I dropped out and became an engineer at almost the exact same time. I've thought about going back for a degree but I was always so horribly bad at school that it's scared me off. I was bad at it mainly for undiagnosed ADHD reasons that I'm now getting successfully treated, but I'm still worried that if I went back the same things would just happen again. I'd join a class, I'd already kind of know what they're teaching (or think I did), I'd get bored and be unable to pay attention, I'd suddenly find myself MASSIVELY behind.
I really hope this isn't just an ad or something because I'd really love if there was a decent way for me to get a degree without having to go back to a college campus at 35
I dropped out of school for adhd reasons and after getting treatment I went back and finished my last couple semesters (and wrote a novel, that first year on vyvanse was insanely productive). I found it a lot easier to engage with the work and pay attention long enough to take notes in class.
I was skeptical when I first started treatment because I've internalized the whole "You don't have ADHD you're just lazy" thing for literally my entire life, and then imagine my surprise that the medicine designed specifically to make my brain work, actually makes my brain work!
I still get feelings of skepticism that it actually does anything every once in a while. Despite the overwhelming evidence from my wife, my coworkers, and my life in general that it absolutely does.
WGU is a real and legit, and probably one of the top things I would consider if needed to get a bachelors degree while working as a now middle aged adult.
I'm not sure I'd call it legit. As someone who hiring for low-to-mid level IT roles the caliber of WGU students vs. real brick and mortar schools is vast, like vast.
There are edge cases, but if you didn't have the grades and SATs to do real college you're not going to be competitive in this market. I'd take a WGU grad but would put that degree under a VA Tech, RPI, UC Davis, etc. for sure, and way under Stanford or MIT (or Cambridge, or one of the better IIT campuses, etc.).
Honestly this whole thread seems like submarine ads
I don't really know any other WGU graduates in person, so it's hard for me to say the quality of student is "worse" and than anywhere else.
Obviously I am biased, but I don't think I'm appreciably dumber than the average student who went to a brick and mortar school, but admittedly I'm a pretty weird dude who did use WGU as a "rubber stamp" school for me. I finished quickly, though I don't feel like the work was "easier" than when I was learning shit at Florida State, outside of me being a decade more experienced in it.
I'll agree there's definitely selection-bias with WGU for students who underperformed in high school, which can translate to poor work performance. Hell, I underperformed in high school due to at the time undiagnosed Major Depressive Disorder, so I am grateful for something like WGU existing.
It's tough to say. I think if you're in a position like I was, WGU is fine. It is there to demonstrate that you have a Bachelor's worth of CS knowledge; if I were 18 again and had had medication for depression, I would probably apply to some of the nicer public UK schools (e.g. University of York, Manchester, etc.), if I'm being honest, but until someone invents a time machine I'm stuck with the world as it is, not how I want it to be.
I really hope this isn't just an ad or something because I'd really love if there was a decent way for me to get a degree without having to go back to a college campus at 35