WGU Ranked #3 Best Online Cybersecurity Master's Program

[LevelUP]

Fortune.com ranked WGU's Master of Science in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance as the third best online master's program for cybersecurity in the country.

https://fortune.com/education/informatio...rsecurity/

[sanantone]

I'm scratching my head. Selectivity accounted for 50% of the score. Fortune says that WGU has a 36% acceptance rate. WGU accepts everyone who meets the minimum requirements. I guess if they had a bunch of applicants who don't know how to read a basic list of requirements, that could result in a 36% acceptance rate.

[ReyMysterioso]

I'm scratching my head. Selectivity accounted for 50% of the score. Fortune says that WGU has a 36% acceptance rate. WGU accepts everyone who meets the minimum requirements. I guess if they had a bunch of applicants who don't know how to read a basic list of requirements, that could result in a 36% acceptance rate.

Lol have you met the average person?

[LevelUP]

I'm scratching my head. Selectivity accounted for 50% of the score. Fortune says that WGU has a 36% acceptance rate. WGU accepts everyone who meets the minimum requirements. I guess if they had a bunch of applicants who don't know how to read a basic list of requirements, that could result in a 36% acceptance rate.

Methodology for Fortune’s ranking of online cybersecurity programs
https://fortune.com/education/articles/m...-programs/

It's hard to say why their acceptance rate is so low. I haven't seen many student reports regarding their master's programs though I know for their bachelor's program, it's common for WGU to reject people with 0 college credits, no online course experience, or a poor academic record.

WGU got a bad rap in previous years when people signed up for WGU, paid tuition, then completed a few or no courses at all then dropped out.

I imagine with so many students, they have data on who is most likely to drop out, and they make those students prove themselves by jumping through hoops in order to get accepted into their degree programs. Those hoops can include completing courses online before attempting to enroll again.

So counting multiple submissions, their acceptance rate is likely a lot higher.

[MNomadic]

For the MSCSIA there's no real decision being made, you either meet the requirements and are admitted or you don't and are not admitted:

Admissions Requirements Unique to The Cybersecurity Master's Program
To be considered for enrollment in this program, you must:

1. Possess a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, a business degree (Quantitative Analysis, Accounting, Economics, Finance), or degree with a similar quantitative focus.

OR

2. Possess any bachelor’s degree PLUS one of the following:

Two years of related work experience
Relevant and current IT certification
Related IT coursework

[BostonBeanMan]

I got into the program. Now I feel speshul.

No application fee and everyone wanting to get into cybersecurity is likely where this % has come from.

[sanantone]

I got into the program. Now I feel speshul.

No application fee and everyone wanting to get into cybersecurity is likely where this % has come from.

That's it. There's no risk in applying because there's no application fee. If there's a $75 application fee, and you know you don't meet the minimum requirements, you're likely not going to apply.

[freeloader]

I got into the program. Now I feel speshul.

No application fee and everyone wanting to get into cybersecurity is likely where this % has come from.

That's it. There's no risk in applying because there's no application fee. If there's a $75 application fee, and you know you don't meet the minimum requirements, you're likely not going to apply.

This thread got me thinking: what happens if you apply to WGU (complete all the initial application stuff) but don’t send in transcripts or don’t complete other required steps to be fully admitted/be enrolled?  What if you start the application but don’t finish it?

Do they reject your application?  Close it as incomplete?  Leave it open indefinitely?  Something else?

I ask because I could see a lot of people submitting the application—it is free and pretty quick, after all—but then not ordering transcripts or taking other necessary steps to actually start taking classes.  It wouldn’t be at all surprising if more than half of the people who started the application process didn’t finish it. That could help make your program look a heck of a lot more selective than it really is if these people are counted as rejected.

[BostonBeanMan]

I got into the program. Now I feel speshul.

No application fee and everyone wanting to get into cybersecurity is likely where this % has come from.

That's it. There's no risk in applying because there's no application fee. If there's a $75 application fee, and you know you don't meet the minimum requirements, you're likely not going to apply.

This thread got me thinking: what happens if you apply to WGU (complete all the initial application stuff) but don’t send in transcripts or don’t complete other required steps to be fully admitted/be enrolled?  What if you start the application but don’t finish it?

Do they reject your application?  Close it as incomplete?  Leave it open indefinitely?  Something else?

I ask because I could see a lot of people submitting the application—it is free and pretty quick, after all—but then not ordering transcripts or taking other necessary steps to actually start taking classes.  It wouldn’t be at all surprising if more than half of the people who started the application process didn’t finish it. That could help make your program look a heck of a lot more selective than it really is if these people are counted as rejected.

Maybe but to me, that would be incomplete if they did not make an actual decision but if worded correctly and stated as applied vs accepted, then they are within the wordsmithing rules of the road. Heck, maybe those that wrote the article asked for raw data and came up with this on their own. Anyways, I love the English language as it allows for creativity and can control those unable to think critically. Did you know that 100% of all teenage pregnancies only occur with girls under the age of 20?

[sanantone]

I got into the program. Now I feel speshul.

No application fee and everyone wanting to get into cybersecurity is likely where this % has come from.

That's it. There's no risk in applying because there's no application fee. If there's a $75 application fee, and you know you don't meet the minimum requirements, you're likely not going to apply.

This thread got me thinking: what happens if you apply to WGU (complete all the initial application stuff) but don’t send in transcripts or don’t complete other required steps to be fully admitted/be enrolled?  What if you start the application but don’t finish it?

Do they reject your application?  Close it as incomplete?  Leave it open indefinitely?  Something else?

I ask because I could see a lot of people submitting the application—it is free and pretty quick, after all—but then not ordering transcripts or taking other necessary steps to actually start taking classes.  It wouldn’t be at all surprising if more than half of the people who started the application process didn’t finish it. That could help make your program look a heck of a lot more selective than it really is if these people are counted as rejected.

That's something to consider, but there are also some schools that send transcripts for free for a limited amount of time or for a limited number of transcripts. Then, there are schools with low fees. IIRC, the first several transcripts from two of the schools I graduated from were free. One of them now only charges $5.

---

I got into the program. Now I feel speshul.

No application fee and everyone wanting to get into cybersecurity is likely where this % has come from.

That's it. There's no risk in applying because there's no application fee. If there's a $75 application fee, and you know you don't meet the minimum requirements, you're likely not going to apply.

This thread got me thinking: what happens if you apply to WGU (complete all the initial application stuff) but don’t send in transcripts or don’t complete other required steps to be fully admitted/be enrolled?  What if you start the application but don’t finish it?

Do they reject your application?  Close it as incomplete?  Leave it open indefinitely?  Something else?

I ask because I could see a lot of people submitting the application—it is free and pretty quick, after all—but then not ordering transcripts or taking other necessary steps to actually start taking classes.  It wouldn’t be at all surprising if more than half of the people who started the application process didn’t finish it. That could help make your program look a heck of a lot more selective than it really is if these people are counted as rejected.

Maybe but to me, that would be incomplete if they did not make an actual decision but if worded correctly and stated as applied vs accepted, then they are within the wordsmithing rules of the road. Heck, maybe those that wrote the article asked for raw data and came up with this on their own. Anyways, I love the English language as it allows for creativity and can control those unable to think critically. Did you know that 100% of all teenage pregnancies only occur with girls under the age of 20?

Fortune misinterpreting data is another possibility. I'm not sure if WGU tracks acceptance rates. I believe only their undergraduate nursing program is competitive.