Empire State College, State University of New York

I was happy to earn 69 credits for real-life experience at ESC. Now that I have graduated, I have a hard time explaining this to the perspective employers. I didn't find the courses challenging, and it explains why most emplyers don't value my degree.

I have been a student at ESC for the past 2 1/2 years. I just graduated with a BA in Historical Studies. I can't understand all the negative comments because I found this school to be great. Having survived a year at Thomas Edison State College, ESC is 100 times better. Every school is going to have its issues. My son attends Kings College in PA and he goes through the same BS there. College is what you make of it. I think alot of people look at the online concept as being somewhat easier than face to face classroom instruction, but other than not taking exams, it is quite demanding. There has been several semesters where I was taking 4 and 5 classes and believe me it was very challenging. I sometimes don't know how I managed it all, but I did. As with every school, there is going to be crappy teachers. To be honest, I really only had 1 teacher that I had an issue with. All of my teachers were very understanding and quite helpful. If you are up front with your professors and let them know that you are having problems, they are more than willing to work with you. This is college and you are pretty much on your own and you have to be proactive. This school was great for me and I have no regrets. I completed over 60 credits with this school and all of the classes that i took were great. I left there with a 3.75 GPA. They offer a large selection of classes and the price can't be beat. It is money well spent. Don't listen to the negative comments. I was a terrible student in high school and i never thought that I was college material. I came here and all that changed. This school has allowed me to develop as a student and I've learned so much. I had a great mentor, who I happened to take 2 independent classes with and whom I loved. If I ever had a problem, it was always resolved immediately.

The mentor program is a joke if you get stuck with an incompetent one. They fail to note on their website that you must take a planning course and design your own degree. Then you must wait 3 to 6 months to find out how yours credits transfer in and if your "plan" is approved or not. You could be wasting your time, especially if you want to finish at a certain point. Most of the classes were great. the planning aspect is however, is ridiculous and unorganized! I have one semester left, but I am not even sure if I can graduate once I finish my credits because I have to wait for some committee to approve the plan I am creating which has required a lot of guessing and assumption. My mentor is no help and is very condescending. At what college can you not graduate even though you have finished your required amount of credits????