120 CU in 121 days for WGU Finance Degree
I came across some Reddit forums and YouTube videos discussing how to complete a degree quickly. It sounded like exactly what I needed.
To give some background: I’ve been in the industry for a long time. Traditional school often bores me, so a self-paced, competency-based program was the perfect fit. While I’m not saying everyone can do what I did, I am showing it’s possible, as demonstrated by others' experiences.
Sophia Start Date: July 19, 2024
I completed 22 Sophia courses in total. Unfortunately, I ended up taking one course I didn’t need and missed one I should have completed. This process took me just one month. Initially, I paid for a three-month subscription, but since I finished early, Sophia refunded the unused months.
Study.com
While waiting for Sophia courses to be graded, I decided to start courses on Study.com.
- Start Date: August 8, 2024
- I completed 10 classes there, but due to their testing requirements, I had to wait for the second cycle to start before finishing.
- I wrapped up my final course on September 11, 2024.
The combined time for transferring credits through Sophia and Study.com was 54 days (July 19–September 11).
WGU Enrollment
Enrolling at WGU took longer than expected, and the process felt unnecessarily labor-intensive. However, I was able to transfer 84 credits (70% of the program, equivalent to 84 CU) into WGU. This left me with 12 classes (36 CU) to complete.
- WGU Start Date: November 1, 2024
- Completion Date: January 7, 2025
This took me 67 days to finish.
Total Time
From the start of Sophia to the completion of my WGU program, it took 121 days to earn 120 credits. I didn’t include the waiting period before enrolling in WGU in this calculation.
I want to thank everyone on the forums who shared their success stories—they were incredibly motivating and kept me on track. Special thanks to those who created spreadsheets showing transfer credit options. They were invaluable in helping me plan and visualize the path forward.
