Will going to a lower tier school hurt me later?

[rvadog]

Dear rvadog, 
All of the posters on this board have been trying to help you, not accuse you or evade your questions. The responses you've received are from people who indeed have insight into admissions processes and the majority consensus is that no, attending WGU is not a good idea. You appear very defensive toward the very people who are attempting to offer you (solicited) advice. 

I feel like I'm an an alternate universe here. The majority consensus is no, attending WGU is not a good idea? What is your definition of a majority consensus? Three people said it wouldn't likely matter either way and no one said "Yes, from my experience adcoms hesitate to admit someone that got a degree from WGU or similar."

 

This is where I got the idea that you've already made up your mind. You continue to argue for why WGU is better than all alternatives, even as people urge you to consider the alternatives. You provide no evidence that you've seriously considered whether alternative institutions would get you where you want to be so this reads as WGU or nothing.

Bingo! It's like you have finally read my posts. You know, the one where I said I couldn't go anywhere else right now? The ones where I said it's WGU or nothing?

You tried to answer a bunch of questions that I didn't ask and then you wonder why I wasn't grateful for the info. You don't know my situation and you apparently don't have the ability to trust me when I say I've already evaluated the impacts on other aspects of my life and career and now and looking for help in an area I am unfamiliar with.

[rising_star]

Bingo! It's like you have finally read my posts. You know, the one where I said I couldn't go anywhere else right now? The ones where I said it's WGU or nothing?
You tried to answer a bunch of questions that I didn't ask and then you wonder why I wasn't grateful for the info. You don't know my situation and you apparently don't have the ability to trust me when I say I've already evaluated the impacts on other aspects of my life and career and now and looking for help in an area I am unfamiliar with.

I've read all your posts and it seems like you want two things which don't fit well together. On the one hand, you want to get a WGU masters so you can apply for this new position at your current employer. On the other hand, you want to make yourself more competitive for a MPP at an elite institution. I don't know where exactly you live but, if it is Miami as you list, then there are definitely state institutions where you could get a master's degree which would be more respected than a WGU applicant.

Also, let me quote myself for you again since you seem to imply that I haven't suggested what you should do. (Also, forgive me for not trusting that you looked into alternatives since you seem to think a resume only matters if you're planning to leave your current employer.)

I'd be concerned about a WGU degree either counting as a negative or a headscratcher for people looking at your qualifications for graduate school.

How much more direct do you want me to be? I don't sit on the adcom for Georgetown's MPP program and I doubt anyone here does. If you really want their assurance that a degree from WGU won't hurt your admissions chances, you should go to an open house or call them and explicitly ask about this.

[serenade]

What is your definition of a majority consensus? Three people said it wouldn't likely matter either way

By "majority consensus," I meant that while mbennett stated his or her belief that grades and work experience may carry weight over pedigree and lyrech said that a degree from there might not be a "dealbreaker," the posts from GradSchoolTruther, rising_star, telkanuru, and myself have given the opinion that a degree from WGU is not a good idea. 

 no one said "Yes, from my experience adcoms hesitate to admit someone that got a degree from WGU or similar."

Telkanuru told you that it will look as though you tried to do the least amount of work to get the credential and rising_star told you that it would be a "negative" or a "headscratcher." 

My main point in my above post was not so much to specifically count how many people sided "yes" or "no", but instead to imply that there is something to be said for reading between the lines when a group of people give you advice, even when it contradicts what you wanted to hear. If you are receiving this many warnings that your plan to attend WGU might not be a good one, then it might be good to consider that they have something valuable to say instead of becoming defensive when they contradict your preconceived notions. Remaining defensive helps no one - most of all, yourself.