Sanford-Brown Institute Reviews

"First let me start off by saying I am working in the field for what I went to this school for.While attending SBI I was an A/B student. I took the Cardiovascular Technology program (a steep $35,000) and I was never the student to complain. When I went to sign up for the school they told me that it was an accredited school and that whatever credits I received I can transfer to another college if I wanted too. This is entirely not true, as I have yet to find a school that will accept my credits. The teachers' knowledge of the subjects was fair at best. Our teacher almost always sent us home early...3 or 4 hours early almost every day. Which sounds great as a student but if your paying a lot of money to go to school you want to get a full day of learning.They did have student services that helped me to prepare my resume, which the person who prepared my resume had very little computer knowledge. I had to show her how to copy and paste!I never complained or was a student to start trouble but I would not recommend this school to anyone. Take $35K and get a real degree at a real college. I feel like they did not prepare me for the real world, and I did most if not all of my learning working in the field. We had 16 people in my class and 3 are actually doing what they went to school for. I was one of the lucky ones who got a job but it was no thanks to Sanford Brown."

"For what it is, Sanford Brown is a good technical institute. Mind you, this is not Princeton, UCLA, SUNY at Albany or, even, BMCC. It's a technical school! For geezus sakes! Is it disorganized? Yes! Is it a business trying to make as much money as possible? Of course! But behind some of the silliness, there is a faculty that cares. I don't know about the other SB schools. But in NYC, it ain't bad. You are taught what you need to know to move on. For me, that is what matters...enough said! All of the teachers are great. They really are good enough to be teaching at a college instead of a "trade school." Ms. Lewis, Dr. Khan and Mr. Bodley are tops in my book. I would put them up there on my list of the greatest teachers I have had in high school. That is no joke...I mean that! What I don't like are some of the students. Whinners! They want everything handed to them on a silver platter. Geez! Okay, so the school cost some money. So what! You still got to study. The teachers at SB aren't going to implant the information into your lazy brains with a IVPB becsuse you paid a few thousand on tuition. Get this! Yale cost a big wad of money. What is it now?$70,000 a year? Ouch! But, you still got to study. If you don't, your butt is kicked off campus!It's so funny. The best students in my classes are the 30+ students. And, the 40+ students are even better. Why? Maybe because we are older and have been through life's experiences in general. We know that nothing is handed to us for free (unless you win Lotto). You got to earn it. It's so insane. At SB, the teachers go out of their way to make sure that everyone gets an "A" in the class, and more importantly, a general understanding of the subject matter being taught. I don't know. My feeling is that if you don't want to put any effort into a learning facility...why go? If you refuse to study a measly ten hours a week (Man, ten hours is almost "subway time" each week for most people)...if you are incapable of passing simple tests (remind you...this ain't Princeton or Yale) each week...why enroll? Guess what? If you can't handle the rudimentary functions of being a student, do not go to Sanford-Brown or any other learning facility for that matter. Geez!"

"If you have half a brain and know how to conduct yourself like a "healthcare professional" you will find a job as a medical assistant. I graduated from sanford brown institute in 2005. I have had NO problem finding a job as a MA. With all of my years of experience working in the field, I recently decided to teach medical assisting. I have worked in hospital and private practice settings. I found my job as a MA extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Working with doctors, nurses, specialists, and administration has given me vital knowledge that I utilize daily. I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do as far as my life's career. I dropped out of community college after one semester because I had no clue of what subject I wanted to major in. I was 19 years old and working in retail at my local mall making $10 per hour. I took out a loan for $10,000 (which i'm almost done paying off : ) ) and entered the MA program @ SBI. I attended school on saturdays and sundays from 9am-5pm (part time), as I still had to work @ the mall. I completed the program and was hired straight away from my externship site @ a hospital. Since I had no prior experience, my starting pay was $11.50 per hour. Yes, the starting pay for MA's is usually low but, what entry level position with NO EXPERIENCE in ANY field isn't?! It was better than working @ the mall!!!: ) I would say 20% of what I learned in the MA program was from SBI the other 80% was definitely from my externship where I utilized all of the practical knowledge that I had attained. I was able to draw blood, perform ekg's, assess vitals, give some injections, assess fetal heart rate with a doppler on OB patients etc. The list goes on and on!! I received raise after raise until I finally capped my salary off @ $17 per hour. Until I began teaching, now currently making equivalent of what a LPN would make. All done with just a MA diploma and field experience. NO certification! If you show whomever you work for that you are competent they will allow you to utilize all of your skills and not just stick you @ the front desk answering phones. I stress professionalism to all of my students. Being on time, dressing appropriately, SPEAKING ENGLISH PROPERLY without using profanity, these are all simple concepts that I have found MOST (not all) SBI students just can not grasp! So, I am not surprised they can't find jobs! SHOCKER!!!!! Then, these students want to blame everyone except themselves for not being able to find or hold a job (laughable). There is no entrance exam for most MA programs. So, mixed in with students who actually want to learn you get these morons who have nothing better to do with their day than, waste their and everyone else's time and expect everyone to prepare them as well as find them a job. These idiots want take no responsibility upon themselves to HELP THEMselves! Life is what you make of it! I am proud to be a MA. It is a noble career. But, these types of "schools" have made the MA position a giant joke. They except anybody with a pulse in turn, flooding the market with people who probably couldn't hold down a regular job let alone one in the medical field! Yes, most of the posts I have read are accurate. These schools are CORPORATIONS!! YOU, the "student" are a $$$ sign! Your education is $$ in their already fat pockets! They don't pay their teachers what they are worth, they save more money by leasing small spaces for classrooms (this causes overcrowding), and make use of out of date equipment as teaching tools to cut corners. Worst of all the admissions reps (equivalent to a used car salesman) get a nice commission for every student that is sent on an externship! I have currently been accepted to nursing school ; ). I have found my calling. While I do not recommend SBI, I don't recommend any MA program offered by ANY of these types of "schools". I would recommend to anyone reading this to look into an MA program offered @ a community college or just become an RN!! If I had the knowledge that I have today I would have just pursued nursing but, as they say, EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. I don't regret going to SBI one bit. I worked hard to get where I am today and did not expect a job, knowledge, or money to be handed to me on a silver platter. So, don't be lazy, work hard, don't feel like you are entitled to anything, and know how to carry yourself as a lady or gentleman and you will succeed @ anything."

"This school will say all that they need to in order to get you to sign up. It is a business to them, I would never recommend it to anyone! It is all about money, It feel just like high school! They care more about you not having a hood your head than they do about you being educated. The teachers do not have a teaching degrees, they have worked in the field, most teachers tell you different things. Yes, it sounds nice that they program is fast and you get told you will have a job by the time you are done. The program is so fast that you not get to learn as well as you should be able to learn, it is hard to understand everything in such short time. Before you sign up they tell you, "MA job is high in demand." and the end of the program they say, "You will have a hard time finding a job because there are too many MAs." I wish, I had never signed up! Thankfully it's over and I will never sign up for a made up school again! Save your time, your money, and your brain for a real school. It will be much more worth it!"

"The program itself isn't that bad, but it is a shame that they offer it to so many people and with some many other schools in the area. The Pittsburgh and surrounding area is so saturated with AT's that when you graduate the list of jobs they give you doesn't include AT jobs in the area because there aren't any. The few that are out there are swallowed up by people with connections or years of experience. I am original from Michigan where they are just discovering AT's and there are positions every where because the competition is limited so I thought getting a job wouldn't be that hard. I didn't realize how many schools taught the program in the area and how many students they were churning out. So if you are in the Pittsburgh area avoid the AT program at Sanford Brown. The school it's self aside from the joke of a career services department is okay. It was for me however a waste of GI bill money."

"I graduated June 2008 from the NYC campus. This school offers you job assistance and they do help but they dont get you a job in your FIELD. Im a MA i was hired as a Receptionist:-/ i work at this doctors office for a year without utilizing my skills as an MA. when i called the school for assistance i was advised im on my own because i graduated. Its 3years later and becuase i have no experience as an MA no one will hire me. Oh yeah my tuitions was $12,000 and $7,000 of it FA would not cover so that out of pocket."

"I run a medium size practice in the Grand Rapids area and we absolutely do not accept applicants from Sanford Brown. For the money people pay to attend this school it would be cheaper to go to CC and switch to a University. SB does not prepare students for the MA field. Please do your research before attending this school"

"I would never recommend this school not evwen to my worst enemy....well maybe. I ended up at ITT. Wish me luck!Kim W."

"I went to sanford brown for the ultra sound program I did all their Test and had all the paper work I was just waiting for a call to say I made it in or not. The day they were suppose to call by came and went. I figured I didn't make it in. Three days later they call me and ask me what happened to me. where was I. The only thing I could do is hang up and realize it was a sign."

"This school is a scam. I entered the school to get information on sonograghy classes. I was told I would not be able to get in without prior medical experience. (Really?). Instead the "counsler" try to swindle me into attending medical assisting classes. BTW med assist only make $8 to $9 an hour. Long story short they were not helpful, they are scam artist just trying to get your money."

"When I first walked into this so called school I was told how great everyone was and how great the pharmacy tech field was and how it was in such high demand. Now, fast forward, I am graduated from the program, owe around 10k, no job, AND BEING IGNORED by my career service advisor. I have been to one interview so far. I was offered 10 an hour to work there. LMAO... 10 an hour here wont pay the rent thats for damn sure. Some retail places pay even lower and wont guarantee full time. There isn't much room to move up, so call it a borderline dead end job.Seriously, I might as well push shopping carts, because all the information you have to learn, the fees, you need to pay to become certified and renew it every 2 yrs {more $$$ for the PTCB} take continuing education every 2 yrs to continue being certified, the stress I read and see describing what pharmacy techs go through. Talk about overworked and underpaid and underappreciated! This is pathetic! So like I said, I might as well push shopping carts at home depot. I might even make more, and what do I have to learn how to do? Duhhh, this shopping cart goes here, and this one goes here. If you want to still become a pharm tech DO NOT spend thousands upon thousands doing so. Go to the library, learn the material there, pass the certification test, and trust me, you're better off doing it that way, because every employer doesn't even care that I went to this school. The very first thing they want to know is if you have experience. Then they want to know if you're certified. Then they might care if you paid to go to a private school, but the odds of that are prob 1/100 or worse.I can go on and on, but thats basically the whole picture. I wish I did more research before going to sanford brown. I guess it's an expensive life lesson learned."

"I am a “graduate” of Sanford Brown. I have attended classes in Ohio, for what seems like forever. I was in desperate need of higher education due to lack of anything resembling a job out here in Ohio, so I checked out this school. I walked in (just to get a feel for things) and was immediately swept away by how Medical Assistants are in such high demand, and they’re phasing out RN’s, and now is the time, NOW IS THE TIME!!! Yeah, I got suckered in by the high pressure sales pitch. I’m a sucker. Wish I wasn’t. Moving on. At first, everything was great. I was studying hard, getting good grades, working my but off. I even got this special paper/award at the end of my first mod, that said I had made the “Presidents List” (by getting A’s in both classes)… and then again at the end of the next mod, and then again… But what was discouraging was: while I was working my butt off to do it… there were literally people who… how do I put this?... there were people who were complete morons getting the same awards. People that didn’t study, didn’t pay attention, didn’t do any work, getting the same A’s that I was working my butt off for. It was discouraging. I went for Medical Assisting, like I said. I wish I would’ve done sone research before signing on the dotted line though. I didn’t realize I would be going to school for over 11 months, just to be qualified to do an $8-$9 an hour job. I was already making more than that now! What a waste. It’s all a big scam. They lure you in with Medical Assisting (a program that costs about $14,000). When you graduate and realize you can’t make any money, you think “Well, I suppose I could go back and take Radiology or Sonography”. So many people I went to school with did this. It’s a bait and switch in a sense, except when they’re done with you, you’ll owe $50,000 instead of $14,000. I had soooo much difficulty with the financial aid department. Taking a look at some of my account statements and realizing they’re double charging me left and right. I was getting Federal Grants/Loans/Pell grants and I’ve got Renee at financial aid calling me on the phone saying “Hey, you know those checks you got from your grants? Yeah, those were mistakes. I need you to bring that money to me. That was a mistake, they sent you two refunds, you were only supposed to get one”… etc. Don’t trust a word that comes out of the financial aid departments’ mouth. Another example of the shadyness? “Yes, umm… there is some money in your previous account that we need to apply to your current account… so ummm, we’re going to write you a check for that amount, we need you to put it in your bank and then write us a check for the same amount.” Uhhmmm… why? “Well, we can’t access this money, we need you to…” honestly, doesn’t make any sense to me. If you give me a dollar and I give you a dollar, does anything actually happen? I didn’t do it, cause I wasn’t quite sure what they were doing. I asked if I should maybe talk to an attorney first because this seemed a little “fishy” and the answer I got was “You know what? Don’t worry about it, we can just do it another way.” Seriously? Do you want to entrust your future to a company that does things like this?"

"In June 2008 I was enrolled in Medical Billing & Coding Program at AIMES Education in South Plainfield NJ. It was awful!!! My complaints are numerous!!!!!. The length of time of most Medical Billing Coding programs is 8 months at AIMES is 4 months. The instructor rarely taught. She would have us read the appropriate chapter and answer the exercises located in said chapter. AIMES did not furnish us with a medical dictionary or ICD 9, CPT or Hipcus (spelling?) manuals. Computer training was a joke too! We had to furnish AIMES with a blank CD for them to provide us with a copy of Medisoft training. I completed the program the end of October 2008 and they offered very little assistance in helping me to obtain a job. AIMES got $4,000.00 from me (I paid out of my own pocket - I did not go through Dept. of Labor) and I GOT NOTHING FROM THEM. AT THIS STAGE I'M NOT COMFORTABLE IN CLAIMING THAT I AM A MEDICAL BILLING & CODING SPECIALIST - SO I LOST 4K OF MY HARD EARNED MONEY. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME GOING TO AIMES. I can't tell you anything about Sanford Brown except that a relative of my went there and had a positive experience. WORD OF ADVISE CHECK WITH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND/OR DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND SEE IF THERE ARE ANY COMPLAINTS AGAINST ANY SCHOOL YOU ARE PLANNING ON ATTENDING. I KNOW THERE ARE COMPLAINTS AGAINST AIMES."

"I've read about 50 reviews so far the bulk being negative and they are so similar to how I almost got reeled in, let me explain.I spoke to an admissions rep on the phone about the anesthesia program. This career makes alot of $$ which is why I was interested. On the phone he tried telling me about other programs but I had a focus and they were the only school in my city that offered this.I went in for an interview the next day he showed me around the college he was very nice and personable. The college was unbelievably clean and quiet. The class sizes were small they had top of the line equipment and computers it was a very nice presentation of it all. The students wore scrubs as well. So back to the admissions process and pricing. He asked me did I see any other programs I would like I said no just anesthesia. When he left I wanted to ask him for pharmacy tech but he was gone so fast. When he came back I said I actually think I want to look into pharmacy tech as well he said were in sync he had actually brought me pharmacy tech and ultrasound tech which I hadn't asked for. I came to understand why he brought me pharmacy tech. The anesthesia was 35k and the ultrasound was a little bit more. The ultrasound required college credit which he already knew I had none. This was all apart of the plan to steer me to pharmacy tech because anesthesia would be too expensive and since I needed credits to even take the ultrasound which was the highest paying career there, he claimed the pharmacy tech would set me right up and give me the college credits I needed to take the ultrasound class. I would still be 2.5 credits short which he failed to mention. He started telling me how much parmacy techs make and I decided why not. The other classes were 2yrs and this oe was 10 months and only 14k compared to 35k and 2yrs. I talked to financial aid blah blah and just like that me (normally a overthinker) had just been convinced to go with a field of study I knew absolutely nothing about.Then came the worst part.. class was starting in 2days he tried to pressure me into it. I told him I had other obligations and I wasn't ready to start that soon. Then comes the bad cop! The director she talked to me like I was 5yrs old telling me I haven't been doing nothing this whole time why not start in 2days. I even broke down to her my personal reasons. Then she started talking about throwing away money and a smart person would start asap. Then when she saw I wouldn't budge she gave up and left rudely. Good cop again.. I told the recruiter I had to look into the field he said he understands and if I changed my mind just let him know. He did however pressure me into submitting a app fee which I regret. I left the college still feeling like it was a good fit.The next morning (today) I started my research about the pay of pharmacy techs. The rep had exxagerated they make the same as a walmart stockroom worker! i immediately lost interest. I am now hoping for a refund of my app fee since its been less than 3 days but honestly $25 is not a bad price to avoid what would've been a costly mistake."

"*Most SBIs are institutionally accredited (accredited in total) by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), a national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (DOE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).i'm glad i listened to family and friends when they said to look for reviews about any school. I went down and looked at the campus and talked with admissions and everything sounded great. i filled out the papers for the financial aid to look over and then started doing my research so glad i did. its not what they say it is i looked at a government website for accredited schools and Sanford Brown is not even on there. when i asked admissions about that they sent me info about a different site to look at their accredits but when i said that i looked at a government website they just kept ignoring the comment and would not answer questions about it.*"

"I taught at this school for a few months in the nursing program, and bottom line- they don't care about the students, just the money. I have had students who were failing classes and have had administration come up with 'ways' to let them pass the class. I do not agree with this practice as an educator. Especially as a nurse, the students who could not pass a class, would I want them taking care of my loved ones?!And the credits do not transfer to local universities here in town, so it is hard for the students who want to continue their education to get into another school to get their BSN. As a nurse educator, my advice to those who may be looking into their nursing program, please do not do it. Look into other colleges, but not this one. All they care about is their numbers and money, not you."

"This school is a scam. If you want to become a medical assistant or ultrasound tech look into your local community colleges. This school takes all your Fin. Aid money and most importantly credits will not transfer. This school is a waste of time. Big rip off run run run. Why attend a school where you can't transfer your credits which means the accreditions are not worthy. I wish I had done my homework before I let these people talk me into attending this school. By the way it use to be called UltraSound Diag. and they changed the name hmmm.. go figure I'm sure they'll change it again"

"I went to Sanford-Brown initially for their ultrasound program, but they told me that I had to go through their Medical assistant program first. Which, apparently after talking to other schools a little too late turns out not to be true, so they lie to get you in.They'll tell you how your representiive will be there for you whenever you need. I only saw mine maybe 3 times in 9 months and everytime I had a question I either got tossed around to different people or was told she'd get back to me and never did. They'll also sell how they've got small class sizes. They told me I wouldn't have more than 15 students per class, I had 30ish to start. Which was kept teachers off track, frustrated and left the students with almost no time to really practice any of the hands on clinical work they advertise. Also, because the class size kept teachers off track, they skipped material and told us we'd learn it on the job. When it came to the hands on parts of class there were way too many times they didn't even have the materials we needed, or if they did have materials they didn't have enough for the whole class so some people didn't get to practice more than once, so that would put us off track also. Believe it or not there was even a time when we didn't have the books we needed on time so they improvised with busy work and chit chat. Also in the process of trapping me into thier school they told me we'd receive specific equipment included in our tuition. A few months into the program students brought up that we hadn't received all of the equipment promised and they told us that they didn't know what we were talking bout and that any promises made had to be taken up with the students representitives, and in some students cases thier representitives wern't even working there anymore. So they were told theres was nothing they could do. Most of the teachers were great and knew thier stuff, however there was a case where I had a teacher and he either quit or was fired and everone was passed for that class with no work done and nothing learned because they were tryin to figure out the teacher situation. Not much seems to be fair as far as thier policies go. They have a strict attendance policy but yet students who had missed more than half of a five week course were not only passed to the next course but were still attending when, accourding to thier policies, should have been dropped from the program. I knew a student who did absolutley no work what so ever, and he admitted to it, and he too was surprised to be passed onto the next course. So there's not much effort needed to be put into the assignments there, so it's hard to take them seriously there, not to mention it makes me feel like shit about my 4.0 gpa knowing I could've gotten the same grades not even trying. Also as the end of the program neared I spoke with my representative about the entry exam that I needed to take to get into the ultrasound program and she said not to worry about it, that she would have me take the exam before I even went into my externship. Well I finished my externship and thier MA program and she never contacted me about taking the test. Now lets talk about the career services or at least my experience with it. I've graduated from thier MA program with a 4.0 and have been done with school for almost 5 months now and career services had only set me up on one interview! I had a meeting with them recently and they basically just gaves me ways on how I can do thier job myself. So basically to sum it up you end up with no hands on learning, no materials, no job, no education, and once you're done no money to pay the loans. Please learn from my misfortune and go elsewhere. Plus. if you going to go ahead and invest you money into training for a career you may as well get an associates degree out of it in the same amount of time. Also, if you're looking for a school I have friend and family at career point and they're having a far greater experience than I did, or try Baptist school for healthcare pros or the academy for healthcare pros. They're legit and longer established, and they have contracts with the hospitals in San Antonio when it comes to you externiship."

"Going to college to better yourself is a wonderful thing. What is wrong is the money part. I was told I was awarded 5200.00 in a Pell Grant ...I suddenly could not go to school due to illness in my child..I was in school for almost 4 months they want me to pay $6000.00 for not even 4 months te math is not right....To those that have good things to say I am happy for you..However what you don't understand is other programs are way less then what you pay here...You can transfer your credits from other schools not from Sanford Brown...Something is wrong with the billing and until we stand together they will continue to revamp the money part of it.I loved school I did well ..Even if you got a job and are doing well you still are paying too much out of your pocket .,It is wrong to say you have a Pell Grant when you don't or make you pay back money you don't owe...Teachers are writting about it...I am saying to anyone that goes here get it in writting from them first detail by detail on what you are billed for before you sign . Ask them about all the what if's ten get tem to put it in writting.They have a collections department of there own that you go into two weeks after you leave they will call you everyday until you answer the phones trying to get you to pay fast..and more than you can sfford they will also cuss at you and threaten you even if you are making payments they want you to do this over the phone right then. Do not give your work number or info to them.You will get a bill every week from them. So be mentally ready when you leave school they bill you also not just who you have a loan from..It is nuts...I have been paying.So you would think I would not be treated this way.However I am.they are cold and mean.If anyone has any information to help please tell me what to do.I am thankful that I do not have the entire debt to pay them I don't think I could afford it. I won't go back for the wat I have been treated even as a paying customer."

"I looked into Sanford Brown over a year ago, when researching potential schools online. I gave them a call to discuss attending, and got the additional information from them.I decided against, it, because they seemed much more concerned with getting me signed up and financing me, despite my being able to pay for school myself. It felt much more like a sales pitch than an offer of a good education.For over a year now, they call me and either hangup, or do not leave messages. When I have called to ask them to put me on a do not call list, I have been hung up on, or met with abyssimal and rude service.I am very glad I never attended or gave them a penny, even more so, now that I have read the reviews on this site!"