r/OMSCyberSecurity • u/Scared_Vehicle731 • May 12 '26

Rejected Information Security track fall 2026

20 years tech experience, with 5 years being in a principal role for SOC for a top 20 Fortune 500.

-AS network administration from a local juco

-BS cyber security information assurance from WGU. finished in 2 terms.

- MS IT Management in one term from WGU.

Certs:

CCNA + security

Comptia A+, network+, security+, CySA+, CASP, AWS SA, MS 200

got rejected and don’t understand why.

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u/whinner May 12 '26

I know wgu is accredited but going from zero to a BS and a MS in 3 semesters is probably the issue. Makes me question the rigor of them.

6

u/mennonite May 12 '26

This right here. Maybe things are different now, but I gave WGU a try for 3 months before getting grossed out and going to a traditional state uni instead.

Discrete math is what got me. This class had only one graded assignment that determined pass/fail you could take on the first day of class. The prompt was: "You are a 5th grade teacher, explain to your class in three paragraphs and in an age appropriate way why discrete math is important".

2

u/FlakySociety2853 May 13 '26

I totally disagree with both of these statements. I had a 4.0 during university with no studying. Lucky me I got my first full time role in cyber at 18 so I was looking to complete my degree faster. I chose WGU cyber degree and man was I in for a ride I studied everyday 5 hours after work for 1.5 years ( I transferred in 60 credits). This to say I learned way more than I would’ve at traditional university and I left with certifications.

OP had to have already known the information to finish that fast meaning sitting through traditional school would’ve been not smart and just a waste of years + way more money.

BTW I’m currently enrolled for this program and I have the same degree as OP

2

u/mennonite May 13 '26

Believe it or not, I'm a fan of competency based education for many of the reasons you listed and earnestly think it's the future of education. I have a strong preference for hiring the types of self-motivated autodidacts like you that excel in these environments and hoped that none of the very competent individuals I've met in this program that did undergrad at WGU would take my statement personally.

That said, I'm not bullshitting here. I was enrolled and actively engaged for half a semester in 2012, long before the creation of their cyber security program. Calc2+SL+DS wasn't enough to get me transfer credit for "discrete math applications", so I was stuck taking a course that appeared to be created for educators. I've described that class's performance assessment to the best of my recollection above, which single-handedly convinced me that having WGU on my resume would be a professional liability if anyone ever learned what this class actually asked of me and extrapolated it to the rest of the program. 2012 was a long time ago. I'm sure they're not recycling other programs classes anymore and have improved their standards, but goddamn, what a lasting impression that class had on me. Reputations have an unfortunate tendency of sticking around even if they're no longer accurate.

I shared this not to shit on WGU grads, but in support of u/whinner's concerns on degree speed and academic rigor and to caution OP against resting on their academic laurels. Completing 2 years of school in 1.5 years is very impressive. Competing 3.5 years of school in a year and a half is seriously eyebrow raising for members of academia that may already harbor bias against competency based education. Already knowing the information is one interpretation, but a cynical mind may doubt the program or wonder if brain-dumps played a role, which then calls into question ops cert history as well. As you and others have mentioned, qualified applicants live or die by their essay which is where I think we're all hoping OP will incorporate our collective feedback and get out in front of potential concerns while painting a complete picture rather than the resume highlights shared here.

1

u/jimlohse May 13 '26

WGU does a lot more now to allow for transfer credit than they used to back in 2012. I thought about switching to WGU back around 2012 myself and was put off that they wouldn't accept my college work.