10-04-2019, 12:25 AM
I am sure people here are not strangers to the subtle (and in other cases not-so-subtle) cheap sales parlor tricks that the over-priced higher education industry has become. Take this semi-brief tangent-prone rant for what you will coming from a jaded Ivy League dropout. I can shatter your illusions about the quality of an Ivy League education (that ultimately led to my flunking and dropping out) but that's another story for another day. After years of cursing the value of higher education, I began doing business internationally where certain visa types I required needed some check-the-box Bachelors degree. So I need a degree. Alas, here I am. Though I think we need to start calling this industry for what it is: a scam, a predatory human rights violation.
Fast forward to WGU, an online university easy to seduce vulnerable working adults. Now, I think it's fair to say that many of us have arrived at WGU and the "Big Three" later. By later I mean, tens of thousands of dollars later when you transfer in your overpriced existing college credits from elsewhere. At this point, we're tired, slightly cynical, and vigilant. We're not interested in being cajoled into paying into a semester-semester system any longer than we have to. The luckiest of us all arrived here sooner rather than later. You don't exactly see websites such as these on billboards or digital ad networks.
I had just around 90 college credits evaluated for WGU in a very compatible program. They approved just under 60 credits of this amount for transfer. Then I got thinking of pivoting my degree program entirely to a tech degree if this was the best I could do. So I did that, now WGU has accepted just under 30 credits out of the original 90. I dug and found about ACE, TESU, and finally this website. Unplugging from this Matrix is complete as it were.
When I was on the phone at WGU with an Enrollment Counselor, the first thing you note is the very subtle condescending shepherd-to-sheep like tone. "I know what's best for you, do this, etc etc." They're playing a numbers game. They don't have to focus on quality education so long as they have this turn-key DIY education system that provides the only commodity that matters to their customer base: the degree and employability (hence the generous tech certs some degrees come with, generous, but in the end still outsourcing the education elsewhere).
The biggest tell was when my Enrollment Counselor flat out asked me when I said I wanted to delay my enrollment and take Saylor Academy courses first: "And why do you want to do that?" (they do have a Transfer Pathways page detailing what they accept and don't accept). Why do we want to do that? This was incredulous at the time. Why? Did he mean: "Why do you want to save money and not cut me a few dollars more in commission?" Add to this, the very asinine and inflexible policy of not allowing you to transfer ANY outside credits after enrollment. And why should they? How many other colleges will accept their "credit units" if you wanted to transfer out? You don't have these options. And they are really hoping you do not find this out before you enroll, but I did. This is entrapment. If they had it their way, they'd keep you on a 12 credit semester-semester hamster wheel doling out the $3000 something tuition every 6 months. I honestly would not be surprised if they limit how many credits you can amass in a single semester going forward.
Everything I've said is reinforced after reviewing BBB complaints and commentary from role model WGU alumni such as Codebueno on YouTube (just finished his WGU CS degree in 6 months and 79 credit units) and Beau Carnes who finished in 6 months and 76 credit units: http://carnes.cc/wgu.html
Beau remarked: "Students have weekly calls with their mentors to help keep them on track. Whenever I shared my goals with my mentor she tried to encourage me to be a little more reasonable. Well, instead of being more reasonable I decided to set more ridiculous goals."
Summary: I didn't enroll at WGU and am not enrolling. I'm going with the big three which I also understand is becoming stricter. I can't honestly say I wouldn't give WGU a go if I didn't have 90 credits or more time. If I only had say 30 college credits or less and more time and went with all the ACE credits people amass here I'd probably still go with WGU but understanding I'd have very little prospects for a good graduate school as I slightly want that door left open. I just frankly have no patience left for institutions that will not recognize what I already spent thousands of dollars for. Rant end.
Fast forward to WGU, an online university easy to seduce vulnerable working adults. Now, I think it's fair to say that many of us have arrived at WGU and the "Big Three" later. By later I mean, tens of thousands of dollars later when you transfer in your overpriced existing college credits from elsewhere. At this point, we're tired, slightly cynical, and vigilant. We're not interested in being cajoled into paying into a semester-semester system any longer than we have to. The luckiest of us all arrived here sooner rather than later. You don't exactly see websites such as these on billboards or digital ad networks.
I had just around 90 college credits evaluated for WGU in a very compatible program. They approved just under 60 credits of this amount for transfer. Then I got thinking of pivoting my degree program entirely to a tech degree if this was the best I could do. So I did that, now WGU has accepted just under 30 credits out of the original 90. I dug and found about ACE, TESU, and finally this website. Unplugging from this Matrix is complete as it were.
When I was on the phone at WGU with an Enrollment Counselor, the first thing you note is the very subtle condescending shepherd-to-sheep like tone. "I know what's best for you, do this, etc etc." They're playing a numbers game. They don't have to focus on quality education so long as they have this turn-key DIY education system that provides the only commodity that matters to their customer base: the degree and employability (hence the generous tech certs some degrees come with, generous, but in the end still outsourcing the education elsewhere).
The biggest tell was when my Enrollment Counselor flat out asked me when I said I wanted to delay my enrollment and take Saylor Academy courses first: "And why do you want to do that?" (they do have a Transfer Pathways page detailing what they accept and don't accept). Why do we want to do that? This was incredulous at the time. Why? Did he mean: "Why do you want to save money and not cut me a few dollars more in commission?" Add to this, the very asinine and inflexible policy of not allowing you to transfer ANY outside credits after enrollment. And why should they? How many other colleges will accept their "credit units" if you wanted to transfer out? You don't have these options. And they are really hoping you do not find this out before you enroll, but I did. This is entrapment. If they had it their way, they'd keep you on a 12 credit semester-semester hamster wheel doling out the $3000 something tuition every 6 months. I honestly would not be surprised if they limit how many credits you can amass in a single semester going forward.
Everything I've said is reinforced after reviewing BBB complaints and commentary from role model WGU alumni such as Codebueno on YouTube (just finished his WGU CS degree in 6 months and 79 credit units) and Beau Carnes who finished in 6 months and 76 credit units: http://carnes.cc/wgu.html
Beau remarked: "Students have weekly calls with their mentors to help keep them on track. Whenever I shared my goals with my mentor she tried to encourage me to be a little more reasonable. Well, instead of being more reasonable I decided to set more ridiculous goals."
Summary: I didn't enroll at WGU and am not enrolling. I'm going with the big three which I also understand is becoming stricter. I can't honestly say I wouldn't give WGU a go if I didn't have 90 credits or more time. If I only had say 30 college credits or less and more time and went with all the ACE credits people amass here I'd probably still go with WGU but understanding I'd have very little prospects for a good graduate school as I slightly want that door left open. I just frankly have no patience left for institutions that will not recognize what I already spent thousands of dollars for. Rant end.
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