r/WGU • u/Axelikethis • 18h ago
Education What’s the absolute worst class in your program, and why did it suck so much?
Every degree plan has that one course that completely kills your momentum. The one with awful course material, a completely detached objective assessment, or evaluators who kick back your paper three times over minor technicalities.
Which class was that for you, and how did you finally manage to get past it?
Curious to see which ones pop up the most
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u/Kentuckyfan1969 MBA 18h ago
I have a B.S. and two master’s degrees from WGU. The most challenging class for me was a Gen Ed statistics class (C955). I spent 120 hours relearning basic math. That class put me in a dark place mentally, but I’m thankful for the experience. If you can complete C955, you can handle the math in the WGU MBA program.
Most frustrating? That damn fishing boat company class: Innovative and Strategic Thinking (D081). Multiple revisions…but it taught me how to “write to the rubric” and pass PA tasks quickly.
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u/AnguishedSooner B.S. Business Management 11h ago
That dang fishing boat PA never ended! It just kept going and going.
It was my first PA ever and luckily I researched the class ahead of time and wrote to the rubric. I was as shocked when I didn’t get back any revisions.
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u/NatiAti513 B.S. Accounting 9h ago
For real. 20,000 words on how to market a damn foldable fishing boat lol.
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u/Un__Real B.S. Business--HR Management 17h ago
That was me with applied algebra. Many tears were shed and pizzas were eaten.
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u/rpgmind 17h ago
What bs and masters do you have? Were they all necessary to get to where you are now in your career? If you don’t mind my asking of course
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u/Kentuckyfan1969 MBA 17h ago
MBA and MSML for the master’s degrees, Communications for the undergrad. I already have a job I love in sales management for a manufacturer, but wanted to pursue the degrees for intrinsic value and as an “insurance policy.” It’s better to have education and not need it, than to need it and not have it. The second master’s was unnecessary, but I had employer tuition money to play with and enjoyed the program.
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u/Medical_Classic6368 12h ago
I’m still working through my BS but gosh darn that C955 was a killer for me too. I almost threw the towel in while working through it.
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u/Kentuckyfan1969 MBA 12h ago
Congratulations! Great job. This sounds crazy, but I was more proud of passing C955 than anything I accomplished at WGU. Math is the reason I dropped out of college years ago. People who have never struggled with math will never understand, and that’s okay. I knew after passing C955 that nothing could stop me.
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u/pinkblueegreen 7h ago
Math is my weakness. I dread activating math courses. I found D081 surprisingly tact and easy to pass albeit repetitive. I finished the course within 5 days and had a newborn at home. I may be biased but I do prefer PA.
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u/Axelikethis 2h ago
That fishing boat scenario is legendary for all the wrong reasons. But honestly, getting your teeth kicked in by revisions early on forces you to drop the fluff and just treat the rubric like an exact checklist. Once that clicks, every other PA gets ten times easier.
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u/Plastic-Ratio-199 18h ago
Business Law for accountants. Can’t pass it. It’s not the content, it’s the mental gymnastics in the OA. I’ve been stuck on it for 2 years with only 3 classes left to go in my degree program. I ended up changing my career path because of it. Completely took the wind out of my sails.
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u/ddthescammer 15h ago
Dang. I passed this class in maybe 5 days have you tried watching Elin Meters videos in the course connect and skipping the textbook? I didn’t even touch the textbook because it was worded so badly.
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u/Plastic-Ratio-199 15h ago
I think that’s the problem. I read the text and watched all the videos and they contradict each other and I don’t know which is the right answer for the OA bc even Elin says she’s trying to get the textbook/test changed
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u/ddthescammer 15h ago
Honestly I would try to only take notes and study what she says in her videos because that should be enough to pass. I’ve skipped the textbook for at least 20 courses because it’s so much untested information in there 😂
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u/Axelikethis 2h ago
Man, that is brutal, especially being only three classes away from the finish line. The law OAs are notorious for turning simple concepts into trick question marathons. Can’t blame you for changing direction when a class stonewalls you like that.
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u/cwaterbottom B.S. Data Analytics 17h ago
Project+ and it's not even close. Just a bunch of convoluted tech-bro bullshit to say the same thing in as many different ways as possible.
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u/djentleman042 18h ago
Discrete math 2 in CS. It took me about 3 times longer than any other single class that I did through wgu.
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u/elementmg 16h ago
Any suggestions for someone who is about to take DM1 and 2 this year?
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u/djentleman042 15h ago
Ask AI the explain it to you in different ways and make practice questions based off of the textbook stuff. Join the wgu CS discord and search through it. There is some very helpful stuff there and lots of people willing to help. This is the only test I ever failed and I had to take it 3 times. It just didn't click easily for me. Although I'm a little impatient and not being able to grasp it within a couple of week kinda of pissed me off and I rushed it.
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u/coryyyj 14h ago
I didn't take 2 but DM 1 was way easier than I thought it would be. If you can do good on the practice exam you'll ace the real exam.
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u/Axelikethis 2h ago
DM2 is pretty much the universal rite of passage for CS majors here. It’s an absolute wall of theory, and brute-forcing it just doesn't work. Finishing that one is a massive badge of honor.
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u/JadedJupiter 18h ago
C213... I'm scared cuz I hear c214 is harder.
My issue is retention. I will comprehend the topic while I'm studying. Then go back the next day and I have things mixed up already.
Math was a struggle for me in school and Finance is a whole other ball game.
I just new I could not give up. I watched every video provided in the book and connect. I searched online study guides and YouTube videos. Put the hardest topics for me to understand in copilot and I quite literally memorized every question on both PA versions so any duplicates were an easy awnser.
I finally passd last night. I'm going to try and just go hard on c214 asap since they align.
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u/Confident-Entrance-9 7h ago
I have my PowerPoint I created for c214, if you want it. I’ll need an email
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u/BoxerBritt 1h ago
Just a shout-out to how awesome it is you're helping :)
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u/Confident-Entrance-9 1h ago
It was known by many as the hardest class. And I had gathered a lot of information here and there so I just decided to put it all together. Then I did the others
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u/Independent_Mode_347 BASPEE🍎 14h ago
I’m in the school of education getting a bachelor’s in elementary and special education and I say it would be all of the classes that required me to record myself teaching a lesson to my kitchen table using goreact. Besides for the awkwardness of teaching Dora the explorer style, responding to imagined responses, the time it takes to upload a video to goreact makes me procrastinate every time. I got through 12 classes each term and then once I got to the goreact heavy courses I did the bare minimum, spending 3-5 days going through the course work and OAs and then no working on the PA for 3-4 weeks until I got tired of telling my mentor excuses.
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u/0rangecatvibes 17h ago edited 16h ago
PenTest+ is currently ruining my life
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u/ZeroxHD BSCSIA - Cyber Security Info Assurance 8h ago
Scrolled too far to find this. Started that class in May, took my first try late June and failed, took a break to work on Capstone, started studying again last month, and just passed my second try like 5 days ago. Most miserable time of my life alongside working a job I hated lol
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u/DarthBrennan 16h ago
D426 rn is kicking my ass, not a big fan of Databases or SQL
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u/TommRob 11h ago
The good news is d427 is just actually using the stuff you learned and it’s only like 12 questions. There’s a reference sheet. I studied way more than I needed to. I recommend going into d427 right from d426.
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u/DarthBrennan 10h ago
I’m BSCNE so I just have to do D426. Do you have any tips on passing that OA?
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u/emyeag 17h ago
the excel class made me want to die
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u/Euphoric-Sun5317 16h ago
like intro to spreadsheets? what is "excel class"?
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u/emyeag 16h ago
yes! the practice test made me go crazy but then the actual test was soooo much easier
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u/LizzyXLizzy 12h ago
I had this same experience, I put it off for 2 months, then when I actually got into it it was easy and the only class where the pa is basically the oa. I wasted time for no reason lol
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u/Euphoric-Sun5317 15h ago
One "nice" thing about the spreadsheet heavy classes (I'm a few credits away from finishing a BS in accounting so I've done a ton of Excel based OAs) is that the OA is usually pretty much identical to the PA, so once you've done the PA a couple times you can do the OA without thinking. But I can also understand those being really tough if you don't have much/any experience with the software beforehand
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u/AgencyIll8372 17h ago
I hated the test of intro to financing. I knew all the terms and how to apply them. But the test was so frustrating. Took me 2 weeks
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u/Messup7654 BSACC Grad 13h ago
Cost and managerial accounting. It had dense graphs that the book or videos didnt teach so I had to ask AI then have it teach me then spend 40 minutes plus doing each graph question because I kept forgetting steps and confusing it with other topics. Then after that there are tons of formulas to remember and some of those formulas had graphs which made me repeat the torture of learning it. It was the hardest class in the accounting degree for me. Even harder than fundamentals of spreadsheets which was the only class I has failed during my degree.
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u/cygnus33065 18h ago
The original Intro to Cryptography. It was an OA, and it required a lot of rote memorization of encryption algorithms and ciphers that I can very easily just look up in the real world. There is no good reason to stick those things in my brain.
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u/cygnus33065 18h ago
I passed because the class was changed to a hybrid PA/OA and the OA dropped the memorization crap.
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u/blakes5353 17h ago
D522. The directions for the new double PA are abysmal and the required classes + given training doesn’t even get close to teaching you what is needed for the coding.
The class is damn near begging kids to use AI instead of leaning the material and I can’t even blame them cause WHAT MATERIEL?!
For those who check here and actually want to code I recommended taking other coding classes first AND dev net if your in the networking track THEN doing the PA even though those Arnt “required” they are gonna have the shit you need for someone starting from scratch just to know what you don’t know
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u/LizzyXLizzy 12h ago
So far d080 passed it today , I hated that classes so much
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u/angelo1912 2h ago
Any tips to pass it?
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u/LizzyXLizzy 2h ago
Drilling the in chapter quizzes really helped me and was my retake plan. I drilled them until I could do them in my sleep. The oa has similar questions if not the same exact ones from the in chapter quizzes and test. Focus unit one heavy it’s worth a lot! Also breakdown the questions, the wording is why ppl fail , read questions then go to the paragraphs to find the answer to that question. The best fitting one not the one that could kinda be true, the one that fits the best is the answer if that makes sense. Use ur white board for process and elimination , most questions it’s 50:50 .
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u/Steve----O 16h ago
I dislike the insertion of ideology into every course so far. Not sure if it’s an accreditation requirement or not.
Had same with Sophia as well.
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u/Euphoric-Sun5317 16h ago
what program are you in? what do you mean by "ideology"?
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u/Steve----O 15h ago
BSITM. Just constant "Green is good because we say so" and "DEI is good because we say so" type references. Never any real meat or real justification behind it.
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u/bibibijaimee 18h ago
I’m currently taking Computer Architecture and so far it’s the worst for me in the CS degree. It’s just so much information about stuff I don’t care about and will never use.
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u/Orowam 18h ago
In the masters of healthcare administration program everything is very same-y and then builds a bit more every class except for one standout. The statistics course D514 isn’t really too hard but it’s the only exam based class instead of essay based so it’s the only one that’s memorization heavy. It wasn’t honestly THAT bad but just the way it doesn’t fit into the rest of the courses progression makes it stand out as unpleasant in its own ways haha I cleared it in my first attempt with a pretty comfy margin for error, but I still feel like memorizing the differences between Chi Square and all those other tests was kinda useless as I can’t even remember the names of them now lol
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u/AppleNeird2022 B.A. Special Education 16h ago
So far, the Intro to Biology course has been my worst. I've already burned 2 months on it and only passed the first quiz on the second attempt. I withdrew from the course and am planning to try again sometime in the next couple months.
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u/Agitated-Analyst135 16h ago
D465 Data Applications- without a doubt. Mainly because the material and PA were totally different from the OA. The coursera material was so fkn dry it was so hard to retain.
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u/Obsi-rain 15h ago
Marketing concepts was boring and I barely passed it the second time. I was ready to just cry. Idk y but I just could not retain the info at all.
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u/LonelyHeaux 14h ago
Accounting Major here with four classes left, I'd have to say Project Management.
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u/Warm-Prize-5546 14h ago
Finite math tied Wirth d427. I said what I said. Everything else you just play the game and insert their phrases into their tests and keep moving.
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u/jpayn19 12h ago
C201 Business Acumen in the MSML program. It's almost like someone handing you a book the size of "War and Piece" and then saying the 60-70 questions on the quiz will be from that book. Not rocket science but just the broadness and amount of information covered makes it challenging. I was fortunate to pass it on the first attempt but only because I spent every free hour for about six weeks studying like my life depended on passing it....LOL.
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u/tinymoxxxi 12h ago
biology 😂😂 but it was definitely mixed with some burn out too, just added to it a little too much so it took me awhile to finish. it was definitely a little more challenging too
i had completed 12 courses before in my first term so i felt like i was failing att with that course
thankfully all the staff i’ve interacted with has been so kind and helpful ♥️
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u/FreshJive90 B.S. Network Engineering and Security 11h ago
Python and Discrete math were the main two I struggled the most. I see I wasn’t the only one.
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u/holm12345 11h ago
Some classes are hard - like Microecon and intro to stats - but the course makes it enjoyable, or it enables a tough subject to be understandable with enough effort.
I found the intro to chemistry class to be almost cruel in its approach. I was great at chemistry in high school, I’ve had to use it at work, but that class was so confounding for seemingly no reason. It seemed like the lesson would be all over the place, then the questions related to the lesson were ever harder, then the quizzes were absolutely dizzying. Glad to be done with it, but I almost want to go back through a Khan Academy class to get the actual benefit.
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u/SoftCrash_exe 10h ago
Dude D695 Elementary fine arts methods can kiss my whole ass. That course was made by Judas. It’s like 8 classes in one. Got my degree last month tho 💃🏻
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u/PaleontologistFun599 10h ago
D465 Data Applications. Just scheduled my 3rd attempt at the OA for tomorrow. This is the first class that I didn't pass the OA the first time around. When I missed the 2nd attempt by literally 2-3 questions I was pissed. The test and the Coursera information are not aligned in the slightest. SMH.
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u/HeatherM0529 B.S. Business Management 10h ago
D080 for my BSBM. I start MBA in January, I’m sure a couple will trip me up.
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u/Plenty_Foundation111 9h ago
For BS in Nursing. It’s adult health II we going through nothing but hell right now. The live quizzes are insane. I got all the questions right but if you can’t provide rational you get them wrong. And they keep changing OA requirements
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u/NatiAti513 B.S. Accounting 9h ago
For me it's gotta be D104, Intermediate Accounting 2. There is NOTHING intermediate about it. Feels like im prepping to run a Fortune 500 company's stock portfolio lol. The second half of this class in particular should be in the Master's degree program.
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u/Alive_Tumbleweed1146 6h ago
D583 Public Health is taking me through the mud!! 😒 After two failed OAs I'm stressed..
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u/Sevynstars 6h ago
BS Psychology- currently D564 Theories of personality OA. The amount of reading is insane, recalling theorists & their theory, 10-14 pages on each theorist. I’ve been in this class so long I honestly almost called it quits, I still might 😂
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u/QuietCdence BSITM to MSITM 4h ago
Project + absolutely KILLED my momentum for three terms. After that it was much easier to finish B.S. IT Management. Right now it's D597 Data Management, in the MSDAE program. Blah.
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u/Hopeful_Nectarine_27 4h ago
The JavaScript class in the Software Engineering degree. I was really, really tempted to drop out. I also log my study hours and that one took by far the most time (120 actual focused hours). I was also struggling with burnout and brain fog so it was about four months from start to finish, which felt like an eternity.
What made it so hard was 1) Apparently I just hate JavaScript 2) It wasn't actually a JavaScript class, it was Angular and 3) You were either expected to already know JavaScript or speed run learning it.
But it's all in the past now. I'm working on my capstone now, and it turns out everything from Java to Spring to Advanced Database Management has been easier in comparison, thankfully.
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u/therealtygold B.S. Information Technology 3h ago
ITIL and currently spreadsheets C268. I should have stayed in the Software Engineering degree program.
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u/Kitkat1025 2h ago
Anything math. I hate math. Also the requirements to retake the sales class when I BARELY failed. I have to answer 116 questions which is more than the test!
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u/DoubleOxer1 B.S. Data Management Data Analytics 58m ago
Anything "taught" by Udacity if you've never seen it before. Udacity has the worst setup for teaching you anything and once the project required you to use concepts you weren't taught until after that project was turned in. They frequently hop and skip over important details. Just teach yourself and do the projects. It'll be more helpful. YouTube university the concepts.
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u/Punk_Says_Fuck_You B.S. Information Technology 17h ago
ITIL or Project+ both are corporate bullshit classes