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I have both really good and really bad things to say about this school. I will talk about the bad first. I was in school for 18 months and had NO worries about anything. Classes were going well and my advisor was great. All of a sudden they decided that you would just call in and talk to whoever answered the phone, instead of your actual advisor. That was problem #1. I wanted to do a medical twist on accounting, i.e., take medical terminology and other courses because I wanted to work in a clinic or hospital. I took several of these courses as open electives and all of a sudden, receive a phone call saying these classes would NOT count towards my degree. I'm talking 4 classes here, TWO whole terms. I talked to at least 5 different advisors who all promised me call backs from supervisors and other people, and never received the call back. I finally spoke with someone who assured me that she would move my classes around and everything would "be okay." I had no worries, and then suddenly got that call again that I needed to take more classes to fulfill classes that I was not allowed to take. I kept arguing saying that these courses were electives and NO one had told me that my state - Indiana - had such specific requirements for your degree plan, so basically I would just have to take the classes. Long story short, and months later - I finally received my resolution. I had contacted the BBB and luckily they had my back - I was assigned a case worker and we got through it. I am so thankful for the Kaplan case worker who took on my case. She made SURE everything was taken care of. That part was a freaking nightmare. Oh yeah - and plan on paying back a LARGE amount of debt after you are done. I imagine my two years will be between $25,000 and $30,000. Sucks... but I knew going into it. On the positive side though... I have had really awesome instructors who really had knowledge about the subjects. They were all great about getting back via email. I also had several professors who would call me during the term and help me if I needed it. The support was ALWAYS there. I never had issues with text books or the school website not working. Although there are weekly seminars, it's really not all that difficult to make up for that time if you can't make it. The teachers understand and will work with you if you can't submit assignments on time. Some of my teachers I actually talk to on Facebook from time to time! The workload is pretty crazy to be honest. LOTS of writing assignments and most everything is on spreadsheets on Excel, so you will become a pro for sure! I love the 10 week terms and then you also get time off in between, as well as having holidays and such off. I spend about 5 hours a week for each class, which I think is pretty average. The tests are mostly open book, which I know can be a good or bad thing. I have two young kids and work full time, so this school has been wonderful. I would definitely recommend this school, but make sure you document EVERYTHING. For every phone call, write down the faculty's name, date, and time you spoke to them, as well as what it was about. If you DO have issues, this documentation will help. Trust me, I know. I would definitely make sure YOU yourself figure out what your graduation requirements are while you are scheduling classes. For me, my state required an extra 6 credit course, for a total of 96 credit hours instead of 90. Let's be honest, the academic advisors are basically working in a call center. I'm sure some of them are trained well, but I think they are mostly clueless. They are just paid to schedule classes, and could really care less. The school has so many students, so it's impossible to focus on each individual one. I gradute November 1st. The term right now will be over on August 16th... and I have 1 term left after this one. Regardless of this being an online school - which I know some people say "doesn't count" - I am so proud that I've done it. It's been a hard road and I'm so excited I'm almost done.
