No good Associates options?

[Silversurfer76]

So where can I find some WGU degree plans for their business and IT degrees?

Also check the link I posted above.

Gene, how long did it take for you to rack up 67 CU's before you transferred in? Can you transfer in more than that?

---

Once you figure out which degree you are going for, I would suggest clearing the gen ed requirements with CLEP and 4 straighterline classes. Don't waste time though, study hard and get them done quickly. The whole appeal of WGU is being able to go through it quickly instead of a 12 credit semester at a time.

I initially started out with a plan to get a BALS so I could get a master's in library science with the idea that I could just get promoted where I already work. I reexamined all my options, talked to some good friends about their careers and completely changed my mind. My ex finished his accounting degree at WGU and is already employed in the field working for the state. We've worked together before and he basically told me I would love it and I would be stupid to get a masters degree for a $35k job. I did my own research and had to agree.

I do have an AA, only about 34 of those credits transferred in. I just took a bunch of CLEP to clear business gen ed's and I'm starting WGU on April 1st. I was originally going to take more courses through sdc or something, but, since I qualify for financial aid with WGU I will have less out of pocket going straight to them if I hustle.

File your FAFSA for sure, a lot of people qualify for pell grants. You can get $500 off a term if you've transferred in 4 Straighterline courses. I couldn't do that because I had too many regular college credits and not enough straighterline courses that would actually transfer in.  Since you have no college credits, you could take 4 courses there at $59 or so each. There's a monthly fee as well, so you'd want to stay on top of it and get them all done in the same month if possible. Try to take ones that you wouldn't want to CLEP. You can take CLEP for practically free through Modern States.

Where I live, community colleges are $100 per credit hour. Very affordable for college. But, most classes are on campus and there's very little in the way of accelerated classes so it's taken me years to get an AA while working full time. Sometimes there hasn't been a single class that fit into my work schedule.

WGU is a lot more expensive than that, BUT, only if you only do 12 credits per term. If you actually hustle and do a lot more than that you save time and money.

Since I can't start until April 1st, I've been prestudying on my own with Khan Academy and other resources. I've guessed which courses will be first based on what other people have been assigned and I'm studying them now. There are so many resources online. I got a study.com teacher account on sale for $49 a month, the credits don't count, but, I can take as many classes as I want. I am taking ALL the accounting classes before I start WGU's accounting program. They won't count, but, I'm betting that what I learn will let me accelerate once I hit the program.

Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. But, I would absolutely not bother getting a whole associates degree, just clear your gen ed and get started.

Thank you so much for all the info. I will definitely apply for FAFSA. So theoretically how many credits can I knock out before enrolling?

[Jenniferinfl]

So where can I find some WGU degree plans for their business and IT degrees?

Also check the link I posted above.

Gene, how long did it take for you to rack up 67 CU's before you transferred in? Can you transfer in more than that?

---

Once you figure out which degree you are going for, I would suggest clearing the gen ed requirements with CLEP and 4 straighterline classes. Don't waste time though, study hard and get them done quickly. The whole appeal of WGU is being able to go through it quickly instead of a 12 credit semester at a time.

I initially started out with a plan to get a BALS so I could get a master's in library science with the idea that I could just get promoted where I already work. I reexamined all my options, talked to some good friends about their careers and completely changed my mind. My ex finished his accounting degree at WGU and is already employed in the field working for the state. We've worked together before and he basically told me I would love it and I would be stupid to get a masters degree for a $35k job. I did my own research and had to agree.

I do have an AA, only about 34 of those credits transferred in. I just took a bunch of CLEP to clear business gen ed's and I'm starting WGU on April 1st. I was originally going to take more courses through sdc or something, but, since I qualify for financial aid with WGU I will have less out of pocket going straight to them if I hustle.

File your FAFSA for sure, a lot of people qualify for pell grants. You can get $500 off a term if you've transferred in 4 Straighterline courses. I couldn't do that because I had too many regular college credits and not enough straighterline courses that would actually transfer in.  Since you have no college credits, you could take 4 courses there at $59 or so each. There's a monthly fee as well, so you'd want to stay on top of it and get them all done in the same month if possible. Try to take ones that you wouldn't want to CLEP. You can take CLEP for practically free through Modern States.

Where I live, community colleges are $100 per credit hour. Very affordable for college. But, most classes are on campus and there's very little in the way of accelerated classes so it's taken me years to get an AA while working full time. Sometimes there hasn't been a single class that fit into my work schedule.

WGU is a lot more expensive than that, BUT, only if you only do 12 credits per term. If you actually hustle and do a lot more than that you save time and money.

Since I can't start until April 1st, I've been prestudying on my own with Khan Academy and other resources. I've guessed which courses will be first based on what other people have been assigned and I'm studying them now. There are so many resources online. I got a study.com teacher account on sale for $49 a month, the credits don't count, but, I can take as many classes as I want. I am taking ALL the accounting classes before I start WGU's accounting program. They won't count, but, I'm betting that what I learn will let me accelerate once I hit the program.

Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. But, I would absolutely not bother getting a whole associates degree, just clear your gen ed and get started.

Thank you so much for all the info. I will definitely apply for FAFSA. So theoretically how many credits can I knock out before enrolling?

Unfortunately, no way to say until you pick your degree plan. Pick your degree plan and then post back. 
If you aren't planning to relocate, do a job search in your area and make sure there are more than a few jobs in the field in your area. Each degree plan has different requirements and each degree has a selection of courses you can't transfer in. Because I'm going for accounting and Florida is a stickler for letting people sit the CPA exam, I used very little alternative credit. If I lived in a different state, I may have done a lot more alternative credit. If I would have picked a different degree I would have done a lot more alternative credit.

[Ideas]

Thank you so much for all the info. I will definitely apply for FAFSA. So theoretically how many credits can I knock out before enrolling?

90 that transfer. You need to do 30 at the school, so others wouldn't reduce what you need.

[quigongene]

Gene, how long did it take for you to rack up 67 CU's before you transferred in? Can you transfer in more than that?

About a year, including the CISA, which is an IT Audit certification (AKA, a hard one) which counted for 13 CUs. CLEP, DSST and Study.com were also thrown into the mix.

You can transfer in up to 90, but I was hitting diminishing returns after the 67. The final 55 only took me 15 weeks.

[Silversurfer76]

Gene, how long did it take for you to rack up 67 CU's before you transferred in? Can you transfer in more than that?

About a year, including the CISA, which is an IT Audit certification (AKA, a hard one) which counted for 13 CUs.  CLEP, DSST and Study.com were also thrown into the mix.

You can transfer in up to 90, but I was hitting diminishing returns after the 67.  The final 55 only took me 15 weeks.

So once you hit about 67 you realized you were spending more than it was worth on transfer credits?

[Silversurfer76]

So where can I find some WGU degree plans for their business and IT degrees?

Also check the link I posted above.

Gene, how long did it take for you to rack up 67 CU's before you transferred in? Can you transfer in more than that?

---

Once you figure out which degree you are going for, I would suggest clearing the gen ed requirements with CLEP and 4 straighterline classes. Don't waste time though, study hard and get them done quickly. The whole appeal of WGU is being able to go through it quickly instead of a 12 credit semester at a time.

I initially started out with a plan to get a BALS so I could get a master's in library science with the idea that I could just get promoted where I already work. I reexamined all my options, talked to some good friends about their careers and completely changed my mind. My ex finished his accounting degree at WGU and is already employed in the field working for the state. We've worked together before and he basically told me I would love it and I would be stupid to get a masters degree for a $35k job. I did my own research and had to agree.

I do have an AA, only about 34 of those credits transferred in. I just took a bunch of CLEP to clear business gen ed's and I'm starting WGU on April 1st. I was originally going to take more courses through sdc or something, but, since I qualify for financial aid with WGU I will have less out of pocket going straight to them if I hustle.

File your FAFSA for sure, a lot of people qualify for pell grants. You can get $500 off a term if you've transferred in 4 Straighterline courses. I couldn't do that because I had too many regular college credits and not enough straighterline courses that would actually transfer in.  Since you have no college credits, you could take 4 courses there at $59 or so each. There's a monthly fee as well, so you'd want to stay on top of it and get them all done in the same month if possible. Try to take ones that you wouldn't want to CLEP. You can take CLEP for practically free through Modern States.

Where I live, community colleges are $100 per credit hour. Very affordable for college. But, most classes are on campus and there's very little in the way of accelerated classes so it's taken me years to get an AA while working full time. Sometimes there hasn't been a single class that fit into my work schedule.

WGU is a lot more expensive than that, BUT, only if you only do 12 credits per term. If you actually hustle and do a lot more than that you save time and money.

Since I can't start until April 1st, I've been prestudying on my own with Khan Academy and other resources. I've guessed which courses will be first based on what other people have been assigned and I'm studying them now. There are so many resources online. I got a study.com teacher account on sale for $49 a month, the credits don't count, but, I can take as many classes as I want. I am taking ALL the accounting classes before I start WGU's accounting program. They won't count, but, I'm betting that what I learn will let me accelerate once I hit the program.

Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. But, I would absolutely not bother getting a whole associates degree, just clear your gen ed and get started.

Thank you so much for all the info. I will definitely apply for FAFSA. So theoretically how many credits can I knock out before enrolling?

Unfortunately, no way to say until you pick your degree plan. Pick your degree plan and then post back. 
If you aren't planning to relocate, do a job search in your area and make sure there are more than a few jobs in the field in your area. Each degree plan has different requirements and each degree has a selection of courses you can't transfer in. Because I'm going for accounting and Florida is a stickler for letting people sit the CPA exam, I used very little alternative credit. If I lived in a different state, I may have done a lot more alternative credit. If I would have picked a different degree I would have done a lot more alternative credit.

I'm actually leaning towards their Marketing Management degree, if that helps. By the way, WGU accepts SL, Study.com, and CLEP. Are there any others?

[quigongene]

So once you hit about 67 you realized you were spending more than it was worth on transfer credits?

Pretty much. For example, for my degree I needed the CompTIA trifecta (A+, Network+, Security+), which is 4 exams that are between $200 and $400 each. WGU gives vouchers for the exams. While I could have taken those four outside of WGU and spent around $1k, it was cheaper to let WGU pay for them as part of my tuition.

---

I'm actually leaning towards their Marketing Management degree, if that helps. By the way, WGU accepts SL, Study.com, and CLEP. Are there any others?

Saylor, The Institutes (if you need business ethics), Sophia, DSST.

This might help: https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/BSMK.aspx

[Silversurfer76]

So once you hit about 67 you realized you were spending more than it was worth on transfer credits?

Pretty much.  For example, for my degree I needed the CompTIA trifecta (A+, Network+, Security+), which is 4 exams that are between $200 and $400 each.  WGU gives vouchers for the exams.  While I could have taken those four outside of WGU and spent around $1k, it was cheaper to let WGU pay for them as part of my tuition.

---

I'm actually leaning towards their Marketing Management degree, if that helps. By the way, WGU accepts SL, Study.com, and CLEP. Are there any others?

Saylor, The Institutes (if you need business ethics), Sophia, DSST.

This might help:  https://partners.wgu.edu/Pages/BSMK.aspx

Sorry for bothering you with more questions Gene. Were most of your alternative credits through Straighterline? I was leaning towards doing a lot of them at SL, because of the WGU partnership(and I keep hearing Saylor kind of sucks). Plus they have the SL Scholarship. But I was reading on another forum whose members have used alternative credit. One member said they had knocked out 40+ credits at SL, yet later realized the classes were garbage compared to taking them directly through WGU. They had regretted the decision to use so much SL credit. Some members also reported WGU not accepting a variety of transfer credits(CLEP included). I was under the impression they accepted all ACE approved credits?

Sitting here reading the WGU guidelines for the major I want, I'm honestly not sure which programs/sources I trust with my money for alternative credit? I don't want to knock out a bunch, then get screwed when it comes time to transfer. I'd like to hear your approach on how you selected which alternative credit sources to go with. Thank you for answering my questions.