

I can personally confirm that the scholarships from WGU are split across 4 terms as a discount on tuition (and this is true even at the master's level). So for a $2,000 scholarship, if you complete the degree in a single term, you only receive a single $500 tuition discount.

[EducationSeeker]

Keep in mind that you can transfer in up to 90 credits to WGU. So the quickest and least expensive option to earn a WGU undergrad degree is to complete as many ACE recommended credits (which includes CLEP) as possible, transfer those to the school, and then officially enroll in the college. This way you only have to focus on completing the last 30 credits (10 courses) directly from WGU in a single 6-month term. This makes WGU the least expensive way to earn a degree, and in many cases the quickest way too.

To do this you can look up the transfer guidelines for the business degree to create a list of courses that you want to take to meet the degree requirements. Keep in mind that some courses cannot be transferred in, so focus on those as part of the 30 you must take with the school and try to maximize the number you take from CLEP/Modern States, Study.com, Straighterline, or any other ACE recommended provider (aside from Shmoop).

Also remember that you have to do the ACE credits first because once you start your first term you cannot transfer in any additional credits.

As akr680 mentions, you'll find that Study.com and Straighterline will have most of the courses needed for the BS in Management.

I can personally confirm that the scholarships from WGU are split across 4 terms as a discount on tuition (and this is true even at the master's level). So for a $2,000 scholarship, if you complete the degree in a single term, you only receive a single $500 tuition discount.

Merlin,

Do you have a sample degree plan using the 90 CLEP/study.com route and what costs would be? WGU is very straight forward. I realize everyone’s results might differ, but, how doable is it to do 30 credits in 6 mos?

[Merlin]

Do you have a sample degree plan using the 90 CLEP/study.com route and what costs would be? WGU is very straight forward. I realize everyone’s results might differ, but, how doable is it to do 30 credits in 6 mos?

I can't help you there. I did my bachelors at TESU before the prices went up. Plus I am not one of the plan folks. Others on the forum are more up to speed on that type of stuff.

It shouldn't be too hard to do since WGU provides transfer guidelines for each of their degrees. You'd just have to take that document and extrapolate courses you can take from Study.com or elsewhere to meet the program requirements.

[EducationSeeker]

Do you have a sample degree plan using the 90 CLEP/study.com route and what costs would be? WGU is very straight forward. I realize everyone’s results might differ, but, how doable is it to do 30 credits in 6 mos?

I can't help you there. I did my bachelors at TESU before the prices went up. Plus I am not one of the plan folks. Others on the forum are more up to speed on that type of stuff.

It shouldn't be too hard to do since WGU provides transfer guidelines for each of their degrees. You'd just have to take that document and extrapolate courses you can take from Study.com or elsewhere to meet the program requirements.

Merlin,

I appreciate your feedback. I can do the math. I did find that it looks like I can get my 90 credits cheaply through free CLEP at Modern States, $40 for Saylor (free class + plus $25 proctor fee +15 ACE transcript fee), Khan, OnlineDegree, Straighterline, or Study.com.  If my wife does the majority of classes free through CLEP and the other 4-5 classes though SL, SDC, or Saylor, I think we are looking at about $200-300 plus the cost of 1 semester (likely 2 semester) about $3300 +300 = about $3,500 to 3600. 

She got 12 credits so this would leave 78 credits or 26 CBE Exams/classes to take.  Trying complete 26 exams or classes in 6 months is very aggressive, but, doable I am guessing in less than 1 year and potentially less than $4000k. It would not be horrible if it takes 1.5 years for her to finish if we are getting $500 for each semester for a scholarships.


Thanks,

EducationSeeker

[mysonx3]

You only need to send the ACE transcript once, so it doesn't have to be $40 each.

[quigongene]

Also, WGU doesn't accept NCCRS, so onlinedegree.com is out.

[magflo]

Looking at what credits comes in is looking backwards: looking at how quickly and cheaply you can complete a degree is looking forward.

Love this line!