My WGU M.Ed journey

[Ideas]

I believe their M.Ed in Instructional Design is the grad program I'm going to be doing first. Although I'm not 100% committed yet, I am close. I would work really hard so I can finish in 6 months.

I'd love to begin the enrollment process without starting the 6 month clock, if that's possible. I haven't looked into this, and hopefully someone will reply with the answer. (I cannot start the 6 months until late May, at the earliest, but I'd like to have enrolled status if there's a way.)

I saw a free application coupon pop up recently, but I'm not sure if that was at the end of Feb or this month.

I don't like that WGU has an enrollment interview for 20-30 minutes, but I'll manage. Otherwise they seem to require basically nothing.

It wasn't part of my decision, but since WGU has financial aid is available, I'm probably going to use it. I also will probably apply for scholarships, unless that's going to delay things much.

So I guess I would be trying to graduate in Jan 2019.

Copying from my other thread:

Oh WOW, just realized the two M.Ed programs at WGU don't need prior licensure, and can be done for $3200 in 6 months! Of course they don't have "Health Ed" like I want, but I'm leaning toward this as my first grad program. One says there are some in-classroom parts, the other doesn't seem to have those. It's in Instructional Design which I would find both interesting and I'd guess it would be somewhat on the easier side for me.

Ok, I also looked at the WGU scholarships somewhat, and remembered someone's post from a while ago about the scholarships. So maybe I'd get $500 or more off the posted rate. I think there may be multiple that I can apply for. I don't think I can pass this up. I also really like how WGU posts the information and is so organized, etc. I just can't help but like the school a lot. That and their low rates. But other schools make you chase after the information, and it doesn't make you feel like committing to their program. I really feel that I am going to attend WGU at some point, if not now, but it's looking great for me right now.

In fact I wonder about getting the MBA after the M.Ed if I indeed get scholarship money. But I don't have to decide on that yet. Hopefully by then there will be some new grad certs I like.

I think this is the obvious right choice for now, but I will give it a week or so to see if I get any other input or come up with something else.

[Ideas]

I'm really thinking of starting this week of May 13th, even though I'm trying to do courses toward the BA-CS and an English course or two. Mid-May seems like very good time to start, because then I'd finish before the Thanksgiving break and the time of year where instructors are tired and busy. It seems less good to have that time of year be part of the 6 months.

Also I'd be done before the Fall computer courses started getting harder (the final month of the courses). If I felt too pressed for time, I would do less toward the BA. (And, of course, worst case I could pay WGU for one more term, but I feel that's a big penalty if I needed only 1-2 more months.)

It looks like there's a scholarship which would have to be applied for this month, or I miss that one. I wonder how it works. If I apply at the end of this month, is that too early? Given that I don't want my 6 month clock to start until mid-May. They seem to have such tight deadlines for some of that. It looks like you have to enroll and speak with the enrollment counselor within 5 days of applying for the general scholarship, and then there are only 5 days to finish your scholarship applications. But for one of the scholarship applications, I'd like to have more time to prepare, so I don't know if I should forget about that one that's expiring this month. I'm thinking that the other one, if I have time to prepare, gives me a better chance.

I plan to learn a lot about WGU next week.

[quigongene]

WGU starts terms on the first of the month, so you'd be shooting for 6/1.

[Ideas]

WGU starts terms on the first of the month, so you'd be shooting for 6/1.

Thanks. With a 6/1 start, I would be running into right into Thanksgiving. So tentatively, I'm aiming for 5/1.

The degree has 12 courses plus capstone capstone. That means an average of 2 weeks per course (since a month has more than 4 weeks). Three of the courses are "foundations of" and I think I would already know a bunch of the material in each of those courses. I would aim to complete the foundations courses in 1 week each so that I have an extra 3 weeks toward the capstone and so I have sick days, etc. In the beginning of May, I have 4 days that I'm busy with other things so I'm already "starting out behind". But I feel the foundations courses will let me get ahead.

[Ideas]

I'm really looking forward to working on this degree I wish I could start sooner, but May will come soon enough. I think I'm applying in 10-20 days.

[rlw74]

You'll have to keep us updated. One class a week - wow! Is that typical of grad school classes? I feel like I'm flying through mine at 4-5 weeks each. My courses average around 160 hours each, so that's 4 weeks of full-time study. And when there are assignments like watching 40 hours of lectures and a textbook of 1100+ pages, I feel accomplished just to get through those! If WGU is that fast I may consider them for a second degree. (Actually, I already was anyway). I'm just wondering if the 6 month timelines are really doable. I would be interested to hear others experiences.

[Ideas]

You'll have to keep us updated. One class a week - wow! Is that typical of grad school classes? I feel like I'm flying through mine at 4-5 weeks each. My courses average around 160 hours each, so that's 4 weeks of full-time study. And when there are assignments like watching 40 hours of lectures and a textbook of 1100+ pages, I feel accomplished just to get through those! If WGU is that fast I may consider them for a second degree. (Actually, I already was anyway). I'm just wondering if the 6 month timelines are really doable. I would be interested to hear others experiences.

Well, I'm estimating 2 weeks per class, except for Foundations classes where I know more. Big difference from sustaining 1 week per class versus only doing it for the easiest 3 

And I feel I have some pre-existing knowledge in most of the other classes. I'm allowing extra time for the hardest few classes where I don't, or where somehow the material is more challenging to me.

It seems like many are doing the MBA in 6 months. That doesn't mean everyone can of course. Plenty of students need an extra term even if they were to dedicate 40 hours a week. 

I don't have things that other people have like kids or a full-time job.

Although some/most of the people going this fast are ones who have prior knowledge. Usually from working in the field. Personally, I think those with work experience often don't know the definitions, history, etc but at they have a framework. 

I assume I could do a degree faster than most people. I still believe it would be challenging for me, or I hope so because it means I'm learning more. But looking at the syllabus, I wish I could replace some of the courses with others that seem more challenging to me. It's hard to tell how much of the material I already know, but I think my general familiarity will help.

I can speed read. I can also retain info pretty well unless it's just facts. (Hard to remember names and dates, but I can remember concepts and usually terminology.) I'm also good at writing papers, doing research, and test taking.

I feel the education degree will be somewhat easier than the business degree. I hear an ID (ISD) degree has so much connection to psychology since it's about learning/memory/etc. For a long time I was sure that my undergrad would be in psychology and even though I'll probably never get that degree, I believe I know roughly the amount that someone knows when they have the Bachelor's in psychology. 

Also, this degree at WGU seems to have 4 classes on research and I feel like those could be easier for me. The 4 classes on evaluation seem to have similarities to the research classes - data collection from students, etc. I think this ties into knowledge I have from science research classes.

And, at WGU I might find it easier to avoid overstudying due to their lack of GPA. Overstudying is a main thing that slows me down. Not that it matters how fast I go, as long as I do it within 6 months. But it matters a little since I want to have some time left for some freelancing.

[Ideas]

I would prefer to graduate WGU in early 2019, so that it's not the same year that I start. And so it's not the same year that I graduated with the BSBA and ASNSM and got some other credits/certification/etc. It seems like an insignificant reason, but I already have some things that HR will wonder about, so I don't need more. I think it's suspicious to get AS+BS+Masters in one year.

On the other hand, I want the degree started as soon as possible. I was even considering trying to start April 1st (but shouldn't), because I'm probably going to do a lot less of my TESU plans. I have some other commitments for April, but I think just being enrolled in the M.Ed can help me get some volunteer and freelance work.

I've been trying to find a grad certificate that would help my career that I could knock out first, during the summer semester, or at least do 2-3 courses toward. That would give me another reason to delay starting the WGU Masters, without feeling like I was wasting the time. However, I haven't found any certificates that I feel are very worthwhile and applicable to my career plans.

[Ideas]

There's a good chance I'm going to go in another direction. It's difficult to decide, because this WGU degree is applicable to my future career, cheap, and quick. It's also easy to apply to, and starts soon after. It's so tempting, and maybe I'll do it.

But I'm thinking of doing "the hard route" instead, because I would be happier with the end result. It's much more expensive, not self-paced, harder to apply to, takes longer, and requires waiting for a semester to start. It would only take about 9-12 months though, which is reasonable, but I might have to wait 1-4 months to start. WGU is only 6 months.

If I go for the WGU degree, I think I'll end up doing more degrees in the end, so the WGU degree might be sort of a detour in the end. I feel like I'll end up putting in more effort/time in the end, and just as much money or more. I feel like I would end up repeating some classes since schools don't take many grad credits in transfer. I feel like the "hard route" is much better overall, in the long-run because I can have fewer degrees but be as happy, or more happy with the degrees I have.

However, I have specific goals I want to reach in 1-2 years. I feel less certain I'll make those goals on time with "the hard route". Or in other words, the best part about WGU is I would have a Masters soon (I think I could still complete it in 2018 if I start June 1 or May 1), which might help me get certain opportunities in Fall 2018, Winter 2019, and Spring 2019.

I wish I could find another option, but I've looked so much.