UMPI MAOL vs WGU MSML?

[TopHatWombat]

When I first enrolled at UMPI, the average student completed 2-3 courses per session! That number has been skewed because of us. Most people don't transfer in with a boatload of credit like we do. Most people don't complete their degree in 1 or 2 sessions like many of us have. Most people are taking a few years or longer. I have yet to see someone post on here that they spent 4 years completing a degree since finding the forum. Surely, someone has taken 4 years because they're doing this part time and have other priorities in life.

I'm probably an irrelevant data point for a variety of reasons, but when I first started at TESC, I was heavily guided by the old sister site to this one. I started my CLEP/DSST journey in 2000, and graduated in fall of 2004 with my BSAST. I transferred in a massive amount of military training to TESC, plus a boat load of exams, and completed the nuclear AOS at the time by taking brick and mortar graduate classes at my local state university, and transferring them back to TESC. It was a convoluted journey, compared to today's options.

For round two at the now-named TESU, I originally came here in 2019. I think I got as far as signing up for one month of SDC and one month of Sophia, but never actually completed any courses. I planned, planned, planned, and planned some more, but didn't enroll until January 2023. Only did one Sophia class that month. But then the light bulb went on this month for some unknown reason, and I blasted through 24 semester hours of the BSBA business core this month. At my current pace, I'll finish the CIS AOS by the end of May, and I'm debating whether I want to keep or drop the second AOS (accounting). So I'm not sure how to measure all that. 

What this particular thread is opening my eyes to is the fact that for a graduate degree, I need to seriously consider my motivation to finish at an accelerated pace vs finding a program that has a flat-rate cost. Even a full year at UMPI or WGU is incredibly affordable, but if I fall off the education wagon for two years, that becomes pretty expensive to finish.

[ss20ts]

What this particular thread is opening my eyes to is the fact that for a graduate degree, I need to seriously consider my motivation to finish at an accelerated pace vs finding a program that has a flat-rate cost. Even a full year at UMPI or WGU is incredibly affordable, but if I fall off the education wagon for two years, that becomes pretty expensive to finish.

One thing i see happen to many students who attempt WGU is that they leave for whatever reason and come back a year, 2, 5 later and their program either doesn't exist anymore or it has completely changed so they're left with basically starting over. They get really discouraged and it doesn't seem like many finish when this happens which is understandable. You may be better off with a grad program that is more structured with deadlines and terms. I did that at Amberton for my MBA and I flew through the program, but I also put in 40+ hours a week on my courses which most people can't do. If I had to do it over, I definitely would have gone slower. It was incredibly stressful to move that quickly.

[ashkir]

Looking back, I do not regret the MAOL from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. I'm sure people who did the MSML from WGU doesn't regret it. It's going to end up boiling down with what program you're more comfortable with. MSML does have some assessments, but, a lot of essay writing. MAOL by UMPI is a bit more hands-on and more research oriented. This research does lead you to get to know your professors and you can have 1:1 zoom chats with them.

With my UMPI BA I was able to skip 3 classes, and graduate in 3 sessions by doing 3 classes per session. This is basically 1 full semester, and a term. I think this is a very obtainable degree at a steady pace. But, you do need to like writing.

[Pancman237]

Looking back, I do not regret the MAOL from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. I'm sure people who did the MSML from WGU doesn't regret it. It's going to end up boiling down with what program you're more comfortable with. MSML does have some assessments, but, a lot of essay writing. MAOL by UMPI is a bit more hands-on and more research oriented. This research does lead you to get to know your professors and you can have 1:1 zoom chats with them.

With my UMPI  BA I was able to skip 3 classes, and graduate in 3 sessions by doing 3 classes per session. This is basically 1 full semester, and a term. I think this is a very obtainable degree at a steady pace. But, you do need to like writing.

Can you share how many pages of papers total for the MAOL? Currently finishing BABA and deciding on MAOL vs WGU. Want to know what I’ll be getting myself into.

[ss20ts]

Looking back, I do not regret the MAOL from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. I'm sure people who did the MSML from WGU doesn't regret it. It's going to end up boiling down with what program you're more comfortable with. MSML does have some assessments, but, a lot of essay writing. MAOL by UMPI is a bit more hands-on and more research oriented. This research does lead you to get to know your professors and you can have 1:1 zoom chats with them.

With my UMPI  BA I was able to skip 3 classes, and graduate in 3 sessions by doing 3 classes per session. This is basically 1 full semester, and a term. I think this is a very obtainable degree at a steady pace. But, you do need to like writing.

Can you share how many pages of papers total for the MAOL? Currently finishing BABA and deciding on MAOL vs WGU. Want to know what I’ll be getting myself into.

There was a thread where ashkir said he wrote over 200 pages for his MAOL. There are no exams in the MAOL at UMPI so no proctors which is not the case at WGU.

[TopHatWombat]

If it boils down to 200 pages in roughly six months, that’s actually not bad. When I write a book, that’s roughly about the pace I work at. If I could do the MAOL and chain the papers together in a logical fashion, then I could probably get another book done!

[ashkir]

If it boils down to 200 pages in roughly six months, that’s actually not bad. When I write a book, that’s roughly about the pace I work at. If I could do the MAOL and chain the papers together in a logical fashion, then I could probably get another book done!

200 pages in a single class!

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Looking back, I do not regret the MAOL from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. I'm sure people who did the MSML from WGU doesn't regret it. It's going to end up boiling down with what program you're more comfortable with. MSML does have some assessments, but, a lot of essay writing. MAOL by UMPI is a bit more hands-on and more research oriented. This research does lead you to get to know your professors and you can have 1:1 zoom chats with them.

With my UMPI  BA I was able to skip 3 classes, and graduate in 3 sessions by doing 3 classes per session. This is basically 1 full semester, and a term. I think this is a very obtainable degree at a steady pace. But, you do need to like writing.

Can you share how many pages of papers total for the MAOL? Currently finishing BABA and deciding on MAOL vs WGU. Want to know what I’ll be getting myself into.

Each class is different. The easiest is the first one. The hardest is the second class (foundations). After that everything is easier. Foundations is basically an entire crash course of an entire 2 years of Bachelors studies in one class. 

The average class had anywhere from 35-45 pages. Foundations having the most. The easiest was probably the capstone, but it was closer to 60 pages

[TopHatWombat]

If it boils down to 200 pages in roughly six months, that’s actually not bad. When I write a book, that’s roughly about the pace I work at. If I could do the MAOL and chain the papers together in a logical fashion, then I could probably get another book done!

200 pages in a single class!

Ouch. That's a very different situation! I'm just going to keep on walking. 

[Infinite-Telephone52]

I completed the WGU MSML in under two months. I chose it because it was the cheapest/easiest option. I don't know too much about the MAOL but from when I researched it it seemed like it was much more work than the WGU MSML.

Hey Sorry off topic but I saw you have the Project Management Certificate from Google and I was wondering if you could share anything about our experience, please? Such as how long it took you and level of difficulty? Thank you!

[ss20ts]

I completed the WGU MSML in under two months. I chose it because it was the cheapest/easiest option. I don't know too much about the MAOL but from when I researched it it seemed like it was much more work than the WGU MSML.

Hey Sorry off topic but I saw you have the Project Management Certificate from Google and I was wondering if you could share anything about our experience, please? Such as how long it took you and level of difficulty? Thank you!

This is a question to ask in a new thread as this is totally off topic. There are several folks on here who have completed the same Google certificate who can also answer your questions. They won't see your questions in this thread.