WGU MBA Reddit - Finish in 1 term

[bjcheung77]

Hmm, this reddit post is about a day old, it seems very do-able still for the MBA or other Masters programs to be completed in just 1 term.  The original poster (OP) mentioned it is really possible to complete in a term or two.  Further to that, another poster who responded, also indicated that she completed the MSML program in just 1 term as well.  Since we're on the topic of WGU, when their newer MSCS program comes out, I'll be looking into that!  https://www.reddit.com/r/WGU/comments/km..._one_term/

[Merlin]

Hmm, this reddit post is about a day old, it seems very do-able still for the MBA or other Masters programs to be completed in just 1 term.  The original poster (OP) mentioned it is really possible to complete in a term or two.  Further to that, another poster who responded, also indicated that she completed the MSML program in just 1 term as well.  Since we're on the topic of WGU, when their newer MSCS program comes out, I'll be looking into that!  https://www.reddit.com/r/WGU/comments/km..._one_term/

There are plenty of examples of people completing both degrees in a single term. Many of them have posted up their progress logs and talked about course difficulty and recommendations for how to study.

That said, these kinds of posts are dangerous since it makes people think that everyone is doing this (or anyone can), where that is actually not the case. They sign up for the degree program thinking that they'll be done in 6 months and then find out that it's actually hard work. In many cases, they cannot afford the extra costs (or free time dries up) and end up dropping out and complaining on the forums about how WGU degrees are bogus or complaining that everyone there must be cheating because they weren't able to finish their degree so fast. The ones that stick with it end up taking 2 or 3 terms to finish and are not happy either.

People who successfully manage to accelerate their degree and complete and MBA or MSML in a single term generally:

• have a lot of prior knowledge (most have worked in management or HR for quite a while);
  
• have a ton of extra time on their hands (typically means ignoring friends/family and maybe no job or one with lots of flexibility);
  
• are able to absorb and process information very quickly;
  
• or all of the above.
  

So, while it is possible to do this, people need to go into it with the expectation that they will not be able to finish in one term (and plan to pay for 2-3 terms), but push to finish as quickly as they can do so, while still retaining the information. If they manage to finish in a single term then all the better!

[eLearner]

A lot of people are trying to finish in less than 1 term. That's where I think a lot of the problems start for many.

[ss20ts]

If you're on the WGU Accelerator's group on FB, you'll see that a ton of people have completed the MBA and MSOL in one term. It seems to be quite common for people to finish one of those degrees in 1 term.

[MNomadic]

If you're on the WGU Accelerator's group on FB, you'll see that a ton of people have completed the MBA and MSOL in one term. It seems to be quite common for people to finish one of those degrees in 1 term.

I too see the many posts from accelerators who finish in 1 term, but I would only ask, is it common for people to finish in 1 term term, or is it common for people who complete in one term to post about it?

[quigongene]

I finished a bachelors with WGU in less than 4 months, however, I have 25 years in the IT field and "prepped" for over a year to knock out 67 of the 122 CU required to get the degree. If you're going in with 0 knowledge, the odds are very slim that you'll 1 term the degree.

[LevelUP]

I heard some people got through a master's in 3 months.  It depends on how much time you put into it and how fast you can get the writing done.  It's not going to be a walk in the park though.  

Detailed experienced doing a masters at WGU from a blogger:
https://felixwong.com/2015/04/how-i-did-...hs-at-wgu/

[MNomadic]

I've read many articles, posts, comments, blogs, vlogs, etc. of people were able to complete WGU degrees in a single term. I've even seen some instances where people completed the MBA in a matter of weeks. So I'm well aware of the possibilities and that most WGU "hyper accelerators" have lots of experience, transfer credits, time, aptitude or some combination of the aforementioned qualities. I'm merely trying to point out the inherent reporting bias that takes place in these instances. We don't see as many posts from people who completed their WGU program in the standard timeframes, we see the catchy posts about single term completions most often. If thousands of people graduate, but we see a few dozen people talking about their remarkable results, but not many people talk about their average results, it skews our perspective.

[Merlin]

I've read many articles, posts, comments, blogs, vlogs, etc. of people were able to complete WGU degrees in a single term. I've even seen some instances where people completed the MBA in a matter of weeks. So I'm well aware of the possibilities and that most WGU "hyper accelerators" have lots of experience, transfer credits, time, aptitude or some combination of the aforementioned qualities. I'm merely trying to point out the inherent reporting bias that takes place in these instances. We don't see as many posts from people who completed their WGU program in the standard timeframes, we see the catchy posts about single term completions most often. If thousands of people graduate, but we see a few dozen people talking about their remarkable results, but not many people talk about their average results, it skews our perspective.

That is exactly my point. While it seems like you see a lot of people posting about finishing quickly, the majority of people don't post at all. People like to brag when they feel they're doing something others would be jealous of, so it feels like a large majority of the ultra accelerators post about their achievements. This makes it look like everyone is finishing their degrees in a single term since those are the only posts you see. The majority of people who finish in 3-4 terms or longer are certainly not posting about it.

I had a conversation about accelerators with my mentor at WGU while I was there. He's a department lead and one of the few mentors who have been on staff for more than 10 years. According to him, very few students at WGU are accelerators... like less than 10%. To be considered an accelerator, that just means that a student needs to complete more than the minimum number of credits required to maintain satisfactory academic progress at the school (which is 12 credits per term for undergrad and 8 credits per term for graduate degrees). Of those accelerators, maybe 1-2% go on to complete an entire degree within a single term. He said he'd had a lot of accelerators over the years, but I was the only student he's mentored that managed to finish an entire degree in a single term, and he's mentored a couple thousand students in his time at WGU.

WGU is also one the largest (if not the largest) online schools out there (they have like 100,000+ enrolled students every year) so even with those small percentages, there are going to be quite a few people who manage to finish their degree in one term.

The point is that while it is possible, and a lot of people do manage it, people shouldn't expect that as their outcome. That just sets up false expectations and drives resentment against the school and other students when things don't go as expected. I just say set realistic expectations. Anyone can be an accelerator. Plan to finish in 2-3 terms instead of 4-5 while doing your best to push yourself to finish in a single term. Then it will feel like you saved money and time. If you go the other way, if you don't finish in a single term you'll feel like you're spending more time and money than planned.

[adegree4me]

I'm doing my MBA in health management after I graduate w/ my BA and the facebook group im in for WGU MBA programs, alot of the people are finishing their MBA in 1 term, and almost all are finishing within 2 terms.