Tips for success at WGU (to finish in a single term)

[Merlin]

I just wrote this up as a response to someone who asked for help via private message, but after finishing it I figured I should share this here as it will probably be useful to anyone who is considering a degree from WGU. Keep in mind that this conversation focused mainly on the WGU master's degree programs, but should also apply to undergraduate degrees.

What is the best way to get through a degree at WGU in a single term?

I can't really offer any silver bullets or secrets to success other than to know the material. I came into both my bachelor's and master's degree programs with a fair amount of career experience in business management. So some courses were a breeze because of that. Other courses have been learning experiences for me (stuff like accounting, finance, economics, and statistics) but my broad experience in other areas has been valuable in allowing me to work quickly through those courses too. For the MBA I was also able to build on what I learned in my bachelor's program. The MBA was less about learning the basics and more about applying what you've learned, so it was beneficial that I moved from my BSBA right into the MBA as I could leverage what I knew from the BSBA and not spend time learning all the concepts first.

As for general advice, it comes down to pacing and dedication. Don't let the enormity of the work get in your way. Just take everything one step at a time and know that you'll eventually get it done. Set weekly goals and time box yourself to ensure that you don't let distractions slow you down. Let your family and friends know that you'll be unavailable for anything for the next 6 months after your term starts since every spare moment will be dedicated to school to finish in a single term.

That said, you may want to do what I did. Aim for a single term but plan for two just in case since you never know what life will throw at you. Plus the teacher's programs may have practicum that requires working with others and you can't predict how that will affect your pacing.

To reduce your costs you can apply for scholarships via WGU. If you win one, that will reduce your tuition a bit. I received a $2,000 scholarship (which for WGU is just a tuition discount) but it is applied as $500 off per term for 4 terms and there is no refund of any balance if you finish earlier than 4 terms. But $500 off is better than nothing. You might also be able to get some money via FAFSA, but for a master's degree, it will just be loans as far as I know.

As for specific advice/tips:

1. Build a strong relationship with your program mentor and let them know from day one that you plan to accelerate and get through the entire program in a single term. Some mentors are wonderful and some are terrible. So make sure they are compatible with your learning style and are eager to support accelerators. If they don't, it will hold you back and slow you down. You'll end up having to switch mentors mid-term and it will be a headache. So set the ground rules early. It's your program, their job is to provide the support you need to be successful, even if that means just getting out of your way. If it doesn't seem like a good fit after a couple of weeks, go to student services and ask for another mentor right away.
   
2. For PA (performance assessment) tasks, live by the rubric. It doesn't matter what the task instructions say, follow what it says that is needed for top marks according to the rubric since that is the only thing the evaluators are going off of. In fact, when structuring your papers, use each rubric item as its own section so there is no confusion which rubric areas you are addressing in your paper. I don't know if the teaching program is different, but the other schools seem pretty lax in their formatting requirements, other than for citations and references. Most tasks don't require specific APA formatting unless you're quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing data, in which case you must use APA citation and reference format. But unless the rubric says you must use a certain number of references/citations, they are probably optional, so you may not need them at all. I think in all my papers I only used citations twice because it was required (well once because it was required and once because it was convenient).
   
3. For OA (objective assessments), these are proctored exams. The only advice I can offer here is to use every resource they provide and study until you feel confident that you know the material. Some people recommend taking the pre-assessment first and using that as a reference for what you need to study, but I disagree with that approach since you can no longer use the pre-assessment as a gauge for readiness (and I feel it is more valuable for that). I usually review the pacing guide to learn about the competencies and recommended order/pacing and then skim the learning materials to see how well their materials match what I know. For areas I'm weak in, I will do a deeper dive into the readings and video webinars to engage with the material to learn more. Once I feel like I have a good handle on everything, I take the pre-assessment to see if it looks like I'm ready for the final exam. If I score well on the pre-assessment, I schedule the OA right away. If I find gaps in my knowledge from the Pre-A, I will go back to study those sections a bit more and then schedule the OA.
   
4. You should also join the "WGU Accelerators" and "Sage's Night Owls" groups on Facebook and check out the /r/WGU subreddit. Those are great resources for specific course tips and study aids. Before I start each course I usually do a search on Reddit and Facebook for the course code and title to see what others have said about it to give me an idea about the course and any useful acceleration tips; at the least, it should give you somewhere to start. One caveat here is to ignore the negative comments and just focus on the useful and encouraging posts. Also, when reviewing these posts don't measure your progress against others. As they say, "comparison is the thief of joy." Just focus on the next task on your list.
   
5. You can also use Google and sources like Quizlet to help you prepare and study, but keep in mind that generic Google resources may not match the material provided (and tested on) in the course of study. Likewise, I have found Quizlet (and Study Blue) to be hit or miss when it comes to the accuracy of their material. Not only does WGU change up the courses now and then, but sometimes people just create Quizlets with wrong information. That said, some people have gotten through their degree without cracking a book on WGU and just using Google and Quizlet, so who knows how valuable it will be to you.
   

If anyone else has tips to share, please add them below. Also, if you have WGU specific questions, feel free to ask.

Good luck!

[quigongene]

Definitely hit the nail on the head here as far as WGU. The only thing I would add (for IT at least) is join the WGU Slack channel and get access to the Google Drive resources.

[nykorn]

I have some tips to revive this old thread with.

1) As mentioned in the original post here, a few WGU students have created Anki flashcard decks, but many more have created Quizlet flashcard decks of the information needed to cram for an exam. If you can't find ones for WGU specifically, you can find them for other universities offering the same major with almost the same exact course names. To cover your bases, you can grab multiple decks from multiple schools and users on the same course subject, then merge them into one deck under the same course title after they're added to Anki. You can import these Quizlet decks to Anki using an addon such as the following (this will also import any audio, and you can choose to test on both the "front" and "back" side of the card): https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1362209126

I have seen some WGU students create lists of youtube videos (created by third parties) that contain all the information you really need to pass the course. In some cases, let's say for a course on The History of Education, you might only need a 4 minute video from Youtube to get all the info needed to pass.

When you first register and get admitted to WGU, you are most likely going to wait at least a month before your term actually starts. So you can power through all the flashcards and any videos you can find for all your courses before you even start the term. If you are the type to make your own notes, it will also drastically cut down the time needed to do that during the term itself as a ton of flashcards will have been made for you.

3) Get a clear transparent waterproof phone "bag" or a waterproof e-reader. You can then read course material in the bath and gain some study time per day.

4) If you have a Chatgpt-4 subscription (currently around $20 a month) you can now, as of this month, in a special area "train" your own chatbot and drastically improve it compared to the vanilla version. When you get feedback from instructors on your assignments, go to your specialized chatbot you are training, feed your submitted version, the grading rubric, your received grade, and the teacher's feedback into the chatbot to train it on how the teachers grade your assignments. Then before you submit your next assignment, ask the bot to critique it based on what you have trained it on thus far.

5) Money: If you don't qualify for any financial aid or scholarships whatsoever you may be able to use a relative's address to get the "Learn Where You Live" scholarship (currently $750 off per term) which is for students registered as living in a rural area as designated by the US census. You could also wait for the New Year's discount ($650 off per term for students who register anytime from January to March). I assume they have other regular seasonal scholarships too.

I have also read of students who got jobs working one day a week at companies like KFC which reimburse you for WGU tuition, specifically to get that reimbursement.

Calculate how many extra hours you need to work per day in order to afford the entire tuition without scholarships. Around $4,000 - 1.5% credit card cash back (or whatever yours is) / 6 months at 30 days each = you need to earn an extra $22 per day, and you need to start earning that as soon as you apply to the school (in that month or so of extra time before the course starts). Remember to use a bank account that reimburses you for transaction fees.