Capella vs WGU - cheapest, faster router towards an MBA in Health M

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by Leslie2828, Oct 24, 2019.

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  1. Leslie2828

    Leslie2828 New Member

    Hello. Just wanting to decide which of the two schools would beat suite me? Or are there any other schools that can save me more money and be able to complete it quicker if put in the time and effort?

    I’m just fighting an illness as of the moment and didn’t want to put aside my personal goals. Thank you everyone.
     
  2. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    The following comments are based, not on personal experience, but on several years of research.

    If you complete in 1 semester (6 months), WGU is the least expensive that I have ever seen for an RA MBA, but it comes with a number of asterisks and caveats: most people, most of the time will absolutely NOT be able to do this, but some can and have. If you extend your studies to 2 semesters, you will set yourself a more reasonable goal for yourself, but it will double the cost and lead you closer to the cost of some other schools that are not self-paced and much closer in structure to traditional brick and mortar programs.

    Given the self-paced nature of competency based programs, you won't find anything faster. The main challenge is making sure that you know what you're getting into. Unless you go into the program with extensive knowledge and experience, you're not going to be able to short-cut your way to a degree. You WILL have to learn, and/or demonstrate your learning of everything that just about everyone else who completes just about any other MBA at just about any other college will have to learn and demonstrate. You will just have to do it faster. Much faster.

    Not impossible, by any means, but you have to start such a course of action with the expectation that you are doing something that not just a minority of people, but a minority of exceptionally smart and dedicated people have done.

    Yes, you CAN do it. However, if you did, you'd be doing something hardly anyone else could do.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2019
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  3. Leslie2828

    Leslie2828 New Member

    Thank you so much for this info! Is capella a good option too since it’s also competency based???

    mans how does fafsa work? Will it cover all cost if my income is low?
     
  4. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    The only thing you'll qualify for, assuming you're a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen, is federal unsubsidized loans. It doesn't matter if your income is low or high, you will qualify for up to $20, 500 per year and $138.5k max.
     
  5. Leslie2828

    Leslie2828 New Member


    So it’s not like grants costing 5k from community colleges but just loans?

    Capella seems to be flexible than WGU right? No rest but assessments through writing whereas WGY has exams and quizzes and group work???
     
  6. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Graduate students do not get any type of grant from the federal government. You are only eligible for loans.
     
  7. Leslie2828

    Leslie2828 New Member

    I see. Thanks for this info. Makes sense.

    do you suggest WGU OR CAPELLA if I rent to be independent and want to do all the work myself and less peer to peer communication... I heard capella does not have exams in the end of each course but assessments?
    Pricing difference of WGU and Capella ——- if I chose the flex path from Capella, it would be a few thousands more??
     
  8. Maxwell_Smart

    Maxwell_Smart Active Member

    Personally, I would choose WGU, but you have to look at what both programs offer you and how they serve students and make a decision based on that. But going in, as MC pointed to, be careful of the "I finished in 45 days!" kind of hype with WGU or any other place. Those results are atypical. That doesn't mean you can't finish faster than a traditional program would allow, just temper your expectations.
     
  9. AlK11

    AlK11 Active Member

    What do you find so attractive about WGU and Capella? It sounds like you're trying to finish as fast as you can for as cheap as you can. While both of these options give you that, as mentioned above, it is only possible for a select few people. Capella even states that it's MBA can be finished in 12 months and for $11K using their flex path. However, if you look at the fine print it says that is true for only the top 10% of students. So 90% finish in more than 12 months and pay more than $11K. Have you looked at more traditional schools? In the MBA world there are countless online programs and many of them are designed to be completed in 12-18 months.

    For example, I quickly looked at the FHSU MBA. It is 34 credits and costs $13.6K. If you take 3 classes per term, you can finish in a little over a year. Take a fourth class and you'll finish in a year. With this kind of program you know what you're getting. You need to take these classes at these times and if you do, you'll graduate by this date and for this price. With the programs you mentioned, you really have no idea how long it will take or what it will cost when you start.
     
  10. Leslie2828

    Leslie2828 New Member

    its for personal reasons due to my health. I just want something faster and something I can afford. Again, it's due to health reasons which I am embarrassed share about.

    WGU has more peer to peer vs Capella right?
     
  11. AlK11

    AlK11 Active Member

    I don't know anything about peer to peer or group work or tests or papers when it comes to these schools. However, for the reasons I gave above, I would not pick either of these. Like I said, you might end up spending more money and have it take longer at WGU or Capella than at one of the hundreds of other MBA programs out there.
     
  12. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    I prefer online programs that are offered by traditional brick and mortar schools. However, I can't tell you which to choose. Ultimately it's your decision to make. All the best!
     
  13. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    Bravo. As I have written here on DI at least a few hundred times, the phrase online university is an oxymoron. Both WGU and Capella are so-called online universities. The only difference is that WGU is non-profit and comes from an excellent pedigree in the form of being conceptualized by several state governors. Capella is just another for-profit university, and as I have also written numerous times, for-profits are the spawn of Satan and whores of Babylon. (Drama – I love it!) :D

    I am not, by any means, a fan of online degrees at all. (Yeah, yeah – call me old fashioned.) But if I were going to go for one, I’d choose one offered by a traditional brick-and-mortar school, preferably one close enough to my geographic area that I could bop onto the campus occasionally to at least tour the library and buy a t-shirt. Yes, it’s all perception, but the question is that when you tell someone the name of your alma mater, what image, if any, comes to their mind?

    To me, even as a student, it meant a lot to be able to associate a face to a name. When I did my B.A. at Thomas Edison, I actually showed up there on an occasional basis to meet with my B.A. advisor, my portfolio advisors, and my T&A (testing and assessment) advisor. More important, when I called them on the phone, I could associate their name with a face, and they could do the same with me. I never had a complaint about then-TESC, and one of the reasons for that was the personal contact I maintained with the folks in power.

    I laugh when I hear someone in an online program talk about their “professors.” Bullshit – the person you are calling your professor is (1) probably an adjunct who has never even been to the school's campus (if they even have a campus), (2) someone about whom you have no idea what he she looks like, nor vice versa, and (3) does not engage in creative teaching but simply grades your papers and tests. Like I said, call me old fashioned.

    All that said, FWIW, if I were back in human resources, if I had two résumés before me, one of which said WGU and the other Capella, I would intrinsically lean toward the WGU résumé, strictly on the basis of it not being a for-profit. Artificial standard? As Sarah Palin would say, you betcha. But that’s your reality check. There are people out there that have preconceived notions, like me, giving people like you a reality check. (On the other hand, when I was a personnel director I used to favor Bob Jones graduates, despite knowing about their lack of accreditation at the time and their sordid history on race issues. I held them in high academic regard nonetheless, and found some excellent job candidates with BJ degrees. And I figured that if they could deal with the shit that comes along with being a BJ grad, that was a good indication of their abilities to deal with other shit they would encounter.)

    So, your choice is between WGU and Capella? If they were truly the only two options, I’d go with WGU. But you can do whichever you ultimately prefer- I will laugh at you either way. :rolleyes:
     
  14. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    I second Steve's open advice - "So, your choice is between WGU and Capella? If they were truly the only two options, I’d go with WGU." And I would throw a few more into your options, such as Walden's Tempo Learning MBA with a Healthcare Management Concentration and also the Purdue Global Exceltrak MBA - this is a general masters of business admin, but if you already have say a BSBA Healthcare Management or something similar, it should work for you. BTW, what did you major in during your undergrad years? Did you take nursing or something different? What is your final goal with the degree you're looking at?
     
  15. felderga

    felderga Active Member

    If you do decide to look elsewhere and want an online degree from a brick and mortar I would suggest LSU Shreveport which has both a MBA and MHA programs online that hold AASCB accreditation that can be had for under $15K. If you don't care about accreditation and are strictly doing this for self fulfillment and checking the box Columbia Southern might not be a bad alternative. It is however nationally accredited but offers self based learning with mostly few exams (just papers). I did as a second masters and a check the box continue education exercise. Price is right as it's under $12K.

    Unlike some on this board I don't look down on for-profits because not everyone can take time out to sit in a brick and mortar classroom or has the funds to pay for the best online programs offered by top universities. Also WGU, Cappella, UOP and Walden have many corporate partners that pay for their employees to take courses at these schools so it's hogwash to say your degree would be a waste. Best of luck with your decision and wishing you the best with your health.
     
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