I’m 34 and tried to do my bachelor’s twice, but I dropped out both times because of finances. Thankfully, that never hurt my career. I have 11 years of operations experience in aviation and logistics, but something was always missing, and I wanted that degree.
I found out about WGU on Reddit in February 2026. After some quick research, I realized Sophia was the way to start. I had 9 courses from previous university studies, but since they were all general ed, I didn’t want to pay for a third-party course-by-course evaluation. I only had my high school transcript evaluated, and I went with Sophia for the rest to save time and money. In total, I completed 36 courses for my Bachelor of Science in Business Management, 7 of them through Sophia.
A note for Canadians: I’m Canadian and live in Ontario, and WGU accepted my enrollment application without a hassle. I received my Owl’s Nest rewards promptly, and the whole process was no different from a U.S. citizen’s. I did read that Newfoundland and Labrador is excluded, but I had no issues in Ontario. Canadians are also restricted to non-clinical degrees. WGU is listed and approved by the Canada Revenue Agency, so you can claim your tuition for the tax credit just as you would at a Canadian university. I used Ucredo for my high school transcript evaluation and recommend it. It’s on WGU’s approved list and accepts digital copies, which saves you the mail time.
I was on parental leave, which in Canada is 35 weeks and job-protected. Mine started in December, 2025. In March, I gave my employer notice that I wouldn’t be coming back because the job was too stressful. I decided to use that time to study and look for a new job, and I ended my leave early when I found one in June.
My timeline:
• February: I found out about WGU and started researching.
• March: I completed 20% of the degree on Sophia in one month (7 courses). I was able to finish Project Management before the deadline, because as of April 1st WGU restricts Sophia credit transfers to general education and lower-division courses. When Sophia emailed me about the WGU update, I transferred the 7 courses and committed to a May 1st start date.
• May: 8 courses.
• June: I found a good job and ended my parental leave early, so I only managed 1 course that month.
• July: 5 courses.
• August: 6 courses.
• September: 7 courses.
• October: C721 and QGT1 (Capstone). I officially graduated on October 15th, 2026, finishing the degree in one term with 16 days to spare.
I earned 2 Excellence Awards (D268 and C717) and had to revise 3 PA's across the whole degree.
From June on, I did this with an infant and a toddler at home, an extremely supportive wife, and a 40-50 hour work week. The courses can be done quickly, but my experience helped a lot. It’s a Business Management degree, and I already knew 60-70% of what I studied, which is why I was able to accelerate. But if you think this is a walk in the park, you’re mistaken. You’ll still do the same work you would at any other university. The difference is that if you want to move fast, WGU lets you. That’s why I love WGU.
My mentor was nothing short of AWESOME! We spoke on the phone once, and after I started my new job we kept in touch by email. She kept me going and motivated when I was burnt out. You’d think they would want you to take longer so they profit more, but they actually encourage you to keep going. When my mentor was away, Tier 1 Support was prompt and responsive when I emailed them. I also opened an IT ticket, and they handled it great too.
Reddit was my biggest help. Just Google the course code plus “Reddit.” I guarantee you’ll find a hero who posted an exact map with all the details on how to pass that course. The best advice I read there for anyone who wants to accelerate: if you think you’re 80% ready, take the OA.
D080: Easier than Reddit makes it seem. I actually loved it, and it gave me a new perspective on the world economy and politics. Of all the courses, it’s the one I learned the most from. It took me 5 days, and the OA took 40 minutes.
D099: From what I’ve read, this course scares a lot of people, but I found it even easier than D080. It’s a knowledge checkpoint for the whole degree. It covers everything, and most of the questions are the same ones you saw in the courses earlier in the degree plan.
D388: Reddit made this one sound easier than it was for me. The OA is administered in Excel, and I absolutely hated this course. It caused me mental pain. It was also the longest OA at 2 hours. I use Excel daily, but never at that level, so maybe it’s just me.
C483: This was the closest I came to failing. I was cocky after what I’d read on Reddit, and I barely passed. It scared the hell out of me and gave me a reality check. Maybe that’s why I didn’t fail any OA.
The rest of my OAs only took me 25-30 minutes each.
Proctoring: The experience was OK overall. My camera couldn’t scan my ID (too blurry), so each time I had to take a picture with my phone and show it. I also had a technical issue after the exam login once and had to wait 40 minutes. There were no weird requests about camera positioning and no comments about minor movement.
WGU is an AMAZING university, and my whole experience was great. Honestly, I can’t think of anything bad to say about it. It will forever be in my heart because it gave me the thing I wanted most. Third time’s the charm, I guess, lol.
The next commencement is at the beginning of November, so I won’t be able to make it to that one. I’m waiting for the 2027 dates to be released, hopefully this month, to decide which one to go to. I’m definitely walking, baby!
I haven’t received my certificate yet, but I couldn’t let this moment pass without thanking this community. The people here, and the strangers who took the time to write up their experiences, made this possible for me. I’m truly grateful.
To anyone considering WGU: DO IT!
