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I have found this business to be less than professional. Start with the fact that they've misrepresented their tuition and fees to me.

Couple that with posts in their "discussion forum" like one instructor's remarks on her belly-button piercing ( I'm sorry but that's more information than I need and not at all related to my degree,)and add to that poorly thought out and composed exams and what you get is something which is a poor substitute for a real education. There is no real communication between teachers and students. You are indeed a number and when I questioned the poorly formed questions on the 2 exams and pointed out where the textbook conradicted the "correct" answer I was never given an explanation. I did not expect a campus education but what I'm getting is more of a scam than anything else.

Be very careful when choosing this school. You get what you pay for and this is a poor substitute for an education. Consider a real school or save your money. This is coming from a student with good grades and who is not behind in bills or anything.

This experience is very disappointing and after this semester I will not continue. Oh yes....another thing......these credits may not be transferrable to alot of higher education institutes.

Location: Rochester, New York

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Guest

I am only interested in taking online courses because I cannot afford to move to a different state where the college I want to attend is located. It takes a lot to move to a state where you don't know anyone and you have no help from anyone.

So to you online college naysayers, realize that going online may be an only option and it is life saving!

But I do have a question, if Penn isn't a good online school, can you tell me of one that is? I'm looking to be a wildlife biologist.

Thank you. :)

Guest

You all realize... You are trying to talk about "serious" education on a fully-online school, right?? Go to a normal college, take the time and the money to do the basic (boring) core courses, and then you can blow off all your steam about "reputation" --

I was looking into the catering program for fun, because I thought I'd learn a few cool set-ups... Is it worth $600? Probably not. I checked these forums to see if I'll receive ANY of the fun materials or if it was indeed a scam.

Now, I'm not sure and have to read through all these crazy reviews talking about people *** about "reputation" ---- WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE REALLY GONNA LEARN BY TRYING TO TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT?

I have a Bachelor's degree from a CA State Univ. Never used it, nor do I care to. It AMAZES me how people are going to take some of this "education" seriously... If I were a reputable employer, I would NOT CONSIDER ANYONE with a $500 "Online Degree" for ANYTHING regarding: Dental, Medical, Veterinary, Accounting and Law...

On the OTHER HAND, things like Graphic Design, Art, Writing, and anything creative -- SURE WHY NOT. Know why?? Because these fields require some OBVIOUS talent. It really won't matter about a certification, if you know how to do the work.

God Forbid if you were a dental assistant working on my teeth, and I found out you pooped out $500 for a certification to do so ONLINE, and this Dentist actually hired you? I'd run out immediately, drooling from the novicaine and all.

Guest

I pooped at the Penn Foster campus, pimpin aint easy. WockaWocka!!!!

Guest

:) :) :) :eek :eek :eek :eek :upset :upset :upset :upset :upset :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :cry :cry :cry :cry

Guest

I am attending Penn Foster's veterinary technican degree program. It is an excellant school, NOT a scam!!!! I thoughly reseached schools and they met ALL the requirements and was of best benefit to me.

You never said which program you enrolled but I can tell you about mine. The VT program is roughly $5000 (includes books, study guides, learning aids, tuition, etc). They are NOT overpriced...it would cost ALOT more at a traditional school.

You are correct in that you don't get transfer (monetary) credit upon enrollment because how would they know what qualifies...They do give it to you. One of my first semester classes was transerred so it just skipped that class, and when it came time to enroll in my second semster, I not only got the money for that class but also the classes that transferred in second semester.

Also, Penn Foster's semesters are not like traditional school semesters (theirs can take upto a year). As for the forum post (belly button piercing), I highly doubt it was an instructor. It was more than likely a student. One of the forums is just for students to talk so there are posts that do not pertain to your program...I'm sure you have had conversations (or at least overheard) between students....it isn't usually about school. As long as it isn't offensive or rude, they allow it.

Guest

I feel the need to expand on this complaint which I posted earlier today.

The Penn Foster rep who signed me up told me it would be X amount of dollars for the degree. He took a small deposit and said he couldn't tell me exactly how much it would cost because the school had to evaluate my transcripts. I agreed understanding that I had a week to change my mind without financial penalty. My transcripts were not evaluated until much later than one week resulting in a deep financial obligation to the school. Later I came to find that the price quoted to me for the degree was actually for one semester. I have no choice but to finish the semester (or pay $600.00 to cancel,)at a school in which I am embarrassed to have enrolled. I have applied to a different college for my Master's degree and they do not take any credits from Penn Foster. Upon applying to this other college for my Master's I asked Penn Foster for my transcripts. I was told I hadn't yet taken a proctored exam so there are no transcripts. Fair enough but when I asked for a letter explaining that there are no transcripts for me I was sent a document which was written by someone with little knowledge of proper grammar or letter writing skills. My eight year old nephew would have done a better job. I was too embarrassed to submit this poorly written letter and removed Penn Foster from the education section on the application for my Master's degree.

So for the money I agreed to spend at Penn Foster I will only have one semester completed. I will have to pay three times as much money to earn the degree from Penn Foster which in my opinion is a substandard institution which has some nerve calling themselves a college.

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