Virginia College

DO NOT DO IT!!!!!!!!I was told that the MA program was about 20,000. I received 15,000 in pell grants and left school with 15,000 in loan debt. Now if I was awarded over half my tuition in pell grants, why did the school havew me take out 15,000 in stafford and sallie mae loans? I admit to not paying better attention to detail but just as my terms were ending, the financial aid office would threaten to kick me out of schoolif I didn't come up with "X" amount of dollars in a weeks time. The financial aid oficers are worthless. About as worthless as my diploma that hasn't helped in landing me not one single job.

I graduated from VC in 2007 with an Associates in applied science in the surgical tech program....I have never worked as a surg tech....couldnt get a job....degree was no good...I wanted to comment bc I recently found out that I got 18000 dollars in pell grants that I had no clue about....I just want to know if you ever noticed that your address was wrong dealing with pell grants but was correct when it had to do with the loans...I logged in the fafsa website and found mine was so you would never get a letter stating how much you were awarded....Mine and several other classmates were....Huge scam and not sure what to do about it???

Virginia College is the best possible school to attend -IF- you want to major in *I Do Not Know, You Owe more, we can not find it, Your transcripts are Ours, the person you are trying to reach is on vacation, And other similar statements*. We have learned these lessons for free, why should we pay for the opportunity to learn them again?.

Here is an update:

Total posts: 111
Negative: 100 (90.1%)
Positive: 6 (5.4%)
Questions: 5 (4.5%)

All of these complaints are good and more than likely true.  They are good if all you want to do is vent. If you want to effect change and make Virginia College accountable, you need to go through the steps in filing a complaint which if not resolved allows you to take it to the Department of Education (The Feds) and I promise you something will be done. They are banking on students (CUSTOMERS) to rant and rave to each other and expect it to eventually go away, but we have to follow the proper channels to see that something is done. Please refer to your student handbook and look under procedures for filing grievance/complaints. I am a student at Virginia College and a retiree from a large corporation. If I learned nothing, I learned that you follow the chain of command and experience has shown me time and time again that when it reaches the right person, HEADS ROLL.

I went to VC and at first it was a good school overall.  All of a sudden I was in debt up to my neck.  I had three advisors and they just were a total joke. VC needs to be reported to the Dept of Education for its fraudulent financial aid schemes.  Sounds like the school runs a Ponzi Scheme.  Stay away from this school or you will run your education into the ground. This school is only interested in government money not your degree.

Here is an update:

Total posts: 109
Negative: 98 (89.9%)
Positive: 6 (5.5%)
Questions: 5 (4.6%)

I attended Virginia College in Montgomery, AL for the Medical Billing and Coding Program. The school is one BIG JOKE!!!! Once I got into my Coding classes, the less the teacher knew. She didn't know what she was talking about. If she didn't have the book or powerpoint she was totally lost. They are very unorganized and don't know what is going on from day to day. They are also very expensive. It seems like every other quarter tuition is going up. They also charge for Room and Board BUT they don't even offer on/off-campus housing. You get two sets of scrubs and any additional set is $20. For all the money they are getting you would think we can get atleast 3 sets!!! Financial Aid Advisors don't do their job. My advisor waited until the quarter began to tell me that my financial aid was under verification and she needed additional information. What the heck?? They say that they can work around your schedule???? Well they don't. Also, alot of the teachers talk to us GROWN students like we are children. If we say something back to them its a problem. They expect you to respect them as an adult but they dont respect you as an adult. They see you as a little child. Program Directors allow the teachers to talk to the students anyway they want to. Also, I want to say that only 2 out of 195 students passed their Certification for Medical Billing and Coding. The teachers arent covering enough vital information for the certifications. You are basically teaching yourself when you sign up for this school. You might as well do an online college rather than attending this school. IT SUCKS!

I agree with you. Until VC Online gets it's act together, I would steer clear!

Please do not waste your time and money with this school.  I owe over $25,000 and I'm not even working in the profession I "supposedly" went to school for.  They are scam artists if you ask me.  Run far away from this school!!!

I agree with the other comments above.. Do not waist your time with Virginia College as I did.. When I signed with this college I had no idea they were not accrediated. I've wasted two years of my life with this college.. I took Healthcare Reimbursement online.. When it came to my last class, the externship, I found out that I was in debt for nothing.. Virginia College makes you find your own place to do your externship.. I went to several different places and no one would allow me to do my externship and these places also informed me that they would never hire Virgina College graduates because the classes are not accrediated.. Why does the state of Mississippi allow this college to even operate here? Here we all are trying to better ourselves and come to find out, we are in debt up to our ears for nothing!!!!

vc and all of the other for profit schools are a scam.  if you want to know the truth about for profit schools....

google:

GAO Sting for profit colleges  

you all..don't believe this bs about transferring your degree.  that along tells you this person is full of it.  you transfer your units...not your degree.  in the case of all for profit schools...there units will not transfer.  when they say classes will transfer, they are talking about to one of their institutions, not to another school.  if in culinary, the art institute and johnson will accept you into their school but will still charge you the full cost to get a degree in the program.  basically, you still have to pay for all the units in their program and you cannot use the units from another school. cost:  $80,000 for a bachelor degree in culinary.  i worked as a dean in acdemics and warn everyone to stay away from for profit schools...it's a rip off.  go to local community, they have the same programs and you keep your financial aid money and don't have to take out student loans.  if you go to a for profit, you will take out loans and owe about $$20,000 for a degree that will cost you about $5,000 at your local community college.  spread the word to stop the sham.   

When posting a complaint you should put the campus location. It would help

I have been attending vc for 1 semester. It is one of the best schools i've attended. I have attended fccj,dbcc, and keiser. Vc was very helpful with my growth. I learned how to write a real story in my literature class and my learning structure class with forever help me. I recommend this school

I think that if you just went to the bookstore and bought your some Dr Seuss books, you might e just as well off as attending VC.

you can transfer VC credits, only problem is the only place that will accept them is another "for profit". 

who ever heard of johnson & wales..... want that degree look great on your wall????

I took online classes for 2 and a half years. This has been the biggest obstacle the economy, the government and I have created in my life.
It is a scam, not because of the classes, but because of Stafford loans. I wouldn't advise most people to further their education at the moment. It's not worth it.
STAFFORD LOANS ARE BAD...STAY AWAY FROM BORROWING MONEY FOR YOUR EDUCATION FROM THE GOVERNMENT. 
By the way, Robert Fager, since when does Virginia College let you transfer your your degree? 

I am in the last quarter of the Virginia College online Culinary Arts Associates degree (AAS).  I have already a diploma from Culinard, the Culinary Arts Institute of Virginia College. This has been the best 2 years of my life. I already have a Kitchen Manager's position at a well known restaurant with a salary at $10,000 a year more than I have ever made. At this pace, this degree will have it self paid for in less than two years. I have just been informed that I can now transfer my degree to Johnson & Wales University to earn a BS in Food Service Management

This school's ratings are amazingly bad!!!!!!!!!  

Here is an update:

Total Posts:       158
Negative Posts: 142.   89.9%
Positive Posts: 11.         7.1%
Questions:          5.         3.0%

   

I graduated from this hellhole of a school with an Associates but could not attend my graduation because of the incompetence of the financial aid department. The staff are bums and morons from the Dean on down and then they have the audacity to catch attitudes because you call asking about YOUR refund check that YOU are going to have to pay back. We, the students have to suffer because they switched over to a new system of dealing with your disbursements and refunds, BLAH, BLAH BLAH. All of these excuses are just a smokescreen to keep your money.They act as if they are doing you a favor by giving you YOUR money. When I called in to the financial aid office I always got a *sigh* and an attitude because these functioning retards do not want to do their job. The financial aid coordinator that I was assigned to never had any information about my loans. She just told me some crap to get me off the phone. Why was she even there? There was never an exact breakdown of what I was paying for. If you go on the student portal, which btw is a joke of a website that looks like it had been created by a intoxicated toddler, they only show your loan disbursements and your balance so that is not a true breakdown either. These people are shysters to the core.In addition, the process of securing an externship was a total fiasco. I was told at the very last minute that I could not use certain sites for an externship. The first externship coordinator that I had did next to nothing to help me. However, the second coordinator worked her butt off to help me secure a site. She actually gave a ***. However, when I did secure a site it was in the third week of the *** course teamed with the fact that the *** externship was 30 miles away round trip. Therefore, I am spending 80-100 bucks a week in gas and putting wear and tear on my car trying to get my externship hours. Again, I am coming out of money and no one is going to reimburse me for my gas but they have the gall and nerve to hold my refund check hostage and tell me that I am the bad person for inquiring about MY OWN money.. Are you serious??I have totally had it with this bootleg establishment posing as a college;. I was enrolled in the bachelors program but after this last debacle with my refund check, I have since ditched this school for a more reputable one:. Messing with MY money and making me miss an opportunity to walk across the stage was the last straw for me'. Anyone considering this school, either online or otherwise, should avoid it as if it was an STD!!

This school is a complete waste of your time!!!

They better send me my goddamn money before they get messed up. 

I asked the people in Admissions when I first researched this school and they told me my credits will transfer 2 yrs later I'm finding out my credits will not transfer and not only that nobody takes Virginia College credits!!!

Yes, your degree, that right, you need to stick around long enough to earn your degree, will transfer to a number of great schools around the country such as Johnson & Wales, The Arts Institute and Le Cordon Bleu.  The people who can't seem to make anything out of graduating from Culinard are the same type of losers who win a million in the lottery one day and are broke the next.

Here is an update:

Total posts 154
Negative.    138 (89.6%)
Positive.        11 (7.1%)
Question.        5 (3.3%)

I am incredibly dissappointed in Culinard Virginia College at Mobile and would NEVER recommend this school.  The Program Director and Dean are lazy and do not tell the truth.  They brush you off like they could care less.  The instructors don't care about the students because their superiors don't care.  They give minimal effort to take care of their students.  Can't believe I actually signed up with this school.

So ever how much you have in your pocket is what it cost to attend VC.  Remember you cant transfer credits to a real school once to pay for them at VC.  They only transfer to another useless school.  

VC is a "for profit" school.  Someone is making big bucks on your "education" and I am using that term loosely here.

I am so glad that I quit this school before the first 45 days.  The only 2 people that treated me with any respect were the admission counselor, that was until I started classes or unless when he was escorting another paycheck(I mean potential student)  thru the school and one of my instructors.  They sure could use more instructors like that one.  Everyone else was rude to me from the start.  Even the program director treated EVERYONE as if they were to kiss his fat backside.  He was also a self-agrandizing, pompous, blowhard.  

I currently attend Virginia College at the Montgomery Alabama location the school seems to be so BACKWARDS that it is not even funny I HATE IT HERE I feel like I have just wasted the last few months with this school they can never answer any questions then they just are a BAD SCHOOL I HATE I EVEN CAME HERE this is my 3rd semester and I AM ALREADY LOOKING FOR ANOTHER SCHOOL TO ATTEND BEWARE DO NOT ATTEND HERE BE WARNED!!!!!

Also I forgot that HR from Hospital here told me they throw away resumes and applications from VC grads as they don't take the school seriously as past applicants kept messing up on the job.

VC is a scam for the most part. I was registered for classes but decided not to go and went to UA instead. Red flags were being thrown everywhere. They lost my FAFSA info and told me to redo it then found it later in their messy office, the academic advisor was a nurse with a nursing degree from university of phoenix, another scam college, which didnt make sense that the orthopedic program had a nurse as its head. Also their orthopedic program is not recognized by the orthopedic board as they dont give students enough clinical hours. No registration means no job and you cant get registered unless you take the test which you cant sit down for if your school is not recognized. The ortho board even advised me not to waste my time with them. Scam college!!!

"Miss Keep it real" states that it is the students fault for taking a refund check of 1600 per year out of the 16000 they have available. This begs the question: if the student is responsible for the bad debt on 10% of their loan amounts is the school responsible for the other 90%? Please consider that Junior College's cost about 4-6k for the same degrees, that all JuCo's have 100% online degrees, and that JuCo degrees were made to be transferred to a 4 year University! Don't go to VC or any other for-profit school for that matter....welcome to the new age of robber barons; thier CEO was dismissed from Coca Cola for faking product testing results from a Burger King frozen coke trial. Google: Tom Moore Burger King Fraud....and then ask yourself if you should enroll at this school?

I have to say I was forced to finish my degree there because no one and I mean no one would take their credits. I have to start from scratch now to receive an accredited and acceptable degree. $30,000 + later and I have to start from scratch. They tell you the whole time, yes our credits transfer but asked them specifically to which college and they will not come up with one that will take their degrees as a credit.

It is hard enough to go back to school and get all the debt!

UMMM They need to be sued for telling people that they cnan transfer their credits. No one will take their credits!

You are either lazy, stupid, or just a bad liar. I just transfered my Associate degree from Virginia College to Johnson & Wales University and found 2 other great schools which would have also taken my degree. It not what you do, it's how you do it. If you can't seem to make anything of your life after graduating from Virginia College, it's your own fault, not the school.

Wow, I thought about enrolling to get a medical and billing ass. =degree at this school, plus i definitly needed my refunds, looks like i won't be attending here, bye bye!

Here is an update:

Total posts: 144
Negative: 128 (88.9%)
Positive: 11 (7.6%)
Questions: 5 (3.5%)

Wow I think this school is a scam. They told me that I would get a refund check. It never came. These people are lame. I got a lawyer and called the Department of Education

i only attended vc for 1 quarter and i thought that it was a joke. its funny how they didnt receive our tuition until our last day at school for that quarter. they registered me for the second quarter i withdrew from the school the first week of school then my tution came in after i withdrew, so they sent me the information saying that i get a reinburstment then when i contacted them they gave me the run around and then told me that they sent the money back, i dnt understand how they could have sent it back they told me i had thirty days to notify them and i did it in 3 days. they are full of crap when it comes down to the student accounts and money. 

I would like to say that for the most part my experience at VC has been a very good one.  I have not experienced the issues most of you are complaining about.  I have recieved an award letter explaining the cost of tuition and what i was awarded.  The Financial Advisor's have been very helpful, and friendly. I was told that if i wanted to minimize my debt only take what is needed to cover the cost of my tuition and that is exactly what i did.  There are many of my peers who just come to school in order to receive a refund and that is pretty sad because those that are doing this will not benefit in the long term.  This is money that has to be repaid.  Oh! and for those who would like to see how and where your money is being disbursed contact the business office and request a copy of your ledger. Hope this information was helpful.  Everyone has to take responsibility because you will be the one repaying those loans and guess what if you keep complaining, rather than ask questions, then guess what? You will be the one going into "Default" not being able to repay your loans because you will not have a degree or a job.

Here is an update:

Total posts: 140
Negative: 125 (89.4%)
Positive: 10 (7.2%)
Questions: 5 (3.4%)

keep it real...... what a mess, $13K???

U of A not that expsive.

Dear hurtvcstudent,

Do you have any information about who I could contact regarding this lawsuit and any other fraud allegations? If so you can contact me at InvestigatingVCfraud@Gmail.com
Thanks

What I do not Understand is why all of you put a blog here. My withdrawal was submitted today. I am very adamant about this institution being SHUT DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!! They got the right one when they thought they knew me. Why do each and every one of you let other people suffer, instead of going to the appropriate government departments. I have always been the one to step out of the crowd, but have never had a crowd to follow me. Now why is that? talk is cheap, put your money where your mouth is!!! I am going to handle this situation myself and for myself, simply because I do not need anyone jeopardizing it. Why don't you try to get in touch with the BBB, or better yet, THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION!!!!!!!!!!! Let your comments be heard.

I first want to address the money issue, anyone that is going into debt has the right to question where the money is going and what they are paying for.  Virginia College problem is no one can ever explain anything. The next problem is they don't break down or itemize your charges. I was mislead when i started school, by a person and on paper. I was tols night students taht took two classes was considered full time and time for completetion would be 15 months. I am now at two years not completed. I asked questioned about and I was told you would have to take 3 classes at a time to graduate in the time frame, not waht i signed nor what i was told. i dont suggest vc to anyone

@ a comment posted a couple of months ago from JACKSON MS.....Have you watched the news lately? Feb. 10, 2011 and everyday since, VC has been in the local and national news of a $14 million lawsuit! This is very disappointing and this effects all of the students' lives. DO NOT GO TO VIRGINIA COLLEGE OR VC ONLINE!!!

We all make a mistake or two with our spelling (in fact they are possibly typos). My problem is when someone has dozens and dozens of spelling and grammatical errors! They are obviously not well educated! 

As a neutral observer, I see approximately 50 posts that make no mention of money matters at all. On February 3rd, 'miss keep it real' said "There may be some complaints about the instruction....". She is obviously wrong! With 50 complaints about academics, instruction, counseling and the inability to transfer credits and get degrees recognized, I would call that very substantial! This represents a 5 to 1 ratio of negative, serious complaints to 1 positive. Clearly, something is very wrong at VC Online based on these numbers. 
In addition, I would also add that if the remaining 79 negative complaints are about financial matters, that is serious as well. IF the school is having problems with the financial aid getting to students, then that is indeed a serious problem and a valid concern.
I have read the statements of 'miss keep it real' and must say that she really does not make any logical points! She seems to think that all negative complaints are the result of the students having done something wrong. This forum is for students to write their complaints if they is what they wish to do. Therefore my question to her is why do you feel compelled to control the free expression of others? Why do you feel compelled to resort to such horrific gutter language? Didn't your parents provide any guide for you as far as manners go? You also have not offered us any explanation for all of your spelling and grammatical errors. Why is that? I wouldn't go as far as the other person did and call you an 'illiterate' however it does make one wonder if you are a high school dropout. Try to respond in a civilized fashion so that the site administrator does not delete you completely and ban you from this website! 

I actually agree with everything Keep it real has to say most students are going into debt because they want to live off FA if they stop looking for refund checks then a lot of them would be better off.

so what's the count now!  clearly this forum is about a few disgruntled students who did not get their refund checks in time.  The number of complaints are so biased. I guarantee you can get a forum going and have just as many students who don't have an issue with VC.  But i can tell that you are clearly bitter because i have not seen any deceptive practices on their part enrollment agreement shows tuition amount, Award letter shows the amount of aid recieved so what's deceptive about this.  career college i hope these studendt don't think they are going to earn a 100,000 dollars a year because common sense tells you that the type of programs offered does not call for that kind of earning so, i say again what practices seem deceptive.

I don't need you to recap what i wrote clearly, you must be one those students who constantly, call and ask about refund checks otherwise you would not be such an advocate for these other ridiculous posts written by money hungry students. Furthermore the DOE has not found any wrong doing on the part of VC and this is a fact and not a projections as you would say and as i stated earlier that most student in this forum seem to be all about a dolar and will not take it back nor will i apologize for the comment because clearly it is my conclusion drawn from reading every single ridiculas comment posted here.

You said "So let's just keep it real here with the economy the way it is right now over half these students are looking for ways to subsidized their lost income and the bottom line is they could care less about the instruction it is proven in these post all they are worry about is a dollar." 
That is a ridiculous statement! You don't know that! You are simply projecting possibly what you would do onto others! DOE has investigated many of these schools for deceptive practices. I do not know what the outcome was for VC Online as far as that goes however, with this number of complaints one has to wonder what is going on. I am not saying that VC Online is to blame. However, I am not saying either that the students are to blame. Each individual case is different. So why don't you 'keep it real' and not make such ridiculous statements! 

Well WOW I have read a lot of things on this website. I would have to disagree with most. Just to get started... maybe students should have done a little research. They would have learned that VC is Nationally Accredited. Secondly the tuition is right on the tuition agreement they signed. It isnt hidden. If you dont pay attention to what you do and you assume, then all of a sudden it is the others fault??? Secondly and everyone knew that this is a CAREER COLLEGE....... Obviously you are not going to be an astronaut after graduating. BE REAL.... Thirdly most of these complaints are from people who couldnt get in to a real University anyways, or a major Public University wouldnt accept them. I would say so far my experience with Virginia College has been great. A little more expensive than I thought but I was told right up front and what they offered for the price. I did some research and they are very competitive with other major Online schools such as University of Phoenix..... And furthermore one last note.... DOE did investigate for profit schools.... Not one error or complaint form VC

There may be some complaints about the instruction but not very many most of these students main complaint seems to be about money. Furthermore, if the chief complaint is about instruction then maybe they should inform their instructor of the fact that they are having a difficult time with the way the lesson is being taught also, they have surveys at the end of every class for you to voice those complaints as well.  Since so many of the people who are focused on money seem to be the ones with most problems in the classroom because they are worry about when they will recieve a check if you took as much time studying the material than calling checking up on a check im pretty sure their grades would improve tremendously.  So let's just keep it real here with the economy the way it is right now over half these students are looking for ways to subsidized their lost income and the bottom line is they could care less about the instruction it is proven in these post all they are worry about is a dollar.  Clearly, those funds provided by the government was not intended for that purpose.

Here is an update:

Total posts: 129
Negative: 114 (88.4%)
Positive: 10 (7.8%)
Questions: 5 (3.8%)

Unfortunately you are not presenting a balanced picture. Many of the negative comments on this board are also about the lack of quality instruction!

I know and many of you also are aware that there are cheaper schools out their such as your community colleges and state schools. Not all adults have the luxuary of sitting home all day and have the time to attend a traditional college otherwise their would be no need for for-prfit schools most adults have to work and need a more flexible learning environment and since this is very hard to achieve at your traditional schools some of us are willing to pay the higher tuition in order to have the option to log into my classes on my own schedule not some set schdule that i am made to adhear to.  At VC i just need to ensure that i am loging in and particpating in my classroom discussions. If you have the time to adhear to a set schedule by all means go to your state school.  I recieved my AA from a community college but what i found later after enlisting in the military that as i began my career i did not have time where i could go to class like everyone else i needed to be able to access my classes when i am underway on board my boat as well so this is not for everyone.  I suggest everyone do what they feel is best for them and let othes do like wise. Stop trying to sway your bad experiences and judgements on other.  Everyone should have a little thinking ability to see where the fault lies.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but most of these students brougt a lot of that debt on themselves over half of them bounce around from for profit school to for profit school and as soon as they fail out and find out their no longer elgible for financial aid then they move to the next one all a long the debt is piling up and as soon as they get enrolled want to know when they get a check not how are class what grad placement rate then they come with no transfer credits cus they owe the previous school they attended and soon find out they actually have to do work and when they stop logging into class and are automatically dropped due to attendance they look stupid wondering why they owe a balance IF DROP ADD WEEK IS OVER AND YOU DECIDE NOT TO LOG IN FOR 14 DAYS STRAIGHT GUESS WHAT YOU STILL OWE A PERCENTAGE OF THAT TUTION.  Then what's next you tend to move right along to the next school once you see the well has run dry at VC.  I guess it doesn't really matter to most of the ones complaining because your not genuine interested in graduating with a degree as you are getting a Loan Advance Check.  If you stayed on top of your studies as much as you worry about a check i think a lot of you would be better off.   

It is crazy to hear all of this foolishness no body taking responsibilty for nothing it's always someone else fault when your up to your neck in debt its your fault for requesting excess money out in loans. stop asking for loan advances and maybe you will be able come out of school with a lot less debt.  VC tuition for online is 369.00 per credit hour and they generally create budgets for 1 academic year.  It breaks down like this.

Example:

Tuition 13,384
Pell(max)5,550 not all are entitle to this much
Sub      3,500 undergrad 1st year (max)
unsub    6,000 undergrad  (max)

You have 1,666.00 left over in unsub after tuition is covered instead of requesting this in a check they always advise you to send the remainder back to the lender.  This will reduce you loan debt.  But how many of you actually do that none you are quick to say send it to me and guess what your the blame for the unecessary debt NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU!!! OWN UP!  AND GROW UP .
 

I guess not all of us are fortunate enough to live off mommy and daddy's money. Maybe you need to grow up. Serious, going to school full time, and then working full time, you need some help. That extra money is there for a reason, it's for us. It's to help us out a bit here and there, and has a long grace, and payoff period vs. any other loan in the world.

Get some intelligence in your skull please. 

I would like to say that most of these students in this posting seem to only be interested in checks and that seems to be the main complaint VC has been great with producing an award letter to letting me know exactly what tuition cost is and and what i have been awarded. They explained that they budget students at direct cost meaning they only request loans to cover your tution leaving you with a zero balance.  They explained my full eligibility which as a undergrad is 9500.  3500 in sub and 6000 in unsub and advised me not to take no more than what was needed because once i graduated six months after i would half to begin repaying my loans.  So for all of those people talking all that smack about what they weren't explained thats a lie the award letter is right in the enrollment portal for your review and you half to log into accept it as well.  They also explained that if for some reason you needed additional funds you would need to feel out loan advance request which is  something that every school should implement because we all know that those funds are only intended to be used for educational purposes and a lot of students use it for God knows what and 9 times out of 10 this is why you end up with 58,000.00 dollars worth of debt because half of you are looking for a check..  When you get a check this excess money that you did not need for your tuition but opted to have anyway that's why.  For those of you who don't know you have aggregate loan limits as well and for those of you who like those checks there will come a point when you reach those limits and guess what..... You will not be able to complete a degree anywhere this especially for those who fail classes and still bug the FA about checks. You all need to take responsibily and stop blaming other for your own incompetence you get and award letter explaining what you are going to be awarded for the full academic year.  So yall need to own up and stp taking out more money than you need for undergraduate studies you are only entitled to 57,000 total to complete a bachelors degree only 23,000 can be from your subsidized loans and once you have refund checked it up know school will enroll you unless you have cash to pay for the degree so think twice about refund checks.  This is why they have you complete the SSRT (credit balance form) 

Virginia College screwed me out of federal grants that I was supposed to get from the pentagon for being a military spouse. They sent me a bill saying I owed them $800. [i only went there for one semester]. Then, the next bill I got said almost $1500. I just received a bill today that is almost $4000. All the while I have been talking to somebody in the business office that is "getting it taken care of". I have been calling that person every day for literally the past 68 days and leaving messages... messages that never get returned. I call and ask to speak to somebody else and they tell me they can't help me.

Also, I got 100% on EVERY single assignment until there were about 2 weeks left of class. The instructor would tell me that I did an excellent job, blah blah blah.. but then put in my grade as a zero. I confronted them about it and they told me it was a "type-o" and that they couldn't fix it. That was in all three of my classes. So, I went from A's to finishing with C's. 

I am absolutely going to talk to a lawyer and see about filing a class action suit since it was federal money that they screwed me out. 

STUDENTS... BEWARE!!!!!

There is a great deal of dissatisfaction with VC Online. I have looked at many colleges at this site and I have never seen a negative percentage of over 90%!!!! I would approach this college very carefully if I were you!

Hello Jeff,

I will love to do a lawsuit!!!! But I would want to do a suit for V College giving me a B****** degree that everyone is telling me I can never use!!!!  Email me at: pisces39705@yahoo.com

I graduated from Virginia College of Mobile in August of 2010. I have had no luck using the associates in Administrative Office Management. I graduated with a 3.57 GPA. I attended almost every class and the teachers know it. I originally enrolled in the Human Resource Management, the program was dropped. When I refused to change programs I was dropped from school in the third week of the quarter, due to a "clerical error". When i went back i Was told that the program was unavailable and had to take the Administrative Office Management program or lose all I had done.  Does anyone know any way that i can file a complaint about this school. I would not want anyone else to have to suffer the way i have. Please someone post a way to stop this scam. Please someone HELP!

 The BBB is a great way to address and resolve this issue.

Here is an update:

Total posts: 120
Negative: 108 (90%)
Positive: 7 (5.8%)
Questions: 5 (4.2%)

I see many negative comments yet no formal reviews. If you feel so strongly about this college being terrible (according to you) then write reviews. Be proactive!

I might not be looking hard enough but I cannot find the tuition costs at their website. I don't trust any university that doesn't post that simple and important information. 

Please see my recent post--I obviously don't know what experience you had with VC, but if it is similar to what I have gone through and you would be interested in pursuing legal action, please let me know.

Jeff.
   Hello I hope that I am not to late to get involved with the lawsuite Virgina College has used fraud to decieve me for almost 2 months. Money wise, and classes .

I would really like to start a class action lawsuit against VC. If anyone know anything about it I am game for it! 

I am currently in my fourth year at VC online. I will not be graduating this quarter due to mismanagement on behalf of the advisors that the college assigned me. Basically they had me take classes that did not count to fulfilling my degree requrements, and now, though I have enough credits to graduate, I cannot because they are not the "right" credits. I have spoken to a lawyer who thinks I have a case, but he suggested that I try to find others in the Southeast that have had similar problems in order to bring a class action suit. If anyone has had a situation where you were advised to take classes that were unnecesary, or a situation where Virginia College's errors cost you and you have any documentation, and you are willing to participate in a lawsuit (you would not have to pay anything), please contact me!

Here is an update:

Total posts: 115
Negative: 103 (89.6%)
Positive: 7 (6.1%)
Questions: 5 (4.3%)

You said "Be accountable and responsible and approach them." Accountability works both ways! The professors, counselors etc. need to do their jobs as well. The student should not have to hound them! 

It is unforunate that most of the comments are complaints. Being someone who has both gone through an undgrad and graduate program and now teaches in a college, I can see both sides of the story. In my opinion, students need to ask VC faculty more questions about their financial aid, class program, and be personally accountable to stay connected with their advisors, as both parties have a responsibility. Don't just wait for your depatmental advisor or financial aid advisor to contact you. Be accountable and responsible and approach them. If you have complaints about the teaching style of an instructor, than professionally and diplomatically provide that feedback to the instructor. Any good instructor welcomes student comments on how to improve a class and/or their teaching presentation. Over the years I have heard the saying, "If you have a compliant, before you present it make sure you have a solution to present with your complaint." In other words, don't be a part of the problem. Be a part of the solution."

This school is a ripoff. You receive disbursements letters but never an actual bill how much you owe virginia college. I believe they are scams pocketing the money. Some people do not go to school just for the money. But when it is yours and your loan bill you want to know where is the money being spent. This school is a ripoff and I agree.

I HAVE BEEN ATTENDING THIS SCHOOL FOR THREE TERMS NOW, I FEEL THAT THIS SCHOOL COULD IMPROVE ON MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE STUDENT RATHER THAN TRYING TO HAVE THE MOST STUDENTS ENROLLED SO THEY CAN MAKE THEIR ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENTS. THE STUDENTS ARE PAYING A LOT OT MONEY TO ATTEND THIS COLLEGE. IF I CHOOSE TO LEAVE THIS SCHOOL AND MY CREDITS CAN'T GO WITH ME THAN WHATS THE POINT! DONT GET ME WRONG V.C. HAS POTIENTAL BUT THEY NEED TO GET THINGS ORGANIZED, AND BE MORE DIVERSE

I have been enrolled for almost 2 years. I have not had a single problem. My councler is in touch with me all of the time. I think this site is a scam. Down a great college. I have not one single complaint.

I am sooooooooooooooooo glad that I found this site before committing to VC Online. I know that anyone can write anything in a forum like this but the fact that over 90% of the comments here are negative that should be a HUGE warning sign!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am going else where!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These guys are soooooo shady!!! I couldn't find the tuition cost last time I was online at their website!

Dudes...... This college has been completely trashed in this forum. Man...... 90% negative reviews. That has got to be some kind of a record!! I wouldn't go to this college if they paid me!

I guess I am the 100th post according to The Count. Well, I will make it short and to the point! VC Online sucks!!!!!!!

I am a pending graduate at VCO and I can tell you that the whole school is a joke and if I had known much about this site I would probably be at another school. One of the main reasons for going was because textbooks were included and I couldn't afford them. I have problems with the financial aid office as well. My computer crashed and I was in danger of failing. I went the entire two years and was never told I had a balance even though I filled paperwork to send the balance to me. They actually told me that they sent the money back. It wasn't a big deal until I needed it. What was left was 12 dollars. One counselor, was very helpful, informed me of a loan advance. I applied and now I have been waiting for at least 12 weeks. Still nothing. I managed to use a computer I borrowed to get me through but I hate the run around. Now I call them and it’s the week after next. I have already received my disclosure statement from Direct Loans so it should not be this long. They never call unless the financial aid papers were due. I learned a lot because I pushed myself not because I learned anything from the instructors. I am more aware of the education that I want and it is not always good to sacrifice something on one end just to have the rug ripped from you on the other. I have found a school that is regionally accredited and offers textbooks and a laptop for the same price. Why couldn't they just do that instead of nothing? I will not be attending graduation, as far as I am concerned I will waste no more money either way.

I have been attending VCO and I have had a very good experience so far. I don't have anything bad to say. I have read more negative comments than good ones and that says a lot about VC. I just want my degree because I have worked extremely hard for a year now and I am scheduled to graduate in 6 months and I look forward to it. I receive refund checks and they are pretty nice. I would prefer not to know when I am receiving one because I don't want to look for it in the mail and I don't feel like hassling the VC staff about my check. I love to open the mailbox and just see it in there. It's a surprise and a thrill all at the same time. Good thing I didn't read this review before I enrolled because I really would have changed my mind, but hopefully those looking to enroll at an online college will do their own research and not rely on a picture that was painted for them.

Just an updated score:

Total posts: 97
Negative: 88 (90.7%)
Positive: 4 (4.1%)
Questions: 5 (5.2%)

From the number of bad reviews and comments on this place, I would say to anyone 'stay the hell away from VC!!!!!'

Go to this school and you will be sorry! This is not a regionally accredited college. Your credits and degree will not be accepted by other RA colleges. You might be able to transfer to a lowly NA college. You have been warned!

I wanted to get some information and heard a bunch of stuff that worried me greatly. I got the feeling that I was dealing with a used car salesman. Please do not consider this school if you are smart!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! I have wasted a whole year with VCOnline. I have put in two grade disputes in the past two quarters, both were resolved in my favor. At least thats what the student advisor told me on the phone. I need something on paper stating that my grade was changed and I haven't recieved that yet. This term will be my last. One of the teachers told everyone in the virtual office she cannot help anyone with their homework. She doesn't want anyone to ask her questions. How is a person supposed to learn without asking a teacher questions. I spoke with my student advisor and she is no help either. So please if anyone is reading this and saying to themselves maybe it won't be like that for me, PLEASE RECONSIDER. THIS SCHOOL IS TERRIBLE BEYOND BELIEF. I was trying to get an education, not a check. It seems the only thing I got was the shaft.

Stay away from NA schools. The credits will almost never transfer to RA schools. Most people laugh at NA 'degrees' and it will be very difficult to find a job!!! Isn't Virgina College NA? That says it all!!!

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

I don't like to recommend for-profit schools, but there are other schools that include books in the tuition and are regionally accredited. Colorado Technical University is $265 per credit and American Military/Public University is $250 per credit. This school is far from being cheap, especially for a nationally accredited institution. 

When you go to a community college, who cares if you have to pay for books? You usually get a refund check before school starts so you can buy books, the tuition is usually around $50 per credit, and your credits are very likely to transfer to a 4 year university.

This 'college' is the worst I have researched (and I have researched hundreds!!!). Whatever you do, don't go to VC Online (or any NA college).

I would like to introduce a little financial reality into the discussion. A young lady (Trena) in August of 2009 posted a comment. She explained that she owed $58,000 in loans. For illustration purposes, let's assume a 6.5% interest rate (which is the average). in addition, let's say that you wanted to pay-off the loan in 10 years (120 months). You would pay:

$658/month for 120 months

interest: $21,000

Final pay-off amount with interest: $79,000 !!!!!!!!

Many people simply cannot pay back their loans; especially if they are getting a degree from a 'university' which will not make them competitive enough to get the excellent job paying big money.

Think it over carefully. I would do the prudent thing and go to a community college for a tiny fraction of the tuition cost at a 'university' like this one. You can also transfer to a public university at a fraction of the cost as well. Good Luck!!!!!

OMG.....LMAO!!!!! This 'college' sucks!!!!

LMAO!

Just an updated score:

Total posts: 88
Negative: 79 (89.8%)
Positive: 4 (4.5%)
Questions: 5 (5.7%)

The Golden 100th post is coming!!!! Stay tuned!!!!

I still dont understand this check / refund deal.  Nobody seems to get a refund and the ones that get a refund are happy.

How long can this last getting refund checks, it is like Christmas every quarter, get check, get check.

What a mess, here is a way to know that VC is a joke.  They advertise on transit busses. Rule 1 is this, dont go to a school that advertises on transit busses, even though they stop right in front of your school like they do in locations in AL.

A good physco exam might be in order for anyone considering this school.

This would be a good time to have them investigated. The FOR-PROFITS are under the microscope right now for their business practices. I would first file a complaint with the BBB in the school's state. Then look into the next step from there. Good luck. It is amazing tht almost 90% of all posts on this school are not just negative but highly negative.

So they too are trying to screw me, the second I tryed to transfer even though I'm starting fresh with a new major and a NCAA D-2 school  there is a magical hold on my account . Monday when I get a hold of the business office they will resolve this issue  or they will be sued. Anyone thinking about going to this school I  would not wish that on you they make it seem like your getting a deal but they really want your money. My sister goes to this school as well, I tried to get her to transfer but she will not bc "shes almost done". Credits will not transfer  and etc I enrolled at florida tech online and once again they are a  real school now I have to go toe to toe with these idiots  in the business dept. Maybe I should have them investagated by the feds. Anyway do not go to this school

Wow! Do you people go to school to get a refund check? Did you ask if they were regionally or nationally accredited? I have had a good experience so far; yes the staff are both good and bad but overall I'm happy. I researched a lot before I signed up, though. The Career Services Department has even found me a job where I can work while I am in school!

Just an updated score:

Total posts: 83
Negative: 74 (89.2%)
Positive: 4 (4.8%)
Questions: 5 (6.0%)

I don't think I have ever seen a college get so ripped by former students!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

This school sucks!!! Please be warned from someone who is currently "trapped" there. It is way more expensive, the degree isn't as good, and the credits WILL NOT TRANSFER. Local companies from  the cities around here REFUSE to hire a Virginia College graduate. They try to fast talk to you about how they are accreditated and how they help you find jobs, it's all LIES!!! They are only interested in making money. I would say at least 85% of the students I am going to school with are planning on starting over somewhere else to get a RESPECTABLE degree because no one wants to even LOOK at a Virginia College student. Be warned.. DO NOT DO IT!!!

Do not go to this school!! I am getting ready to graduate with an associate's and I want to move on to get my bachelor's from a different school, and these credits won't transfer to any respectable school. They don't tell you that when they are trying to get you enrolled. There are several students at the one I go to that are talking about suing Virginia College. We have paid all this money and spent all this time and to go somewhere else, we have to retake all these classes we have already taken. And they are only nationally accreditated, in case you don't know, regionally accreditated is the best you can get. Unless you plan on stopping at just the diploma or associate's degree, you should REALLY REALLY consider going somewhere else. Learn from my mistake, make she the college is REGIONALLY accreditated so that there will be no problems transferring if you want to.

I agree with you that VC sucks!!! I just want to know what your position is and relationship to the college.

Reading all this is really something.  

I think that if you are considering being a massage therapist or a cook, VC might be ok.

If you think for one minute you are going to get a good job with a VC degree or transfer any credits anywhere else, you are fooling yourself.  VC is a joke in the REAL world.  Getting books included in your tuition is just another way for them to make money off of stupid people.

If you cannot do anything else, go to a community college, there are many of them.  Maybe they are not giving refund checks, but dont worry about that.  All that money has to be paid back or can result in legal issues, garnishment from your first job for example.  US Dept of Ed will come after you and VC cant help you with that.

KC

What is all this business about a refund check?  Are you going to school to learn or get refund checks?  It appears at VC you dont get a refund check nor do you get anything that is going to get you a job. You go to college to get a refund check.

This is like the Animal House of private schools.

It appears to me after reading some of this stuff that you have to be really stupid to even consider this place.  My company would not hire anyone from this place, not even give them an interview.

Thanks so much to all VC students for allowing themselves to be ripped up the ass.  I got to fly on the VC Lear jet to pay golf in FL, it was wonderful.

Keep studying hard little girls and boys, you will need to find a good job to pay bank those loans, big loans.  In fact it may take you the rest of your working life.

Good luck

Just an updated score:

Total posts: 77
Negative: 68 (88.3%)
Positive: 4 (5.2%)
Questions: 5 (6.5%)

Has anyone gotten a job with a degree from VCO?

I went to Virginia College until I found out it was all a big sham.  Instructors call you on the phone acting like they are interested in you, but it's really just to hold you in class until drop day is over...then they don't care.  You can turn in anything and get an "A" because none of them read what you turn in.  I turned in a blank file once and got a 100 lol...seriously I did!  The last straw was when I went on a job interview and proudly told them I went to Virginia College.  The ladys face got this funny expression and then she told me to find another place to get my training.  She said they wouldn't hire me from there.  I transfered to a 'real' school and graduate in December!

Just an updated score:

Total posts: 74
Negative: 66 (89.2%)
Positive: 4 (5.4%)
Questions: 4 (5.4%)

My Daughter attended VC and I suggested she quit because, she attended VC for 6 months and never received a check. And when we called they couldn't not give us a straight answer. Went through so many people and this 1 man gonna try and tell us that WE did not submit loan papers. We we called around and her loans was released to VC OKAY where's her MONEY ??????? I hope they shut VC down..I am getting a lawyer....

You are correct! I couldn't find any regional accreditation for this college. National accreditation will not 'cut it' in most cases. The credits are difficult to transfer and there are many RA universities that won't even look at the transcripts from a NA college. In my opinion, these NA colleges are a WASTE OF MONEY.....period!

Virginia College is not regionally accredited, it is overpriced for a "college" and has a terrible reputation. I think it might be a scam.
They say if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it might be a duck.
Scam for profit = Virginia College

THIS SCHOOL SUCKS....YOU DON'T RECEIVE A REFUND CHECK AT ALL AND THEY TALK YOU INTO ENROLLING.....ONCE YOU DO THAT YOU ARE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT YOU ANYMORE....I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND ANYONE TO GO HERE AT VIRGINIA COLLEGE!!!!!

This is "Save Your Financial Life"(aka "Bottom Line" and "Financial Reality"). I have seen you post in several forums and I know you have reacted to my 'educational posts' favorably. I am trying to make potential students aware of the financial impact of taking out huge student loans to attend some of these FOR-PROFITS. I am concentrating my efforts on several schools which have, in my opinion, exorbitantly high tuitions! According to government studies, these students are more than twice as likely to default on their loans. In addition, I believe that the money they have spent on their educations are simply not worth it!!! There are cheaper and better alternatives. In any case, I will keep up my efforts and you do the same. I am in agreement with what you are posting and together we can make a difference in warning and educating potential students.

Just an updated score:

Total posts: 70
Negative: 62 (88.6%)
Positive: 4 (5.7%)
Questions: 4 (5.7%)

Sorry to read about your situation. Frequently many people do get 'sucked into' these 'universities'. Unfortunately, VC is not regionally accredited and that is why you cannot find any RA university to accept your credits. In addition, colleges such as VC are expensive. They push loans that people cannot afford. In fact, the default rate on loans from such colleges are more than 2 times higher than on loans made to students that attended RA universities. None of this was known to you before you signed up for VC. 
I am posting here and in other forums such as the UoP, Ashworth, Kaplan (among others)to warn potential students of the dangers regarding transfer of credits and loans (financial reality of having to pay back huge sums of money). Sorry I couldn't warn you sooner.

I went to VC in oct of 2002 and finished with a 2 year in 2005. I recently came back to get my BA since other places do not accept there credits. Ive been told several times that I was gonna graduate at a certain time....I end up being told 3 times that it was being extended. Now i cant finish I dont have the funds to even finish. Everything that was said above happened to me. This school is terrible. I feel as they are doing something illegal. Also want to say that in my years of going there I have noticed teachers come and go....even some told me this school is a waste of time. If there was a way to get my money back and start over I would......now im screwed with 4 kids and a wife making under 30k a year....noone will hire me from that school.  Sooooooo now what?

DON'T GO TO VIRGINIA COLLEGE ON-LINE! CONTINUED...
At the time of my accident, I also found out that I supposedly owed them a little over $500 for a reason which they wouldn't tell me. I told the Lady in the Business Department to take the money out of my loans and she said it would be taken care of. That they could take the money out and the debt would be gone. By the way I never received any bills, phone calls, or e-mails to tell me about this debt before.

Well, I reapplied with no problems but when I tried to get my classes they didn't have any available. Now that seemed fishy, since according to them I still needed over a hundred credits. I finally was able to get back in my classes for the first term of this year, but my back was killing me the whole time. So, in April I decided to go to a local college campus. However, when I tried to drop out of VCO they wouldn't drop me from the classes that they had signed me up for. It took them over a week to tell me that they needed me to send it in writing. And then they tried to keep my Financial Aid and Loans. They just recently sent the money back to the lender this month.

I was just got accepted into a University and was trying to get my official transcripts sent over when I found out that I NOW owed them over $800.00 from way back in 2008, the same debt that was supposedly taken care of last August. I asked them why they didn't take it from my loan money when I told them too, and they told me that they aren't allowed to do that. Huh? I don't get it! I told them to do it and its my money, so whats the problem? Well now I can't get my transcripts until the debt is taken care of and my new College can't enroll me until they get those. I don't know what to do. I did get a copy of my "Student Ledger Card" e-mailed to me and according to it I don't owe anything. However, I am still trying to get a rundown of the finances. And I will take that teachers advice and report VCO to the feds.

DON'T GO TO VIRGINIA COLLEGE ON-LINE! 
I graduated from a 2 year College with 4 (count them, Four) Degrees. When I graduated I couldn't find a job that would accept an Associate’s Degree, they ALL wanted a Bachelors Degree, or 3+ years experience. So with no experience I decided to go back to school and get my Bachelors Degree. I decided on Virginia College because I have a severely Disabled child and I needed to be home until he could start school full-time. I started going to Virginia College On-line in 2008.

At first they were very helpful, but that all changed in August of last year. I was in a major car accident and I was unable to sit at a computer (Per Doctors Orders), I called my Advisor and informed him of my problem. He told me that it wasn't a problem; he only needed me to fax him my Doctors note and he would withdraw me from my classes and that I could retake them next term. So I faxed him my Doctor's note but when I tried to enroll in my classes for the next term I found out that he had disenrolled me from the school and I had to reapply. What a pain.

Please any students listen to this. Don't waste your time. I am getting good grades but there are always problems. The teachers aren't teaching. They refuse to answer questions. I am about to put in my second grade dispute because the teachers will not answer emails. I am about to quit and now I have to pay back the moneys for the student loans, and yes my money went to the school. I was there for an education. I feel like I have wasted a whole year, what a shame or should I say sham.

Aww stop your whining. Face it Virginia College is a diploma mill, no one takes them seriously.

I will not let these people sit here and talk about virginia college like this. I dont know how it is anywhere else on other Virginia College Campuses but in jackson Ive had no problems wether its class or getting a refund check. The school is not going to shut down. It is study growing. The people leaving negative comments are the ones who go to get a check anyway  and probably didnt show up for class and missed to many days. Thats why they had to payback so tell the truth people and its not just virginia college every school is doing it now if you miss too many days they make you pay back. So Im not going to tell you where to go and not to go to school. You are an adult make your own decision.

Just an updated score:

Total posts: 63
Negative: 56 (88.9%)
Positive: 3 (4.8%) 
Questions: 4 (6.3%)

This is probably the worst college I have ever read about in these forums. I mean less than 5% positive comments. That is extremely bad. Read through any of the forums of the lowly rated schools like Kaplan and University of Phoenix and even they have a higher proportion of positive comments. There are a lot of very, very unhappy people as far as Virginia College is concerned. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to this school for 6 classes in the Ms in Cyber security. When I withdrew I was told that I owed 7500.00. My employer was doing direct tuition billing and they had reciepts of the checks being cashed. I had my HR people call the school and they got me a notorized letter that said I owe nothing. Seems they tried to get money from me when the company had already paid. And lots of luck trying to find any sort of contact number or any way to request a copy of your transcripts......BTW they will not transfer anywhere. DO NOT GO HERE, instructors were excellent, management of the school sucked. I took 6 classes, never opened a book and still got a 4.0

I hear you Chad! The count is......

Just an updated score:

Total posts: 61
Negative: 54 (88.5%)
Positive: 3 (4.9%) 
Questions: 4 (6.6%)

the financial aspect is, they have a system in place that I learned about at the Chattanooga campus where they try to not allow you access to your loan refunds. Thats why most people aren't getting them.They call it, a way to keep students from going into a large amount of financial debt. That is the perfect cover up to the actual truth which is, people who attend this school obvioulsy can't get into Harvard or Yale or even FSU. Including myself. So people attending this school more than likely need their loan money. The teacher up above who says they aer encouraged to post positive repsonses to boards like this is correct, they do. 

that's why there is so many more bad posts than good right? Cause even though the teachers are coming to places like this to post good things as part of their job, students still stop by and the majority of posts are bad. All anyone has to do is look at this forum and seperate the good from the bad and there is your answer. They ruined what I thought would be a fun learning experience. To them I say thanks for nothing.

Anony is correct!!!! He has suffered greatly at the hands of VCO!!!! This is what President Obama wants to protect us against! Schools like VCO charge huge tuitions for what some say is a 'joke of a degree program'. After graduation, they cannot find work since their degrees are not recognized by employers. Our president is proposing the 6% "gainful employment" rule, which in my opinion, is a great step towards regulating the curriculums and depth of content offered to the students. If you want to see more on this important proposal, I suggest you go to the PBS website and view 'College, Inc.' It will open your eyes as to what some For-Profits are doing. Not all For-Profits are the same. However, some have degree programs which are simply a way of collecting tuition and teaching very little. I feel very badly for Anony however, he/she seems to be taking a proactive approach. I wonder how VCO will do if the "Gainful Employment Rule" passes. What do you think?

For everyone stuck with a high tuition bill, you can file under bankruptcy to clear these debts as long as you can show its a hardship and that you didnt get the quality you wanted. I researched it online so should everyone else and not pay this scamming school nothing. I recieved straight A's from VCO under the paralegal program and graduated, guess what I can't get a job to pay my 30,000 back so Im filing bankruptcy so thanks VCO for a 30,000 piece of paper the I should just wipe my ass on.

I would like to introduce a little financial reality into the discussion. A young lady in August of 2009 posted a comment. She explained that she owed $58,000 in loans. For illustration purposes, let's assume a 6.5% interest rate (which is the average). in addition, let's say that you wanted to pay-off the loan in 10 years (120 months). You would pay:

$658/month for 120 months

interest: $21,000

Final pay-off amount with interest: $79,000 !!!!!!!!

Many people simply cannot pay back their loans; especially if they are getting a degree from a 'university' which will not make them competitive enough to get the excellent job paying big money.

Think it over carefully. I would do the prudent thing and go to a community college for a tiny fraction of the tuition cost at a 'university' like this one. You can also transfer to a public university at a fraction of the cost as well. Good Luck!!!!!

What about the debt? How much debt does one go into in order to get a bachelor degree? How much is tuition? Do you think they 'over-charge'? Tell us about the financial aspect of Virginia College!!!!

I went to the Chattanooga campus. When I moved I had t transfer online. THey have sent me the wrong books every quarter for the last 5 quarters. They will send me a ups slip to send it back, but I live so far away from any of that that I have to pay someone to have it picked up in town. 

Yes everyone who says the staff knows nothing is exactly right. They do not know much of their job. I was also always trasnferred to someone else when I had a question. Questions seem to go unanswered by staff all the time. They always tell you to talk to someone else. Getting someone to return my emails for a while was almost impossible. 

One of the financial aid staff had told me i was inelgible to recieve money from my student loan because the online cost more htan the campus. Then I talked to another guy who said she was wrong and that I could have gotten the money. He did take care of me for a while, but their institution has a revolving door for staff and I haven't heard back from him since. 

Staff always likes to subtley insult you, you know. "why didn't you try this", and this will be left clicking on someting. With this said they are not all bad but I have had a terrible experience with my time at this school. I had a few good instructors on campus, but you can tell online its more of an afterthought.

One teacher even said she didn't understand why the quiz was written out the way it was and that she couldn't change it becasue she doens't create our homework someone else does. I guess they are just there to grade the papers which takes a god awful long time. One teacher took 4 weeks to grade an assignement and had graded most of my later work.

I would like to introduce a little financial reality into the discussion. A young lady in August of 2009 posted a comment. She explained that she owed $58,000 in loans. For illustration purposes, let's assume a 6.5% interest rate (which is the average). in addition, let's say that you wanted to pay-off the loan in 10 years (120 months). You would pay:

$658/month for 120 months

interest: $21,000

Final pay-off amount with interest: $79,000 !!!!!!!!

Many people simply cannot pay back their loans; especially if they are getting a degree from a 'university' which will not make them competitive enough to get the excellent job paying big money. 

Think it over carefully. I would do the prudent thing and go to a community college for a tiny fraction of the tuition cost at a 'university' like this one. You can also transfer to a public university at a fraction of the cost as well. Good Luck!!!!!

I would like to introduce a little financial reality into teh discussion. A young lady in August of 2009 posted a comment. She explained that she owed $58,000 in loans. For illstration purposes, let's assume a 6.5% interest rate (which is the average). in addition, let's say that you wanted to pay-off the loan in 10 years (120 months). You would pay:

$658/month for 120 months

interest: $21,000

Final pay-off amount with interest: $79,000 !!!!!!!!

Many people simply cannot pay back their loans; especially if they are getting a degree from a 'university' which will not make them competitive enough to get the excellent job paying big money. 

Think it over carefully. I would do the prudent thing and go to a community college for a tiny fraction of the tuition cost at a 'university' like this one. You can also transfer to a public university at a fraction of the cost as well. Good Luck!!!!!

I have never seen a school with sooooo many overwhelmingly negative reviews at any of the dozens of websites like this one that I have visitied!!!! WOW!!!! This school must suck!!

Seems like Virginia College is getting shut down. According to buddy above me I'll give them one more year before their completely gone.

Just an updated score:

Total posts:  56
Negative:     49 (87.5%)
Positive:      3 ( 5.4%) 
Questions:     4 ( 7.1%)

I get a bad feeling when I go to this school's website. I was interested in the online Master's in Cyber Security and couldn't find the tuition. I haven't checked the site in months (since I don't trust the school I decided to go to another R.A. university here in California)so they might have made it easier to locate normally easy to find information. My Bachelor's and Master's are from R.A. universities so I decided to do the 'safe thing' and stay with what I know. Does anyone know what the per credit graduate tuition is? I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I Get a Bad Feeling about VCO.

I spoke with a financial planner today with VCO. I was told that the reason I haven't receive a refund is because VCO implemented a policy in June 09 called the direct cost policy. The direct cost policy allows the school to take only the funds needed to cover the cost of  your classes. I don't Know what they do with the rest of the funds that you are approved for. I was told that if I needed additional funds from my own loan, I would have to fill out forms requesting it. The amount available to me is 3500.00 I needed to write an itemized statement explaining why the funds were needed. Once complete the forms will be handed to the mgr of financial planning for approval. After approval it will take 6wks. Before a check is mailed to me.                     
IS THIS CRAZY OR WHAT ?

Please do not let yourself be fooled by these so-called "colleges" like Virginia College that are not even real colleges. The credits from Virginia College will not transfer to most real colleges.  When you look for a college, look for one that is accredited by a regional accreditation body, for example, in the southern states, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). When Virginia College says they have "national accreditation," that sounds impressive, but it means nothing.  Their accreditation is worthless.  Your local community college will give you real, transferable, credit hours and at a much lower cost.

There are no advantages to going to Virginia College.  Go visit your local community college instead, and you will save yourself a world of money and frustration, and you'll actually get a real, valuable degree.

Boy oh Boy its been a while since i checked VCO reviews . there are alot of negative reviews up here. myself attended this college and it was awful. all you guys saying that VCO college was a good college is a lie. I don't know if its VCO staff putting this up here. but its a big rip off . out of all my loan money i only received $30.00 back. and another thing how the hell they can't discuss your money.and everyone pass the bucket and nobody knows anything. and like some people said very unorganized. and this school is bootlegged. if you were to go to another school an regionally accredited school will not accept your credits. so don't waste your time here you will be very sorry at the end of your college career.

This is just crazy, all of these negative comments about VCO. I think i'm about to feel the heat with them also. There has been a balance on my account since my last term and it mysteriously equals to the same amount as my pell grant. What I'm hearing from fao is that the pell grant has not been released and their not sure when it will be. I received the unsub and sub letter over 3 weeks ago and still no refund.

VCO is a trip . The school is to high and for a refund check. Be advise I went to this school with a 3.5 gpa. My job was paying for my classes. Three weeks ago the buisness office manager call me in saying I owe a extra $7000. For what we never got a answer to this day. I was suppose to receive 1200 out of the check my job sent them in Januray. Never did. This is my money. Two week ago after the semeter was over they drop me because my job refuse to pay the money without a break down. They refuse to sent a breakdown. So who stealing. But, I work for the Federal Government they will get their money back. PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL> THEY ARE A JOKE!!!!!

I am going into my second quarter at Virginia College. My experience here has been very positive. The teachers are excellent and give you everything you need in order to pass each class. I have been to a couple of comminuty colleges and universities and this is by far the best because everything is hands on and you dont get stuck with classes that you dont. From start to finish it is nothing but hands on. I've had one class that I thought I wasnt going to need but in the end I did. What I'm trying to say is that every course that you take at Virginia College you can use right away or later on in life. I am going for Computer Network Engineer yes the tution is high, but if you go in and handle your business when you graduate you will probably be making 3 times what you are already making and the student loan payments will be like chump change. Mostly all of the reviews I have read were dealing with money. So if your just going to school to get a check than yes this school is not for you. Listen the school is great as far as I'm concern.

Oh btw, what is student loan? I'm sorry but i have no knowledge about this or whatsoever, i'll be paying my tuition from my own pocket

I am thinking on enrolling MA in VA and reading all the negative feedback about this school makes me want to step back.  Does anyone of you here know excatly how much is tuition fee for MA program and the schedules.  I am from Jacksonville, Fl

I am so glad I read these comments. I am in the process of signing on with this college and had doubts about the way they handled the grant money. It was a gut feeling I had because the financial advisor recommended me not keeping any of grant money left over?  I will not be taking any classes here. Thank you all for saving my future!! I only liked one day to be onboard!  What online college is recommended for Medical Billing and Coding? Not a certificate program.

I came on here because I noticed this school advertisting where I am locally. The first red flag about VC is that they are not regionally accredited. This is a MUST. A nationally accredited school will either get you nowhere or a very short distance in life. I live on the East coast, but I am attending Fort Hays State University via their virtual campus and cannot say enough good things about them. Ft. Hays is regionally accredited and costs only $500 per class for undergraduate courses and $675 for graduate level courses. They are in Hays, Kansas and have been around for over a hundred years. I strongly suggest you stay away from Virginia College, and schools like it, and check into Ft. Hays. It is the most affordable and flexible regionally accredited school in the United States that I have found.

I have a big problem of VC too, though I went to the clasroom and finished 2 years with them had a degree Of HR but this is a big jokes, they told me I owed  $12,000 they never told me anything when I was in school that I owed so much money plus  I had free pell grant. They are so much a bunch of lies and also they are not creditable you cannot transfer any credits to any school. I graduate for nothing I have not found any jobs because they told me they are not creditable. This school is a big jokes. Good luck to anyone whos going in this school.....

I am currently a student at VCO.  I have completed 7 classes and I feel it is a bit too expensive for what you get.  The instructors seem to know the subject material but the material is really too easy for college level classes.  I was charged for books I did not receive until half way through the classes.  Like I said the material is easy so there was no need for the books.  They are very disorganized.  Good luck getting any straight answers from anyone they just like to pass the buck.  I am not a person that complains so I just want everyone to know that this college is not worth the money.  I do enjoy the interaction with other students that is probably why I have stayed.  I hope this post will help others make an informed choice about VCO.

Well i went to virginia college for three years and my first two years were great i had some small problems but i talked to my admission advisor and he helped me get rid of my problem. My third year there they droped me from class the then they relized there mistake and correct it but they were suppost to send my money back to finichal aid and they started saying that the lady didn't sign off so my money was just in the air. I call this school every other day for 6 months and they could not tell me any thing about my finichal aid beside the fact that now i got to pay them money. They played phone tag with me for 6months so iwent to another school.And for the person that say they are the cheapest school you are a lie because i found and a accredit school that chargest me only 750.00 per class. For 4 classes with a total of 12 credit only cost me 3000.00 Baby you need to search around.

Virginia College has been a terrible experience for me.  I have completed the first semester and have not received student aid money for the first semester and I'm going on the second semester!  Who is paying for my education?  I do not trust this school.  It is very unorganized.  The student loan refund checks are a joke!  You will never get a student loan refund.

Is there any online school that does not rip-off students? I have researched over 25 online schools,and I can tell you that I think one is better off going to your local colleges.
Its too bad that most only want out grant monies.I qualify,and they know this too,,,,so be very careful,take your time..................so far I started my research in October of 09,and I am still looking for just one that does what they say!!!!

I had just applied at Virginia College. I told them to please withdraw me from their college after what I went through. Please do not sign up with them. They feed you a bunch of bull until you sign those papers.

I was told the military scholarship was 25% off the total bill. LOL. What a joke. After I had done everything to get in the door. They tell me it is 25% off after the student loans and grants. With an Expected Family Contribution of $0 it would be 0% off. I told them that I do not trust them and to please remove me. BTW, the regular price for an associate degree with them is now $369 per credit hour. 

On one positive side, the military financial advisor at the college did call back to apologize and say that she did not know how the misconception happened. LOL.

If you are looking for a decent online college, try Herzling. They offer military and spouses various discounts right off the top. Mine, being a spouse, in an undergraduate program was 20% off the total before loans and grants. Also, they are cheaper per credit hour on regular price. All books and fees are included in the tuition quote. The application fee is only $25. They are regionally accredited. They do not use high pressure sales tactics either. I signed up today. Hopefully, the coursework will be as great and as wonderful as the advisor today.

These so-called "positive" experiences people are posting about....  Let me give you a tidbit from someone who was a teacher, the admissions and education staff is "encouraged" to write at least one positive e-mail (read rebuttal) a day and have it posted on various websites.  All of you who were/are having Financial Aid issues:  contact the Department of Education (the feds), if you know your lenders- contact them and let them know you're contacting the feds. to file a complaint; they will not want to be on the "wrong" side of an investigation. Also, contact your local Better Business Bureau and Newspaper.  You can also try the accrediting body for the school.  The school will not want the heat of being scrutinized by their accreditors...  Last, it may not take a whole bunch of money to get a lawyer to help you. I have personal knowledge of a student who attended every single class, wasn't happy, wanted a FULL REFUND, and brought a letter from his attorney with him to the meeting with Campus Administration.  (he later told me his lawyer charged him $160.00 !!!) Not only did he get his tuition dropped 100%, they let him keep the Diploma!!!!!  Good Luck to you all- last piece of advice:  always try to find a REGIONALLY ACCREDITED school, a alot of these schools like to throw their "national accreditation" around during the recruitment process; yeah- what they don't tell you is that it's extremely unlikely your credits will transfer to a traditional / regionally accredited school.

omg im not going again

I am currently completing my second semester and wish I never heard of VC Online. It seems like a joke and I am gonna make one more phone call tomorrow and if I am not satisfied I am calling an attorney. I am finished with the 2nd semester and have never recieved the student loan money for the first semester. Don't choose this school. Save yourself the heartache and frustration and go somewhere else. What a waste of time. I am yet to find a person who knows anything as far as financial aid. I call at least once a week and have not recieved a call back in 5 months. I am not exaggerating. I am shocked reading the negativity in the blog but it is true. I am glad it did not only happen to me but don't wish for it to happen to anyone else.

Has anyone gone through the Masters degree in Cyber Security? Any information that can be shared? The University of Phoenix is supposed to be starting a Masters in Cyber Security soon so I just wanted to compare programs. Are there any other such programs out there (online) that you can tell me about?

This is my first time going to Virginia College online I just been enrolled last month since I graduated from Gateway Community College and Colorado Technical University. I love these online schools rather than going in-person because the courses are so much affordable, flexible, have busy scheduling, chat with other class mates, get your degree fast, and you can be online with your courses anytime of day such as (Morning, Afternoon, and Night). I'm going for my Bachelor's degree in Business Administration because I want to worked in a business office. I can't wait to Macy's call me back so I can continue working there.

I thought that VC was a 2 year program, why people there for 3 years?  Does anybody ever get a bad grade?

If you are having major issues with any school or issue with another person period you need to look into what is called a presumptive letter. Next to a great attorney it is the most powerful tool a citizen of the U.S.A has. If you look into what it is and how to write one you can not lose if done correctly.

I would not be here sitting here saying things that weren't true.I must say if you are looking into to going to school online I would definitely do my research.VCO is high and. they are not the cheapest online school that's the first lie.second the people in the office is very unorganized.and 3rd the school is not regionally accredited so all you people up here saying that this school is the cheapest around you better hope you can be able to use that degree elsewhere.and of course you will get a discount if you were in the military. but if your not. it is $351 per credit. so people don't be fooled.and a about the check business . it took me a month in a half to get my 1st disbursement. and the second one they could of kept. a waste of paper .for the (VCO Student) this isn't about being negative this is just the truth. that piece paper you receive won't mean anything when you go to apply for a job. because this is a bootleg school and they do not have the right accredidation. Vco is only nationally accredited and if you want a prominent school you would  not be accepted at University of Phoenix, Capella , Yale,Harvard, Metropolitan College in NY  will not accept it. your credits.and for the person going for her masters good luck.(Don't Be Fooled)take my word of advice

WOW! These negative comments really shock me.  I'm really sorry to hear about everyone's problems. I've been enrolled with Virginia College online for almost 2 years now and have had a very pleasant experience. My financial aid has always been correct, books have always arrived on time, tech support is available 24/7, and the instructors have always been knowledgeable. 

I see a lot of comments on here about how expensive it is. However, and I say HOWEVER, if you price other colleges, especially Universities, there is no comparison. They're costs are all inclusive which is unheard of. Yes, $1300 a class is a lot of money, but it could easily be double that at another school, and on top of that, the cost of books and lab fees.

As for the office staff, again, no complaints. I have always had my questions and emails answered within 24 hours.

I look forward to getting my degree in the next couple of years, and know that if it weren't for Virginia College and their online flexible program, it wouldn't be possible.

Best of luck to everyone in their future endeavors.

Wow!  I can't believe there are so many negative feedbacks on this school.  I have been a student for almost 3 yrs and I have loved it!  I've had a few negative/lazy professors but I let my student advisor know immediately and I also fill out the surveys at the end of the semester.  Who said the classes were easy?  They tend to be a little more laid back but it's an online environment so the Professors overlook things.  

I've always gotten my checks in the mail.  When you sign up with your packet you have the option to send the money back, store it in your student acct, or receive a check in the mail.  I receive my checks in the mail and they usually come approximately 2 weeks after you receive your subsized/unsubsidized letter in the mail.

VCO has switched to new system and there have been email confusions and etc.  However, it seems to be straightened out now.  Sometimes the grades do not unlock and you have to ask the professor to unlock them.  Tech support is there 24/7 to back you up if you have problems.  In order for you to have problems with this school, you have to basicly not care about your work.  I am a straight A student and it's not because the classes are easy.  It's because I login 4-5 times per week and really dedicate about 12-15 hrs per week to my classes.  

Letters of recommendations?  Umm.. you are an online student.  Your transcripts should reflect your ability to do your job.  For instance, I have stayed on the President's list or Dean's List the entire time.  This reflects in your transcripts that you have an unofficial copy emailed to you at no expense.  Also, you will receive certificates in the mail if you do make the President's/Dean's list.  

In addition, I would like to add that this is a reasonably priced school.  I am a military wife so I get a discount.  I pay 180 per credit hour and that includes all of my books.  You can't get a better deal than that these days!  I hope this helps all of you thinking about VCO because this is the school to go to.  

Yes, I do wonder about some of the people enrolled in these classes.  Some are very intelligent but some can't even understand English, I think.  Some of them seem to be really illiterate or they just simply don't care.  However, you find those types at every college

Those of you that are negative, I am sorry for your challenged life.  The truth of it is that life if full of choices.  Be thankful that you can find a college to get an education from completing it from home.  I am!

We need an education and if you go online, you are paying for convenience.  Currently an online education is expensive but Virginia College is on the low end of that poll.  Virginia College is one of the cheapest of all colleges.  

Your admissions associate is your gatekeeper and can actually assist you in getting in touch with student services and financial aid.  They are a great help!  Anytime you need something you should email or cal them because they truely are you center of contact.

I am continuing after this next month to begin my Masters at Virginina College.  I recommend it to anyone that wishes to actually make a committment in furthering their education so they can help their families future and themselves.

Life is a challenge people and we must all pay for what we want.  This is called dedication and committment.  You want something, you need to go after it and focus.  I am!!!

Great School: (www.vconline.edu)

Thank you and God Bless!

I"m having a very bad time with this school since May 26 09 everytime I call the FAO no one knows anything and thats for the summer term and they want me to reapply for Fall term when you can't even get the summer term right. No one knows what I owe where's my loans/aid is never get call backs Im trying to find how I can just cut my lost and just go to a local comm college because this is a big rip off with this many complaints something should be reported and school needs to be investigated.I should of pulled up this site before I started because this is not right VC are scam artist and needs to be shut down.

please do not believe the hype, you get what you pay for

Trena you are right , the school is abig rip-off the only thing they worry about is your presidents,and as long as they get that commision that's all they concerned about I talked to a guy he was so desperate in trying to get met to find people to enroll so he can get that big commission. I would advice anybody who is looking to go on line to keep searching the professors were great but as far as the office forget about it.they told me that i would only get $35.00 in refund. which i find mighty strange. also they don't tell you that you have to go to school in the summer and that's not a option.


keep looking total rip-off

I posted a few months back and thought I would check out this board again. It sure looks like I am not the only one they ripped off. I'm surprised that some of you received a refund check from your loans. I never received a dime. I was told it would be credited toward the next term, which it wasn't. This place is a joke. The only positive thing that I've found is this "debt" hasn't shown up on my credit report, which is great since I refuse to pay them another dime. 

Trena, I'm sorry that you are stuck with such high student loans and they still claim you owe them. I have read complaints on other websites and it sounds like this is pretty common.

DONOT pick this school. They keep any money that you have that may be coming to you then they cal and call and try to get more money out of you, saying that you still owe money.I received a BS in MIS I got loans in excess of 58,000 rarely got FS or refunds and they still say I owe them 2200 dollars. I am not going to pay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!because I feel I do not owe.  They sent me a check for 4000 as a refund. I waited about 3 wks before depositing the amount (which it had been over a year since I had received a refund)then they sent a notice saying I owe them 2000.00 I asked why didn't you keep what I owed, if I owed, before you sent the refund.  They said they could not do that because it belonged to me, I responded exactly it belonged to me all of it.  I don't believe I owe them anything. If you want to take online classed please DO NOT GO HERE, check out thoroughly other online institutions, most importantly make sure they are accredited by the SACS (southern Association of Colleges and Schools) then they will transfer from major institutions.  All that education and all that money and these classes will not transfer to a local university.  It was a big waist.  I'm onot sure if when I apply for a job if they will recongize the degree.  PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE ATTENDING

Don't believe the hype , the professors are good , but as far as the office everyone pass the bucket. I am going to tell you straight up and give it to you raw. the school is unorganized too high. don't let these two individuals b.s you. and not only that the school is nationally accredited. you better hope and pray to god a school regionally accredited take you credits. take it from someone that knows for real. been there done that. trust and believe. so I suggest you keep looking

i have not had any bad experiences besides the little refund checks that you receive, and you know there is money that has not been accounted for, I want to go to a university but I am worried that the credits will not transfer over?

I have to say, this paints a very negative picture of the school.  I am 3 weeks away from graduating, and aside from a few classes that I took that were unnecessary, I thought it was a good experience.  I will now have a Bachelor's Degree, and did it without rearranging my life.  The school gives you what you put in.  In other words, if you work hard, you will learn a lot.  If not, you will likely pass, but gain little in doing so.  Don't let all of these negatives completely dissuade you, there are issues, but I have had several people that were helpful on the staff.  I am sorry others have had such a bad experience, but mine was not bad at all.  Best of luck!

I wouldn't recommend this school to nobody for one . keep in mind this is a bootlegged school meaning if you try to transfer  your credits over to a regionally accredited school it is going to be hard to do because alot of them don't accept credits from a nationally accredited school. that is one of the issues .2 the staff is ridiculous nobody knows anything you pay all that money and then you don't get nothing back really from the money that is left over from your loan. 3. never heard of a school that can't disclose you with the money that u have left over.4 . you can't pick your own classes. 5. you have to go through the summer and it is not optional it's a must . So i suggest anyone who is looking to go to school on line . look past Virginia College Online because you will be disappointed for real take my word and all the other people who was there they ain't nothing but a rip-off.

Bama girl I feel your pain.  I'm looking as we speak. because i am trying to get out of here myself before things get bad. i went through the same problems. nobody knows nothing and just past the bucket. the instructors are good but the staff is worthless. then on top of that. they can't even tell you how money you have left over.i wouldn't recommend nobody to this school this ain't even  a school you attend if your fresh out of High school.

Good Luck

i just enroll a couple of days ago is there any way that i can quit without paying anything

Don't go to this school!!!!!!! I attended  this school for two years and after completing my last classes  I received a call stating I owe money after I was told weeks ago I didn't owe anything. This school pockets your money and can't give you clear answers about your financial aid. Most schools take your money from your student loans that you owe before sending you a refund check. This schools sends you a refund check without talking out your tuition and wants you to pay them after you receive your refund check. Doesn't make any sense!!!! Please do your research and consider other online school/ I regret I spent two years at this college and unable to transfer my credits. If you read there student policy handbook it tells you that your credits earned from their college will unlikely transfer to another college!!!!!

I just completed my Associate's Degree with VC Online and it was a bad experience. Every time you look around you are receiving a email from the Business office and Financial Aid saying you owe a balance and they threaten to withdraw you from your online classes if you don't set-up a payment plan. The classes are very easy and the instructors are very knowledgeable but the communication with the staff sucks. I'm so glad I've completed my degree with them and I don't have to be worried whether or not I'm going to be kicked out my classes because of some crazy outstanding balance. Reconsider and do your homework before enrolling at this school. The tuition is expensive, it cost 1,000 to take one class!!!!

i am to start on the 29th. im afraid too. do yo receive loan money back from your grants?

Hi Stephanie,
I'm sorry to hear that you had to go through that.your scaring me , should  I start looking for another college to attend. but what you should do is try to contact your local Department of Higher Education.

I'm having a very bad experience with Virginia College online. I attended for a year. During that time I took out $10,000 in student loans and was told it covered everything. I had to quit because I was told I needed to take out more loans to continue. After I quit, I recieved a bill for over $7,000. I tried to get a hold of them to dispute it and was told it was a mistake, then recieved another bill. Called again, and was passed from person to person only to not get the issue resolved. It is two years later and has been passed on to collection agents. I am getting no where trying to dispute this. 

How can one year of online classes cost over $17,000? I don't know what to do and cannot afford an attorney!

I had a very bad experience with Virginia  College Online.
when you call the school . you can never get a straight answer from anyone. If you do  get a answer it's just to waive you off  and to get you off the phone.but still in all the problem isn't resolved.one thing I must say the Instructors that I had so far was great but as far as the office you can forget about it.I wouldn't suggest anyone get enrolled there. then on top of that if you want to know anything about your financial aide or any info containing that. nobody knows nothing. you would think if  your online you should automatic be able to access that info so you know what is paid etc.everything is a secret.

I'm attending Virginia College Online, the Instructors all have been excellent. but as far as the staff no one knows anything. I been enrolled in the school since Febuary 2009 and I am still waiting for my disbursement and everytime I call the school to see what is going on .no one seems to know anything. I don't recommend this school to anyone everyone passes the bucket and can't give you any information when you call there. do someone know who I can call to make a complaint because it's ridiculous that they hold your money and give you the run around.never dealt with such thing. if anyone knows who I can speak to about this matter please let me know. I been dealing with this issue almost a month now. 
Alert,Alert, Alert,
Wouldn't Recommend AT ALL. Keep Looking, Keep Looking
posted :May 6, 2009
5:48 PM

I attend Virginia College Online and it has been a very bad experience throughout my whole time there. I am stuck with them because no one will allow me transfer any of my credits from Virginia College  even though VC states it is an accredited school. They charge way too much for what you receive. I have to continuously call for multiple issues with the new system they changed over to that the instructors don't even know how to use. Financial aid is a bust, they take all of your financial aid money and still leave you with thousands in student loans. Some instructors are very smart and know their stuff but I have had many either quit mid semester or have no idea what they were doing. Please consider other options before choosing

I have been attending VCO for over a year now, and so far the experience has been HORRIBLE!!!! They do not give refunds for your student loan checks if they exceed the tuition amount. They just keep that money in your student account, never tell you how much is there or when you may get your money. The majority of the teachers are ok, but most are completely neglectful of their classes. They recently moved to a new platform and there isn't even a way to check email. How can we communicate with instructors if we can send email, but can't receive them! The classes are absurdly easy and I can't believe they are charging so much for such a mediocre education. And you know those recommendations that are so important for getting into grad school? Forget it. It doesn't matter if you are a straight A student, you can't find one professor to vouch for you. These people are rude and lazy and I wouldn't recommend this college to anyone.

I just completed my first quarter with Virginia Online. The instructors appear to be very concern with your education and encouraging you to continue your education. The instructors encourage and encourage you again and again. Thus far the one issue that I have is it is hard to get straight answers from the staff when you are having a problem.  I have been trying to get a supervisor/manager to call me back on a financial aid issue for about 4-5 weeks.  THe staff is very professional and courteous, but the manager/supervisors do not return your phone call.  I will continue one more quarter there and will probably find me another school online.

I am in my second term@ vc and the only thing i like is the instructors. Student services and financial aid does nothing but pocket your money and tell you things that are not true. I think they are sitting on their duffs and pocketing our financial aid monies. nobody knows nothing about anything. Please do your research when considering vc, it is the worst experience i have been through.

Virginia College Online is So-So! I have had my issues and great times with them. I would suggest that you research before you proceed with anything.

Virginia College Online is HORRIBLE! The student services associates tell you anything to get you in the door and after that they disappear and you never hear from them again. Their escalation process is non existent. I enrolled in an online class because of family obligations. The instructor emailed the class twice/day. This is more than I would email even a friend. Most of the emails were just to tell us how his day was going.....creepy!
They don't let you pick your own classes but schedule them for you because if you're a student there, they think registration is too mind boggling for college students so they pick all your classes.....crazy!!

I have only be at Virginia College for 2 weeks and so far I have had no problems at all.  The instructors and the admission office have been calling me to make sure that everything is coming along fine with me.  The students even have the instructors phone number just in case we need to get in touch with them.

I absolutely love this school.  I have had a very pleasant experience especially when I have financial aid questions or need help from instructors.

This has been the worst experience ever! Please don't waste your time! .Nobody has any answers for you.  It's always let me transfer you or give me your number and I'll have someone call you back.  V

I was strongly considering this online school because of the cost and books and materials being included in the price. The only thing that discouraged me from going with it was the amount of credits that were going to be transferred from my previous education. I had another school estimate transferring almost all of my previous credits. I think this school has a great price and does a good thing by including all books and materials in the price. If I didn't have so many credits to transfer I would have definetly chosen this school.