Penn Foster College

I was finally in a place to seriously focus on my degree at 41 years old. I fell in love with virtual education while using it with both of my children, and knew it was the way I wanted to complete my degree. Of course I did research. A LOT of research! Due to our household income I would not qualify for financial aid, and you better believe that since it was 100% out of pocket I did not want a second rate program. Every single college had negative reviews; lack of support, outdated material, less than desirable instructors — etc. etc. When I found Penn Foster I noted that every negative review I read had to do with people having to pay for the degree they signed up for. Hello!!! Even a brick and mortar college/​university will not reimburse your semester’s tuition after the grace period. After disregarding the «money» posts, I found so many positive reviews, experiences, and success stories with this college. I then noted that the tuition was about the same as most people pay a year for a cell phone and included books! You can pay monthly, or get a discount for paying for each semester upfront. The school is made for people like me — REAL people! I «go to class» on my schedule, I do my assignments on my schedule. I work hard, but I don’t have to sacrifice my family, career, or other obligations to be in class on the college’s schedule. Fast forward 2 semesters and I LOVE my decision! I am learning, experiencing, and growing as a person. No regrets!

My son needed 6 credits so he took two classes and that part was great. Our problems have been trying to get transcripts from them. My first issue is it is $ 10 for each class, that’s ridiculous to begin with. The even bigger issue is actual process of trying to get the transcripts. You have a student ID for EACH class… NEVER EVER EVER lose those, it’s almost impossible to talk to them without it. My son spent days trying to call and leaving messages with no answer and no call backs. He finally went to his current school and asked them to pull the transcripts they had and got the ID numbers that way. Then he FINALLY got someone on the phone and had to set up two different online accounts (one for each class) because you can now order them online. So he did that, the order was cancelled with no reason, so he did it again the next day and it cancelled AGAIN! (The money was held with his bank account then refunded) Again, he tried calling them to find out what was wrong, impossible! This online ordering started on a Monday and his new school must have them by Friday. (Keep in mind he started this process the Monday BEFORE) I finally found a chat option and he talked to someone and was told they had problems with the online ordering system but as a courtesy they would be sent via FedEx that day (Wednesday) so they would have them Friday. You would think they would tell you the system is down BEFORE you place the order thinking everything is ok. After this totally frustrating experience he got back on the chat later in the afternoon just to confirm they were sent FedEx, the rep said «yes, both account transcripts were sent via FedEx today.» He said the tracking number would be available «tomorrow.» Back on chat today (Thursday) which is apparently not available until 2pm EST (yet something else they should let you know) and she tells him it wasn’t sent out until this morning and the tracking number will be available today after 5pm. I have very little faith in this happening. I would NEVER allow any of my kids, myself or friends to take classes here because of the insane process you have to go through to get ANYTHING after you leave/​no longer take classes there. If the transcripts are not there tomorrow I will be contacting more than Unilocal

trust me do not wastre your time or money. i have completed and turned in an assignment 6 times and 6 times it was returned. all i asked was for them to grade it. the «grader» would not even give me a grade, then my time ran out and i was forced to pay for extra time. above all else, penn foster «college» is not regionally accredited. the high school is but not the college which means, i have not found 1 college that will accept these credits. please stay away from this school. when i have issues, they continue to ignore my emails and not retunr phone calls.

The Motorcycle Technician Program is a joke! You will get the exact same education (for much less) reading a textbook and taking the chapter quiz. There are no video lectures or interaction with instructors. The program consist of reading very basic PDF’s and answering questions. When I called and talked about my concerns they said «sorry it’ll be $ 150.00 to drop». Which I took as we know our program is junk we just want your money. This place is a ripoff! If you want a serious program this is not it.

I absolutely love Penn Foster College. It’s impossible to come up with even one negative comment. They do offer online programs, so if you aren’t a self-​starter, or able to motivate yourself to keep going, it’s probably not for you.
I have taken many online courses through community colleges, and have had some bad luck. I was hesitant to pursue another online degree, but really wanted to take an accredited Veterinary Technology program in order to become licensed as a technician. Penn Foster was my only real option, as many brick and mortar schools do not offer night classes. Boy, am I ever thankful for Penn Foster!
The Vet Tech program is tough, but fair. It definitely enables students to learn everything they need to be knowledgeable in the field, and also to pass the Veterinary Technician National Exam. The director of the program, Jim Hurrell, is amazing and inspiring! He is active on the student community, and the Vet Tech Facebook page. He makes himself very available to students, and it’s clear he has such a passion for education in the veterinary field!
The other major bonus with Penn Foster programs is their amazing affordability! I have quite a lot of debt because of past student loans, and thanks to Penn Foster, I will earn this degree, and owe the school no money at the end of it all! They offer a VERY affordable payment plan, and their prices are a fraction of what some of my friends have paid for other schooling in the same field!
I truly believe that if you are able to motivate yourself to stay on track, Penn Foster is the best online school there is! I would recommend it to anyone!

I LOVE LOVE Penn Foster!!! It has been such a big help to be able to hole my full time job and still attend an online college. You will meet some great people there from fellow student to the faculty team there. Very Very good program instructors there who truly cares about your success. I always reccomend any one who is looking to further their education to check out Penn Foster.
If you ever run into anything, they are quick to respond and will work with you on any matter that you have, Great college to be with and you will not be disappointed.

If you are considering this program, I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO FIND ANOTHER! They should be ashamed at how they treat their students. They should be ashamed to even call themselves a school.
The worst part about my experience here was the student services. If you’ve ever been a student, you know that student services & the people that can help you w/​your studies are very important, especially w/​online courses. You will get little to no help w/​them! Especially when you come across a problem, they play the blame game on their own coworkers & say there’s nothing they can do. Don’t even think about asking to speak to a person in charge/​supervisor because I did & that person refused to even come on the phone… why? Because they know their wrong & have nothing to say!
You guys can keep my money since you’re so desperate for it… you guys are pathetic. I canceled my program.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Terrible experience. I enrolled because I wanted to get into investigations and private investigation work. I researched and found they had a program that offered internships following completion of the course. After speaking to the enrollment counselor and getting assurances that they did have a mentor and internship program I paid and enrolled. I thought that once I was able to finish the program I would benefit from the internship with companies that provided investigation services.
Firstly the curriculum was ghastly. The course material appeared to have been written and not updated since the early 90’s. It was grossly simplistic even going as far as to say that if you created an office you would need a fax line and desk among other «advice». SInce I already had a background in law enforcement some years ago I already knew most of the small amount of actual info the course gave. I cant say I learned anything.
I rushed to complete the program so that I could begin the internship and get into contact with companies in the industry. I was sent a message saying I would be contacted by someone from the program with more information when I submitted my final exam. After several weeks I received no such contact. I contacted the school who gave the email address for the person to contact. I was informed a week or so later by this person that they did not have a companies in my area or other nearby states that could provide any internship opportunities. I was told I could look around on my own.
Upon finding this out I contacted the administration office and asked who I could contact to get a refund. I emailed and than called when my email went unanswered. The basic answer I received was, «tough and good luck but no refunds».
In summary I would NEVER recommend this school for any reason. I understand how it can be tempting as it SEEMS cheap but as the old saying goes, «A fool and his money are soon parted». I would say «you get what yo pay for» but in this case I paid something and got nothing. Check a school thoroughly before spending a dime and always make sure they are accredited. I admit I failed to do so in my haste to get some credential to enhance my investigation experience.

Penn Foster does not have regional accreditation which means their degrees are not widely accepted. Also, if some one from Penn Foster earns a bachelor degree and then wants to get their masters, forget it, will not happen without regional accreditation. If your going to spend the money and need to do it online find a school with REGIONAL accreditation.

I am absolutely addicted to online/​distance/​correspondence education programs and I absolutely love this school!
In the past decade I have enrolled in at least 8 different programs with Penn Foster College (which used to be under a different name) in a wide variety of areas. Gourmet cooking, Early Childhood Education, Pharmacy Technician, Medical Office Assitant, Spanish, Photograpy, Graphic Design, and BS in Business Management. I also have a list of all the programs I plan to undertake from this institution in the future as well.
I think this is a wonderful school for those of us who do not enjoy attending classes in brick and mortar classrooms. One must be self-​motivated and willing to work hard. These kinds of studies are more challenging than the normal classroom setting and to get the most out of this situation requires that students work steadily and thoroughly learn the material. It is also great for students who are busy with careers, family, etc… It is a great way to keep the mind sharp and expand on current skills and abilities.
No school can gurantee that completion of a certificate or degree will make a student successful in career of life regardless of the school’s accreditation. That is soley up to the student and how (s)he chooses to use the degree and knowledge. Penn Foster is no exception. It is also the responsibility of the student/​consumer to research educational options and understand the fine print before entering into any contract. If you do not do this and come to find itisnot what you expected or that it did not qualify you with your State agencies for such and such then how can you complain about the school when in fact it would be your own lack of attention to detail? I say this because a large number of the negative reviews for this school reflect a lack of thoughtfulness and research on the part of the consumer and this cannot be blamed on the school.
Penn Foster is most certainly accredited but it is Nationally accredited and not Regionally accredited as most brick and mortar instutitions are. I have not found this to be an issue for me personally because my goals for using this program have nothing to do with trying to transfer credits to another school nor do I intend to try and use my business degree to work for someone else. My goals are and have always been to: 1) expand my knowledge and skills 2) Gather knowledge and skills that I may use in the future tocreatively make my own business (why would I want to work for someone else when I can work more profitably for myself?) and 3) To be an example for my children that learning doesn’t stop at any stage of life and that the sky’s the limit when it comes to applying what one has learned. It is imperative that one has clear goals and a plan in place before choosing an educational program. All of my goals have been or can be met with what Penn Foster offers. The question is could yours be? That is what you need to consider when making your decision.
I appreciate the affordability of Penn Foster. I am a homemaker and homeschooling mother of five children. It goes without saying I am somewhat limited with my financial resources so I have to consume them wisely. This school’s payment plans makes every program accesible to me and it is easy to use.
The customer service at Penn Foster is excellent and the service is prompt. I have never had a long wait for a representative to take a call and I have never had any issues that were not easy to resolve. Every representative has been extremely polite and helpful.
The only annoying thing is waiting for the books but this is not really Penn Foster’s fault since they ship promptly. It is merely that I am impatient to continue onto the next module of studies and it is possible that I work faster than the average Penn Foster student does.
I have also used: PCDI (now Ashworth) for nutrition, catering and gourmet cooking, and fitness programs. I am currently enrolled in a degree program with Ashworth College. I have used Stratford Career Institute for Certified Nursing Assitant and Natural Health Consultant programs. I will be enrolling in the BSHH (Bachelor of Science in Holistic Health) with Global College of Natural Medicine. Penn Foster remains on of my favorite among these schools.
BOTTOM LINE: Penn Foster is an excellent school that has been in business for many years (under different names though). The programs are solid and compare with the same courses offered in brick and mortar institutions. The prices are very reasonable and the customer service is well. There is the possbility of transferring credits to other schools but no gurantees. It is an accreditied school and it can and has helped people to advance in or begin in their chosen professions. I would recommend to anyone who has a clear goal for what they want, need, and will read and abide by the terms of the contract.