Does anyone ever check your GPA?

Mine was far from easy, by the way.

 

I had a guy working for me that was about as smart as a box of hammers. One day, we were talking about degrees at lunch and he told me he had a 4.0 from the University of Phoenix. Maybe he was a great test taker or maybe he did really well in his classes and worked hard but to get a 4.0 in 120 undergrad credits is pretty difficult and just made me question the rigor of the school. Had he told me he had a 3.78 or something, it wouldn't have sent up as large of a red flag.

I don't even have a 4.0 at AMU. I have one A- so far but I'm perfectly OK with it for similiar reasons. I'd rather tell people I have a 3.8 something and graduated with honors as opposed to a 4.0 from a school no one has heard of. Regardless, a high GPA a tenth or two off of a 4.0 isn't going to matter anyways.

 

Was he possibly a liar?

 

I somewhat jokingly called shenanigans on him and he brought me a copy of his transcript. Granted, it wasn't sealed but he already had the job and he didn't have a need to fake it. I guess he could have gone through the trouble. It was really a 4.0. An A in every single course.

Ever since then I've been leery of UoP. My experience, along with the occasional stories I hear about "pay for fees, get your B's" and the constant bombardment of advertisements on the internet help contributed to my feelings. It might be a good (but expensive school) but I think I'd steer people to other options just because of cost and the shadow of doubt.

 

I earned a 3.2 on my BA and so when it came time for my master's I worked dililgently to get a 4.0 to increase my opportunity for admission to a doc program. However, in the interview for doc programs, they mostly verified that I met the minimum standard and looked more at writing samples and test scores. There were not really concerned about GPA. When I did my doc I negotiated a B for my first course and never looked back. No one has ever been interested in GPA at any level for employment. They were not very interested for graduate school except to make sure I met the minimum stndard for admission.

 

As my dad used to say: "You gots your book smarts and then you gots your smart smarts." I suppose that getting "A's" in a program doesn't necessarily make you useful in the real world.

 

That has been my experience, as well.

 

Your reasoning makes sense to me. Students tend to raise their performance up to whatever level the instructor requires. The bar can be too high or too low. A narcissistic instructor or insufficiently-trained instructor may set the bar too high. An inexperienced instructor may set the bar too low. However, students who are always trying to jump over the bar no matter how high seem personality disordered, IMHO; I mean, what is the point of freaking out over a grade if you have mastered the material and the instructor can't detect that? Just move on...

 

I agree, and I went there and got a 3.62. And I worked for my 3.62. Unfortunately back when I did mine there weren't near the options then that there are now.

 

I'm interested to know why UoP is always said to be very expensive when there are more expensive schools out there that I don't hear anyone complain about. Capella and Walden are both more expensive, in my experience, yet I always hear of UoP as "really expensive". Why doesn't anyone ever complain about Capella? Or have I just missed those complaints? Or is it a quality issue?

 

I think it's a issue of which one more people have heard of. I know of many people that fall pray to UoP marketing when they are looking for a program because they don't know of cheaper schools. Yes, there might be more expensive schools but there are also lots of cheaper schools than UoP. Many people that hear of UoP on TV and call them have no idea of where UoP pricing fits into the larger picture. They end up taking out large loans for school because that's "what you are supposed to do" to pay for college.

 

Could be subjective. To an obsessively frugal person like myself, UofP is laugh-out-loud expensive. I would NEVER consider them for even a second at that price. I could, of course, say the same thing about Capella, Walden, AIU and frankly about 99% of colleges in this country whether DL or B&M.

I look at UofP as being the equivalent to AOL dial-up internet. It's not the best program, and it's not the best price. It is perfect for some people, but definitely not for anywhere near as many people who hand them money. This could probably be where the expense backlash comes from. Not that they are the most expensive, but that not so many people have any real need to spend THAT much for THAT program. Just a guess

 

Oliver: I look at UofP as being the equivalent to AOL dial-up internet

Bravo! I love the comparison.

Did you know many people who have perfectly good broadband connections continue to pay $20/mo for AOL on top of it? My wife's mom and an uncounted multitude of my costumers over 40 years old. They don't understand the concept of an ISP they think of broadband as an upgrade to an existing service.

....

Sorry for the off-topic, just a fun (or depressing?) fact I thought I'd mention.
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Sorry, I just realized this thread had died a long time ago and there was no reason to bring it back. I was just reading old stuff and forgot that it was not recent. My apologies. Double fail.

 

It's Ok, the thread is not that old. I actually signed up at UoP for their EdD program and, for the same reasons you mention, decided to bail. I like what one person said "UoP is sort of a McDoctorate"

 

Oh my gosh! You're not kidding. A PhD in hamburgers? That beats the PhD in Beatlemania!

 

LOL Dr. Burger! I hear his classes really sizzle.

 

>>

I thought AOL was free now? I have had an aol email as my primary email addy for a long time, around 15 years- and it's been free for a really really long time. Maybe they are paying for something else? *I used to pay too.

 

I remember using AOL for $24 a month and would sometimes get connection speeds of only 24K even though I had a 56K modem. Now I pay $18 a month for DSL and get around 1.3Mbs. It's amazing how technology improves and becomes cheaper at the same time.