Strayer University

The financial department in this school is a joke. no one there is trained to know what is required for you to successfuly be verified. Employees keep your documents on their desk month and not upload them to the system , just to make sure you don't get approved. they find every reason to stop you from achieving your dream , the process is so stressful in this school that it takes away your focus on your classes. the whole financial aid team needs to be replaced, they are simply " incompetent". i will never refer a friend or family to this nightmare school . please think twice before choosing this place. they wait over 40 days into your class to ask for additional documents, when you turn them in no one summit them , and ask you for the same paper work you turn in 3 weeks later. i can not believe anyone can be paid to be a nuisance.

I graduated from Strayer in 1993 so maybe it has changed allot. However, I had instructors during my time there that were world class and in fact also taught at Georgetown and other highly respected Washington DC Universities. Here's the real deal, most undergrad courses are taught by underpaid adjunct professors and grad students with assistant-ship scholarships. So, my career since 1993 is amazing. just do it, live long and prosper, and you get back what you put in - I assure if you fail Strayer isn't the reason!

OK here are some real thoughts from a real student. I started at Strayer in 2010 in the BSIS program with a concentration in Computer Security. I already had an ASIS and multiple computer discipline certificates from a local community college in 2008. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly about Strayer and online schools. Good: You have a week to do the work. Work and syllabi at Strayer follow a set format determined by the class that does not vary based on professor - I had to switch professors occasionally, and the work stayed the same; the new professor did not change anything I was required to do. Deadlines are clearly spelled out in the syllabi. Most of my professors were quick to answer questions and clear things up. Unless there is a prerequisite class, you can pretty much "pick your poison" as far as what class to take next. Mix of Good/Bad: Some professors grade quickly, some do not (I had a great professor, Dr. Babb, who would grade the papers the Monday after the week they were turned in, while others made me wait 2 or 3 weeks when their grade deadline is a week after the assignment week ends). Each professor is different in their level of knowledge and approach. Some had thick accents which made communication difficult, while others spoke perfect, fluid English. Sometimes you could choose from different professors in different sections of the same class, which I did a few times to get ones I liked or were familiar with from previous classes. However, some classes had only one section so you could take the class with him or her or select a different class and take the class later. Bad: I found that many of the students parroted the same answers to the discussion questions. Many of my fellow students clearly needed remedial English help and had major grammatical errors in their discussion question replies. Even the professors made irritating grammatical errors such as saying "your welcome" instead of "you're welcome" in replies to my questions...so even someone with a PhD can be dumb in some areas. Some of the discussion questions are nearly impossible to answer and in many cases even good Internet searches offered little help. You have to do all of your own work. There is no hand-holding in an online school. One class the professor had the gall to accuse me of cheating, TWICE (which NEVER happened!) - thank God I had all the original work on my computer saved so she could see the rough drafts of my paper's progress through each section and I had all the original Visio documents too! But she was one bad apple in an otherwise good bunch. She also used the wrong book for the class and did not give us tests based on the correct book. Other bad things: The school is in it mainly for profit and will hound you relentlessly if you do not pay on time and could eventually drop you for nonpayment. There is a heavy turnaround at the Student Support offices - I had at least 5 student support reps in 4 years. My academic adviser NEVER contacted me ONCE during my whole 4 years at Strayer...only when I was finishing and in my last capstone class did they switch me to a new adviser who helped me out and checked on me to see how I was doing. Once you are in as a student, you are more or less on your own. And the kicker is that even if you get a 4.0 in your Master's program, you do not get honors recognitions on your diploma...most online schools do not have these recognitions at the graduate level. Even with all of this, I did manage to get my Bachelor's, and then my Master's degrees at Strayer (in Computer Security and Computer Security Management, respectively), both with 4.0 GPAs. In short, it takes dedication, discipline, and LOTS OF HARD WORK! I hope this post helps people in the online class environment, and at Strayer specifically, understand what to expect. These were my experiences...my name is Tom.

I would not recommend there online degrees to anyone. They are way to expensive and they raise the rates on you without telling you. They were great getting me signed up and helping with getting classes figured out, but after that, no one was willing to help when I had problems. I had teachers not get a hold of me and not help me to understand the materail. I dropped out after two terms tired of the crap. A very negative experience.

The amount of negative reviews is amazing. I will try to address them here, as best as possible. 1. Strayer is accredited by the same accrediting agency as other schools in the area. If your credits weren't accepted it's because the school you applied to somehow thinks they are better (schools do not have to accept credits no matter what institution you got them from) or your grades weren't high enough. 2. ALL universities are for-profit, some are just willing to admit it. Schools can also turn down credits just because they want you to spend more money at the new school, they like money too. 3. You have to work to get good grades, A LOT. I have been to traditional institutions and did no where near as much work as I have been doing at Strayer. 4. It is expensive, because you are paying for the convenience of the schedule, get over it. 5. On campus classes are great, I have not had a single professor that wasn't an expert in their field. 6. Online classes are a lot more work, but worth it. Yes it takes longer than University of Phoenix, but I guarantee you will learn more and retain more at Strayer. I don't see how anyone can claim to know anything about a subject after a short five weeks, it is hard enough doing eleven week semesters that go over everything. 7. The business office is often difficult because they have a high turn-over rate. Everything you need to know about finances can be learned online, you should know what is going on before you step into the office. I have had to tell them what to do on several occasions, you must advocate for yourself. 8. If you attend a class at all you have to pay for it even if you drop out after a few classes, they provided you a service so pay for it jerk!All schools will make you pay. 9. Books can get expensive if you don't know where to look. After you get the name of the book, the author and the ISBN's (there should be a 10 and a 13 in front of the numbers) go look for them online. There are some classes where you have to get the Strayer book, but students sell them all the time and all campuses have a board for advertisements, craigslist and ebay also has them. Many books are just resold with a Strayer cover, and you can find the regular old book from other schools at used sites for cheap. In short, Strayer University is not for the lazy student. It is also not for someone who wants to do no work and get a degree. I have had an overall great experience, but I can tell you no school is perfect and so far Strayer has been much more helpful than any other school I have attended.

I have read many of the reviews listed here and I am uncertain why so many people feel that Strayer has let them down or that the degree is not worth anything. I have received two degrees from the Columbia campus. During my first degree, I received 2 full promotions from lower positions because of the skills I gained from my degree. Furthermore, after leaving my previous job, I was offered a job that utilized my skills to my fullest potential. Within six months, I received a promotion to a management position. A college degree is worth what the student does to put forth effort to make the degree worth more. Strayer has excellent accedidation and valuable Professors that help students achieve the most out of their experience at Strayer. Consider Strayer as a wonderful school for adults looking to move forward in your current job or on to another job. Remember, Strayer can help you obtain the knowledge, but you have to be willing to put forth the effort to achieve your dreams!

DO NOT ATTEND THIS UNIVERSITY. In fact, it should not even be called a University. They do not need any GMAT entrance exam scores which means that any "Joe" off the street who hasn't proven that they are capable of reading and writing at the 6th grade level can get in. My co-worker and I joined Strayer and he was smart enough to drop the program half way through which means he saved half of his money and time (about $25,000 and one year). There is no such thing as getanswers@strayer.com, it doesn't exist. They do not have any University relations with any companies except maybe Aflac insurance so unless you want to spend 2 and 1/2 years of your life and about $55,000 on a bogus degree to become an insurance salesman, I would highly advise against attending this school. It has been almost two years now since I "graduated" and I have seen no ROI (Return on Investment) from my degree up until today. My brother went to a reputable school for his graduate degree, George Mason Univerisity, im sure you have heard of this school, he got a higher paying salary and a better position before he even completed his program. People lose money all the time for various reasons such as gambling, investing in a business, or attending Strayer University. The only problem is you will have to put in the time and a certain amount of effort (7th grade level) to read and write your assignments and will find out at the end that it was all for nothing. Employers do not value this school at all and any reputable company will tell you to not waste your time and money at Strayer. Sometimes you will be approached like I was by a "professor" at Strayer who of course will tell you to join the school to get your Masters, why wouldn't they, it is in their best interest to have you spend your money so they can get paid. If you are reading this, please look at all the other comments on here, all of us are speaking from the experiences we had at this school and if we didn't feel so strongly about this schools inability to provide a valuable education we wouldn't take the time and effort to post our complaints about it. Please be well informed and read more before making you commitment to a Masters program. I cannot stress how important it is to work just a little bit harder to get the GMAT scores and attend a reputable school with a well known history of placing its graduates into better, higher paying positions upon graduation.

Strayer University is a good alternative college for working adults who may have advance expertise in their field. I have been working in IT and Cyber Security for over 14 years and I would categorize my overall experience with Strayer as great. I honestly believe that incoming or current students do not conduct their on research before enrolling into coursework or utilize Strayer portal sites to minimize the amount of classes needed to graduate. I was able to transfer in a AGS degree from Columbia College and my Navy transcript into Strayer's BS IS in Security Admin program. Strayer identified that I needed to take 25 of 40 classes to graduate. So, I looked at the Strayer portal and utilize the challenge test program to pass 7 exams, completed two straighter line courses, three ELP, and one skill-soft course to reduce my required courses down to 12 classes. This program saved me over $23,000. I don't know of any other program that allows you to challenge the university curriculum and allow advance testing for course work. I believe that experience professionals should not sit and waste time being lectured if you possess certifications and licenses in the course be offered. So, I believe that Strayer has labeled their product correctly as an working-adult college. But, I do not believe that a student right out of high-school should attend due to pace or required knowledge needed to successfully retain the concepts that each professor teach. So, I think Strayer is a good school if you know what you want your outcomes to be.

Strayer University really helped me advance in my career. I met many professionals who worked in the field I needed to learn about. Most of my professors worked in the field that they taught. This really helped me get ahead being able to ask what I needed to do in order to succeed. Because Strayer University is broken down into 4 quarters a year this has allowed me to get my degree quicker.

I graduated from Strayer in 2009 with a BS in CIS. I attended class in VA and took some online classes as well. I thought the program overall was pretty good, however it def is pricey and you can find other schools that offer a great education for cheaper. The Military has partnered up with Strayer and they wouldn't do so if they thought it wasn't up to par. In my final class, I had Dr. Manning, who was awesome!!! Since graduating from Strayer, I have earned my Commission in the Navy and I recently got accepted into Arizona State University's MSIM program which is ranked #13 in the Country, so for me Strayer has given me the credentials that I need to be successful.

I graduated from Strayer back in 2005 with a 4.0 in Database Technology. During this period I had applied for a scholarship every year and even though I had straight As and was a 35-year old divorced mom who worked full-time, they did not give me a cent. Luckily I qualified for government grants. Also, the school rarely ever had the software/hardware setup available for these courses. A lot of the time we only had our books to read for the computer classes without any "hands on" experience. Not sure how I wss supposed to learn how to restore/recover databases without using a computer. This school was just awful and would not recommend it to anyone. Don't even get me started with how helpful they are with helping you find a job at graduation. What a joke!

Strayer is an excellent program with a bunch of ignorant, ghetto, unprofessional staff members who have the nerve to be responsible for talking to new customers. They verbiage is atrocious, no returned calls, and nobody knows anything about whatever it is you need. There are a few people who try to be very helpful, but they too are idiots. They always want a student survey completed. This must be for formality purposes only because nothing every changes and nobody addresses your concerns AT ALL. I think they need to try changing to the behavioral management style.

Strayer offers an excellent opportunity to return to school and complete your degree. I've been attending for three years. I attend online only as it works better for me. I've got a family, a full-time job, and it lets me handle my schoolwork as I need to. Once in a while I've had a laissez-faire instructor, but most have been excellent. It is a bit of an adjustment going to pure online learning, but I find I do really well with it and enjoy the freedom to do my work when I choose.

Getting a degree with Strayer is useless. Not only are they graduating illiterate people, they charge three times more than a state university. The state university degrees can be accepted everywhere to continue on for a masters whereas the majority of Strayer's degree programs are not recognized. Many companies are starting to not hire graduates from "diploma mills" because the quality of the student learning outcomes is so poor. You'll get stuck with a huge student loan and start out interviewing with a negative mark for attending. When I started at Strayer a decade ago, the degree was worth more. Today, you would be embarrassed to claim that you have a degree from there. At risk, if you did complete a degree, there is a good chance with the Senate investigations of schools like Strayer, more companies will not recognize your degree even if you actually worked hard towards learning the material. You are much better off with just a high school diploma because then, you wouldn't have a mountain of debt added to your inability to find employment in your chosen field. As a reference, I paid my way through school so I have no debt and since I began working in my field before getting my degree, I can get another job based on work experience. So this isn't sour grapes about an inability to get a job. This is review is to help people really consider going to a "diploma mill" in the first place. Spend some time googling Senate hearings and diploma mills. Google any school that you are thinking about attending with their name and consumer complaints. Google "Investigation into yourschoolname" Google student debt and for-profit schools. Look at their graduation and default rates. Be prepared to spend a little time choosing the right school. Not all for-profit schools are bad. If the school uses custom publishing for their textbooks, be prepared that you'll end up paying more for books and they will be much harder to sell. Rather than risk being sued for defamation, I'll be posting this review anonymously. But I do certify that I was a student, the views expressed here are my own opinions, I am not politically or financially motivated to post this review, and I was not in anyway prompted by anyone to post this review.