Penn Foster

I am going for my Associate's Degree in Retail Management and so far its very good. The lessons are informative and the exams are challenging. I like the support they give me and they let me change my program initially too with no problem. I was also able to transfer 15 credits, which is great, as its one less semester in total. I am happy with this school and I would recommend it to anyone. Don't read all the negative posts, those are probably just students who failed and gave up. Get your education here, and the price is right too. I am only paying 59 dollars per month, which is very affordable for me. Overall, good school and I have no complaints.

AVOID!!!! I recently had a major issue with the school and up until that point I was really pleased with them. I wanted two switch majors and made a call to them two months ago, in those two months I followed every thing I was advised to do to the T, then I make a call to get the ball rolling only to find out almost everything he advised me was incorrect to the point where I am out $772. That's a lot of money for me.... A LOT>. After more then two and a half hours on the phone with numerous people at the school (including two hang up from them!) they refused to fix THEIR MISTAKE! I repeat a representative from there school made several mistakes while advising a student and they are unwilling to work with said student. A student with a 4.0 GPA, who was always at least a week early for all due dates, and who PAID IN FULL!!! I did exactly what I was told to do and they screwed me over.

I just want to say that I am glad I did not listen to all of the negative comments about this school. I am in my 5th semester of the Bs Business Management degree program. I have experienced nothing but great things. If your willing to put the time and effort in, you will reap the reward. I am in middle management for a well known company and in order to move up the corporate ladder, I must have a bachelors degree. By the way, they are reimbursing me my tuition and approved PF as an accredited program. My economics course I just finished was written by a Harvard professor, so I would say the content is very appropriate. Their credits are accepted by RA schools, I have already contacted a school and was assured my bachelors degree would be accepted and I would be able to complete my MBA afterwards. My communication skills have improved dramatically as a result of the courses I have completed. And by the way, my Senior VP has noticed a substantial difference in my contributions I make to the team as a result of this degree program. So go ahead and sign up and get the education you have always wanted. -Happy future executive

I started the Vet Tech program with Penn Foster a couple of years ago and didn't make it very far. Mostly because I was working and not motivated. When I decided it was time for me to go back to school, I came back to Penn Foster. I'm now enrolled in the bachelors business management degree. Why did I choose to come back to Penn Foster? It meets my personal needs. Penn Foster is nationally accredited, unlike your local community college or your state university which are most likely regionally accredited. It usually goes like this; regionally accredited school courses will transfer to nationally accredited schools but not all nationally accredited school courses will transfer to regionally accredited schools. Why? Because the regional accreditation requires a strict and rigorous course catalog, among other things. Schools like Penn Foster are usually career schools. The advantage is that they are able to change their courses as the real world changes and this keeps their students current. It would take a considerable amount of time and red tape to change the courses. If they had to go through all of the processes by the time they got approval for the change, there would be new information to add. So with that said, Penn Foster does have some courses that have been evaluated and are recommended for transfer by the ACE College Credit Recommendation Service. So if you plan on trying to transfer to a regionally accredited institution, keep in mind that only certain classes and credits will transfer. Also, If you plan to continue your education like I do, plan carefully. I want to get my masters and maybe even my doctorate someday. Not all Institutions will take my Penn Foster degree. Two more things that I like about this program...The tuition and the delivery system. Oh, and the self pace... sorry, three. Tuition is affordable and all study materials are included. They also have an online tutoring center. They offer affordable payment plans. I pay 60 a month right now, I think the lowest you can go is 49. The delivery system, all courses you can complete online, except. Except except except you may have proctored exams. But honestly that's not too big a deal. Go to your local library, the librarians are usually more than happy to help out. I also hear that in the vet tech program you can now be proctored through your webcam. Online, Affordable, SELF PACED. That's really the thing that gets me. Sometimes I get lazy, I don't want to be bothered with reading 80 pages by friday so I can attend class. I work, like the rest of the real world. I need time to tune out, pretend I don't exist. Then there are weeks where all I want to do is sit down and knock out three lessons. Those are things I can do with self paced courses. So, if you are considering Penn Foster make sure it meets your needs. As for faculty and staff, I've had nothing but good experiences with them so far. My questions are answered in a timely manner and they are always kind. But remember, they people not machines. people make mistakes, people get frustrated, people have bad days. No matter if its an online school, on campus, nationally or regionally accredited. They are trying to take care of a lot of people and if you can express your problems in a polite way they are going to try and help you. In conclusion you need to find out if Penn Foster meets your educational needs... It is your education, your life. Make an informed choice.

I am in my 40s and decided it was time to finish my degree. Since our income is too high for financial aid as well as working full time, this was both financially appealing and works around my schedule. The "classroom" setting is easy to maneuver, and there are quite a few resources that have proven helpful. (I am in my 1st semester) The Community (school social site) is glitchy and not my cup of tea - but there is nothing forcing me to participate in it. We used K12 to educate our children from home - one clear through 12th grade, and one through 8th grade. One is starting college in the fall, the other is an honors student with AP credits in a traditional high school setting now. We love online learning. I learned more with my children in our home classroom than I ever did through high school and 2 years of college. It's not for everyone of course, but if you are disciplined enough to set a schedule and meet your goals its fantastic! The study material so far has been wonderful; I'm enjoying it quite a bit. For those that are saying a brick and mortar school is the way to go; talk to me in 5 years when you are paying back student loans. The qualify of education you receive is in your hands with this school. Those that need a babysitter hanging over your shoulder hounding you to get your paper written should look elsewhere; everyone else, it's definitely worth looking into!

Penn Foster will randomly add on charges to your balance and there is nothing you can about it. Because if you decide to withdraw from the school, you will still have to pay and your balance will go to collections and be reported. I left Penn Foster for mistreatment from the Math department, they were very unprofessional and rude. I came back 9 months later after being promised they had a new tutoring system online. I was told my previous balance would be combined with my new balance and I could pay it off with extended payments. Not True!! The amounts were never combined. Penn Foster added on extra fees for the previous balance and I found out later that if I had paid the collection company, I would have saved $350. Penn Foster charged the full amount and the fees they paid the Collection company and added on 'other fees'. I came back to better my life and was willing to take responsibility for my debt, in doing so, Penn Foster continues to increase my old debt and refuses to work with me. I regret coming back to Penn Foster and if you can afford to go anywhere else, I would. You get what you pay for. Penn Foster is a cheap school, in more ways than one.

I have been on a break from school and will soon be returning to complete a bachelor's degree. I spoke to the school I will be taking a masters at after graduation and was told they will accept transfer credits/degrees from nationally or regionally accredited schools. I decided to check into Penn Foster at this point and was very excited when the school I will attend was listed on their website for articulation agreements! I called customer service to ask a few questions and verify. They lady "wasn't aware" of the articulation agreement and didn't even know what one was!! She supposedly even asked her supervisor about this but he/she wasn't aware of it either? Seriously! They don't know what they are doing and I'd be very suspicious of attending a "college" that doesn't even know what an articulation agreement is... especially when they list it on their website.

I love this school. The study materials are intense and compact and requires a lot of discipline to get good grades. I just wish the school offer the Business Management at the Master's Level. I also a student of another university and the work is quite similar; in fact, i find Pennfoster quite more difficult and challenging. The only problem, there should be funding available automatically to international students.

I first started with Penn Foster on my Veterinary Technician degree. After two semesters, I ceased the program because the requirements in my state changed and there was no benefit to completing the course. The instructor I did have a problem with. I believe her name with Marge; she never responded to my e-mails in a polite manner even when my questions were genuine. It was like I was being belittled every time I got the response. On the other side though, the books were very informative and I did learn quite a bit. Financial services DID help me with payment arrangments when I was out of a job. After I caught my payments up; I enrolled in the Business Management (Bachelor) program because I was pleased with the content of the Vet Tech program and their ability to work with me on payments. I flew through my first semester in a couple of weeks and I enrolled in to the second semester. I didn't realize the payments would double, but I did it. They worked with me on the payments for that too. Only let down is that I'm stuck on my English Composition course mainly because I despise writing essays; but the instructor has been responding in a kind and timely manner. Hell, they are even trying to motivate me to get the assignments done. Overall, the books are good (despite a few discrepancies between the workbooks and texts). Most of the instructors are good. Customer service (financial services) has been extremely helpful. Just wish it wasn't as expensive as it is (Tech Schools over same degrees for same price, if not cheaper). Overall though, I've been pleased.

Overall the course could have been much better. At first glance the site seemed unprofessional as there were typos in the titles and tests. The study guides were mediocre at best; at least 5 times either a) the study guide contradicted the book or b) the answer provided in the book was *not* one of the answers in the study guide. Some of the books were extremely outdated though some were very good. I had two graded assignments to turn in and wait for a reply; both took almost a week to receive a grade. Overall the knowledge I gained was worth the time, but I certainly would not invest my money in another Penn Foster course - I would highly prefer something more professional with a better overall reputation.

I graduate it from Penn Foster on 2008. My associate degree credits they all got transfer to a regionally accreditet institution. I finish my BS on 2010. Very good school, and the price is affordable.I'm enrolled again at Penn Foster, this time BA in Business Management.I RECOMMEND Penn Foster to everyone.

First off, it is very true that you need the books to complete the exams and the problem is, they take 2-3 weeks for *each* book shipment. There was a billing issue, the school's error, but I had the email saying my payment was accepted and there was no problem. It wasn't until my bank notified me of the situation that I was made aware. Penn Foster than billed me an additional $20, called me-no exaggeration- 7x or more daily and would not send any of my materials out for almost 5 weeks, despite my attempts to resolve the billing issue. The "student service" number is useless and rude, incompentent individuals work the phone lines and the school's director, she was the the rudest person I have dealt with! A simple apolgy & removal of the accidental $20 fee woudl have sufficed, but she chose to blame my bank for the error and refused to remove the late fee! I got billed 3x $20 late fee and was told that I had to send them a money order in full payment before my books would be sent. I had to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, I was so completly disgusted with the school. The situation was never fixed, I am still being harassed by phone & mail to pay fees that should have never been added. As far as the studies, you are 100% on your own, there is no teacher to call for help or online tools. I advise all considering this online school to please SAVE YOUR MONEY!!

They would not accept my credits which are from Regionally accredited schools. They gave me 24 credits out of the total of 77 I already have. They were horribly aggressive when I requested to withdraw and had a horrible attitude and even said that it would affect my credit rating if I did not pay a cancellation fee of $330ish. A nightmare of an experience....

The books where in good condition . The work isnt hard nor easy. You have to read the info and study it . To understand the concepts . The test arent bad. But you won't be able to pass if you dont read and study . I'd recommend the program in the business area. As far a transfter I know UOP online take thier credits. Good program for a low price.

I am starting my third semester at Penn Foster in the Business Management Associates Program. I completed 21 transferable credits at another well known on line school. My experience at Penn Foster has been very positive and I have found the course work to be more challenging than the previous college. The other school required me to participate in class discussions and message boards and to complete all assignments by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sundays. I liked the structure but found the professors to be lacking in effective classroom management skills. My experience in contacting the Penn Foster Student Services for assistance with coursework questions has been prompt and thorough. I am hopeful that with the acquisition by the Princeton Review that Penn Foster may be able to implement a instructor monitored discussion board where students in the same program can communicate. I think that it would be more effective than using Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. Overall, I would highly recommend Penn Foster due to the value, flexibility and the comprehensive and relevant course materials.