Studying before starting WGU MBA

[kalishakti]

Second WGU MBA-related question.

What topics would you recommend studying/reviewing before starting the program, in order to finish the program faster? I know many of the tasks and exams are course/textbook specific, but are there general topics to study beforehand to help prepare? Thank you.

[Ideas]

If I'm trying to complete a Masters fast, I would get the actual textbooks beforehand and read a few of them.

[bjcheung77]

I think you're jumping the gun trying to start early. But if you must, my recommendation is as follows.
1) Review their course offerings in the MBA https://www.wgu.edu/wgu/credit/program430
2) Review their PDF giving you a more in-depth look of what courses teach and what you should know.
https://www.wgu.edu/wgu/prog_guide/MBA_BA.pdf
3) Make sure you know all the required details listed in the MBA PDF, it tells you clearly what is required.
4) You don't necessarily need to read the textbooks as they don't really teach classes.
Knowing the information within the textbook is great, but an ability to comprehend/understand the concepts is desired.

[RANSOMSOUL]

When looking at the layout of the MBA program, as with the other WGU Master programs, I would suggest spending prep time focused on sharpening your knowledge on courses listed below with *.

*MBA - Global Economics for Managers (Exam)

*MBA - Accounting for Decision Makers (Exam)

*MBA - Financial Management - Exam

*MBA - Data-Driven Decision Making - (Exam & 2 Papers)

Some feel the above represent roadblocks in the program and are courses that can cause students to lose momentum in their interest of finishing the program in 1 term.

Here's a walkthrough on the remaining courses:

MBA - Management Communication – (2 Papers, 1 PowerPoint/Presentation)

MBA - Marketing (Exam & 1 Paper)

MBA - Ethical Leadership – (3 Papers)

MBA - Managing Organizations and Leading People – (2 Papers)

MBA - Managing Human Capital – (Exam)

MBA - Operations Management - (Exam)

MBA - Capstone (Team Project, 3 Papers)

Good luck with your interests and if possible, keep us in the loop with how everything shakes out.

[amilitab4k9]

My plan is to review Statistics by going through a Coursera class. I don't really remember much from my Statistics class and I don't like Statistics very much. My BSBA is in Accounting and I have a lot of Finance knowledge, so I figure that's what I'll need the most. 

If you're not comfortable writing, you might want to brush up on that as well. The more you do it, the easier it is and the better you get.

---

University of Illinois has all of their MBA courses on Coursera. You could also go through those to prepare yourself. They have some very high quality teaching.

[dfrecore]

I think if you already have a BSBA, the courses in the MBA program will seem somewhat familiar to you. If it's been a while since you took anything, then you could brush up - for instance, I took Macroeconomics 25 years ago, I'd probably go to Khan Academy or ACDC Economics or even Study.com to go back through Econ to get back into the groove.

If you didn't take a course in your BSBA, you might want to look at it - like Ops Management or HR.

For someone who didn't have a business background, I would think the courses would be more difficult than someone with one.

[CVsee_US]

When looking at the layout of the MBA program, as with the other WGU Master programs, I would suggest spending prep time focused on sharpening your knowledge on courses listed below with *.

*MBA - Global Economics for Managers (Exam)

*MBA - Accounting for Decision Makers (Exam)

*MBA - Financial Management - Exam

*MBA - Data-Driven Decision Making - (Exam & 2 Papers)

Some feel the above represent roadblocks in the program and are courses that can cause students to lose momentum in their interest of finishing the program in 1 term.

Here's a walkthrough on the remaining courses:

MBA - Management Communication – (2 Papers, 1 PowerPoint/Presentation)

MBA - Marketing (Exam & 1 Paper)

MBA - Ethical Leadership – (3 Papers)

MBA - Managing Organizations and Leading People –  (2 Papers)

MBA - Managing Human Capital –  (Exam)

MBA - Operations Management - (Exam)

MBA - Capstone (Team Project, 3 Papers)

Good luck with your interests and if possible, keep us in the loop with how everything shakes out.

Which one is IT Project Management - MGT2 and IT Strategic Solutions MMT2? also, are these paper or exam courses (or both)

[RANSOMSOUL]

The above breakdown is for the WGU MBA program. WGU MBA IT can be found here:

https://www.wgu.edu/wgu/credit/program302

Here's the info on the two courses mentioned:

3 Tasks - MGT2
4 Tasks - MMT2

[Knights1]

Hi: Thanks for this forum. I really appreciate this group! Very good insights for degree completion. It has also motivated me to decide to take on a MBA in healthcare management. I start on April 1st, and I trust that all will go well. Any pointers will be appreciated. My biggest issue is that I am not good at writing and when I see that I have to complete a 15 page essay that scares me. Yikes!! Thanks again.
BA in HCA-UOP with a hefty student loan. Wish I knew about WGU then.  
Sophia

[amilitab4k9]

My plan is to review Statistics by going through a Coursera class. I don't really remember much from my Statistics class and I don't like Statistics very much. My BSBA is in Accounting and I have a lot of Finance knowledge, so I figure that's what I'll need the most. 

If you're not comfortable writing, you might want to brush up on that as well. The more you do it, the easier it is and the better you get.

---

University of Illinois has all of their MBA courses on Coursera. You could also go through those to prepare yourself. They have some very high quality teaching.

It was a nice thought, but I didn't actually do anything to prepare and was able to finish the program in 2 months. One for the capstone and one for all the other classes.

---

Hi: Thanks for this forum. I really appreciate this group! Very good insights for degree completion. It has also motivated me to decide to take on a MBA in healthcare management. I start on April 1st, and I trust that all will go well. Any pointers will be appreciated. My biggest issue is that I am not good at writing and when I see that I have to complete a 15 page essay that scares me. Yikes!! Thanks again.
BA in HCA-UOP with a hefty student loan. Wish I knew about WGU then.  
Sophia

When you get a writing assignment, make an outline. The assignment will be broken down into several numbered points, some of which will have sub points. In Word or Google docs or whatever, make a heading for each major point. Then make a subheading for each sub point. Translate the entire assignment into an outline, using the same wording as used in the assignment. Then, tackle one section of your outline at a time. Don't think, "I have to write a 15 page paper." Think, "I need to write 1/2 to 1 page on THIS." When you're done with that, move on to the next. 

Not only will it make the task much easier to accomplish, it will also make it much easier on the graders to see that you answered every single point. The graders aren't looking for a beautiful piece of literature, they're looking to check things off on their rubric. And go into it expecting to make revisions. There's nothing wrong with revisions, it's just clarification of what they want. Do what you think they want, send it to them, and they'll let you know if they want something different. And don't feel bad about it. A lot of people spend hours agonizing over whether their papers are perfect enough when they'd save a lot of time and energy just turning in something they're not sure about and then making the specific revisions requested. Only revise what they ask you to, and do it in a different font color with a note telling them so.

Also, don't overthink things. Do exactly what they say, even if it seems too simple. I'm not sure if Healthcare Management does the statistics course, but everyone tries to make that one harder than it is. The assignment is actually SUPER simple. So much so, that you think you're wrong.