Undergrad Level Course Vs Grad Level Course - Opinions Needed

As I wrap up my BS from Excelsior, one of the final courses I need to take is a Research and Writing course. The standard course for this is a 1 credit undergrad course that is 8 weeks long. Excelsior also offers the option of taking their Grad level R&W course to fullfil this requirement, which is also 8 weeks long, but worth 3 Grad level credits.

Aside from price ($250 for the undergrad vrs $1275 for the grad) there are a few big differences workload-wise. The culmination of the undergrad course is an 8 page research paper. The grad level course requires two 5-7 page papers, a 7-10 page paper, and a 10-13 page paper.

In the past, I haven't had a trouble with writing, creating the outline, and getting the general ducks in a row, itself, BUT I have AADD, which usually got me about 1/2 way through my term paper assignments in high school and (when I first tried) college. I would peter out, get bored, and went and did something else. I've gotten help with the AADD, but I'm looking at the Grad Level course requirements and feeling a little overwhelmed by the idea of that much work in that little time period.

Once I finish my BS, I plan on going to Grad School, there's no doubts there. And from the dicussions on this forum as far as Masters programs, I understand its not going to be a walk in the park, and that I'll have to work my tail off to get through the courses.

I'm soliciting opinions on the following -

• Is this level of work normal in the Grad level course environment?
• Should I take the 1 credit class and ease into the subject, or should I take the Grad Level course to find whether I'll sink or swim? I'm assuming EC will allow me to take the ug course if I bomb the grad course to fulfill the requirement.

Not only is this something I need to finish this BS degree, finally, after 20 years of fruiting around, its also something I need as I try to transition out of my current field. The Masters is going to be necessary for this as well.

I know the Grad Level course would help prepare me for the level of work (and hopefully quality of writing) that I'll need to get through the Masters degree, but the undergrad course would save me a lot of time and would be easy enough to just knock out to get the degree done, so I can move on.

Thanks for your suggestions.
-T

 

Well, it seems like the difference between you and a graduate student is one credit. There is really no huge difference between a beginning graduate student and a undergraduate senior in terms of their skill levels. It's not like upon graduation, you'll suddenly wake up and be twice as smart as before graduation (even though people sure behave like it...).

So, I'm sure you could do it. HOWEVER: There is a good chance the grad course will be a lot more challenging in terms of content. In graduate school, you are expected to actually do research and write well - in undergrad, they are happy if you can spell your name. So, yes, the class will be significantly harder, and you might want to wait until you are actually studying for your master's degree. Why spoil your final yards to your BS with something you dread?

Btw, how is Excelsior allowing you to take graduate-level courses before you are actually a grad student?

 

This was actually the main reason I was looking at taking the Grad Level course, to have advanced preparation for the level of writing that will be required for grad school. The question I guess, is how much of an edge with the course actually give me over the undergrad version of it?

I've seen quite a few schools where undergrad seniors with a short list of requirements until they graduate are allowed to take grad level courses. But this course is mentioned specifically as an option for the student on page 21-22 of the LA catalog at EC.

 

In the Regis University MBA program I went through it was normal to write and submit a 10-page (or more) research paper each week.

I've heard most grad programs aren't this bad but I have no way to verify it from personal experience.

 

I just enrolled in Andrew Jackson's MPA and just the first lesson for my Managerial Communications class was over 10 pages of writing. It included a case analysis and another assignment on identifying your communications style. So in my limited experience I would say it is normal for a grad class to have that type of workload.

 

I think the work involved depends on the degree - for my two technically oriented graduate degrees much of the work was just solving math problems -sometimes only an hour or so per week - mostly I did the work in my lunch hour.

The graduate thesis/project courses took the most effort - for one it took me about 3 months from start to finish and for the other it took about a year and involved several trips to the UK to conduct research at several museums, libraries, and records offices.

 

Why would you pay EC over $1000 just to see if you sink or swim? It's highly likely that this grad class will not transfer anywhere else- I have read multiple transfer policies that state no transfer for grad credit used inside a completed undergrad degree.
Get the degree- take the one credit class and move on! Enroll in grad school. Save your money for your degree.

PS I took a grad class for fun too. It wasn't in a field I would do for a career, just for me. Well, it was my first time, and guess what I concluded? Grad school is too much work for it not to count for something.