Virginia College Reviews

"When I began my MS program at VC, it was very thorough and a challenging program. I found myself studying night and day and constantly felt challenged. The exams were timed so the moment I clicked "begin" the timer began counting down. Once it reached "0" it closed the test down regardless of how much I had completed. In other words-I had to actually know the material. Additionally, the tests were very difficult. One had to know the material in order to pass the classes. At the time, the school was listed as a "not for profit" institution. When I was within a semester or two of graduating, something changed. Suddenly the time limits on exams went away. The questions sank to grade school level. I literally remember questions such as "What is the quote on page 100 of your textbook from a former President of the United States?" I remember another question: "What is the name of the text book for this course?" This was bewildering considering this was supposed to be graduate school level work. After some research, I learned that the school had changed its status from "not for profit" to "for profit." Since I was within a semester of graduation, I stuck with it and completed the program. In my finial semester, I literally didn't open a book and still graduated with a 4.0 GPA. I went from 20-30 hours per week of studying to just logging in to complete the exams and discussion questions-less than an hour per week. As disgusted as I was; I was within a semester of graduation. I graduated in 2008 and was fortunate enough to have a job that treated education as a check list requirement. Meaning: my boss doesn't care what I studied in college and grad school. The only thing that matters is that I have a degree. But it should be pointed out that I was unsuccessful in finding a job related to the MS I received from VC. When I utilized the job assistance program for graduates, they asked for a copy of my resume. I submitted and was advised to change "Virginia College" to "Virginia College Online." This stellar advise was apparently the only thing holding me back from getting the good jobs. When I initially contacted VC about enrolling in their MS program, I had to be interviewed by the department head. After the interview he informed me that he felt I needed some undergrad level courses in my area of study before getting into the grad level stuff. This was a good sign to me. In my two and half years at VC, the first ~two years were very fulfilling. Then it changed to for profit and the school was/is garbage. Save your money. Go to a real school. I now have a $40,000 piece of useless paper. Luckily I went to a real college for undergrad and have military experience in a different field. So I was able to get a good job. However my success can in no way be attributed to this joke of a school."

"I was attending the online course. I did not graduate, I dropped out after I found out that they are not recognized by any paralegal organizations, NFPA, NALA,BAR, and CAPA The teacher was a joke. Do yourself a favor and look else where for a school."

"I am currently in my third semester at Virginia College. My only complaint is the lack of communication between students and professors. The professors do not respond to emails or questions on the Q & A board. If I am asking a questions regarding an assignment and I do not receive a reply how am I supposed to submit the assignment on time especially if the links for certain materials needed for the assignment aren't working."

"The customer service SUCKS. This is by far the worse school ever. They could care less about their students. Save your money! I have emailed my advisor L. several times with no reply. The grades OFTEN grade wrong on quizzes and exams that are pre-graded A-D, I have had to email professors SEVERAL TIMES about things being graded wrong due to the 'system.'"

"I attended Virginia College's online program, which was extremely conducive for my lifestyle. The instructors made sure we knew how and when was a good time to contact them. Throughout the five years I was enrolled the knowledge I gained has been able to help me earn awards at work."

"This school is so unorganized & does not cater to military students as well as they advertise. I went to the school 4 months before they even reported to the VA for me. They always have "system issues" when it comes to getting you your money, you always have to wait. Pursing a degree at this school is an extra headache in itself. I withdrew within a year."

"Instructors are okay but the financial advisors are the rudest ppl in the world! They lie and they are quick to take your money to get you in the door. But if you call them with questions they have the worst attitudes avoid this school any way possible"

"If you are looking for a good online program, this is NOT the school to choose. Not only is there no real instruction and you are basically teaching yourself, the school is not accredited, which means that if for any reason you need to transfer to another school, or if you want to continue on to another degree, your classes will not transfer. When I applied for this school, I did ask if they were accredited and I was told yes. So also be prepared for them to lie to you, just to get your business. They are a for profit college, which means they will try to get money from you in every way possible. I was an online student only and I was being charged fees as if I were living on a campus somewhere, and that is money that I just cannot get back. As for the professors, be prepared to be accused of plagiarism and copying and pasting in your papers, unless it is anything except the most basic of information, so make sure to find sources for information you already know. All in all, if you choose to go to attend Virginia College, do your research. They have a low retention and graduation rate for a reason. There is little to no career planning or help once you graduate. And be prepared to teach yourself the information in each class, as there is little to no instruction, with the exception of power points, and 1 or 2 questions on a discussion board."

"All I can say is that I wish I researched before I enrolled in this school. I did receive an Associate's in Human Resources. I am now enrolled in Park University. Park did not take ANY of my credits from Virginia College. They applied credits I received from REAL colleges 15 years ago but would not take them from VC. I did 20 years in the military and I had credits from various schools because I moved a lot. The other factor is that VC would not apply any of my credits from other schools. That was their way of getting more money. Anytime someone tells me they are thinking of VC...I tell them to try another school."

"I have been at this college online for a year. So far, it has been really hard. The professors don't really "teach". If you are looking at going online, consider doing this on your own. Because you will receive no help from the professors. I have honestly been looking at switching to another college."

"Overall I did great in the classes, I really out a lot of time into the classes to make the best grades. However, some of the instructors were not helpful at all. The instructors had guidelines to follow, which meant completing one paper, get feed back on it, to redo it for another assignment to be turned in and have it corrected from the first rough draft. I found numerous times we would never receive the first copy back in time to turn in a revised paper. The staff is constantly changing, I have never had the same advisor more than one term. I never got straight answers, just the run around. It is also VERY EXPENSIVE. The icing on the cake was when my last course of externship came about. My externship coordinator found me a site, it was 7 hours away from where I live. I am not driving 7 hours, 2 days a week to do an externship. . I was told my only option was to withdraw and find one before the next semester. Two semesters later, I have finally found one on my own (an externship site). Thousands of dollars later, and 3/4 of a year pass when I was suppose to graduate, I had no choice but to find a site to complete the degree because my credits were not trasnferrable."

"Stay away from this school. Just trying to help the next person in line here. I almost done with my associates in network engineering and I regret even going. They take all your monies and they do not in any way assist you. I will say this though, I have always had a really good advisor and she was nice and worked to help me any way possible but that was the only good thing about this school. As far as price, its too expensive and if you are to be getting a refund/stipend then think again. They do not give you anything and they give you the run around the entire time about your account. They owe me as a credit in the amount of 741.00 and I have not seen a dime of that money and probably never will. The student portal is a joke and some of your information is wrong and the leger card information is a joke as well. Nothing is shown for you to understand and thats their goal; to keep you confused the entire time while pocketing your monies."

"Tell us about your college experience.Online school by itself is not easy, an online school with instructors that are working full-time jobs and do not have the appropriate time to spend teaching an entire course is not only difficult, but frustrating. A handful of instructors, which is one too many for me, have brushed off my questions and gave me the bare minimum of guidance. I ask questions and challenge the grades I receive on assignments and I am met with sarcasm and annoyance. I would say 20% of the instructor's at VCO were actually very involved in the online class and they were more than happy to help when you asked questions.Would you get the same degree if you could start over?I would choose the same degree because it is in the medical field and I would have stability and security with a position in this area of work. I would not choose to go to Virginia College again because a majority of the instructors I have corresponded with are lazy and insincere.What advice can you offer other students?Be sure to do EXTENSIVE research on a college's financial aid options, the teachers' accreditation, the school accreditation, and to look up reviews for the college as you can learn a lot from past or current students."

"This school is a huge joke. Everything about it sucks. They are just out to get your money. The people there to help, like your advisors, are pitiful, and I can't believe they get paid to be as bad as they are. Some of the instructors are nice and smart, but on a whole this place is something you should avoid! No one should enroll here. Let this school die a slow miserable death, which is fully deserves."

"Getting a degree doesn't help with employment. I graduate next month and employers don't seem to be interested in an Associates Degree from VCO. I attempted to transer my credits to an on campus university and literally not one credit was transferable. Considering the classes are going to be some of the same ones I am now going to have to repeat, surprised me. The actual classes and instructors were really good at VCO, but don't expect to transfer credits or have employers look at it as if you went to a "real" school. Their financial aid office also takes weeks to get back to you if you start in the Spring because they only have one person working FA during that time for some reason. Overall, it is money you have to pay back with no help for your future. I have been on the President's List every semester, so I'm still hopeful. P.S. If you want help with employment, go directly to the ground campus. The online employment search is associated with the school, but is not run by the school nor anyone who works for it. It's no different than going to Careerbuilder. Good Luck"

"From the very beginning I have had an amazing amount of trouble with this school. They are almost impossible to get on the phone you just leave messages with people who never get back to you. When I was trying to enroll I wanted to do the Accounting program but the admission lady I spoke with convinced me that it was a horrible program and I should just do Office Management. When I told her no she assured me that I could change my program later if I was still sure. From there it became a nightmare in the financial department. They had me enrolled before they even found out if I would be covered by financial aid. A month into my first 3 courses is when they called and said I still owed some money. I covered the debt because I was already started. They didn't give me a choice. In the middle of the year I asked to be reduced to one class for the term because I was working full time and my company is very busy during the summer. It took me 3 weeks to talk to someone about my courses. I sent numerous emails and made at least 2 calls a day only to find out my student adviser had quit shortly after I was enrolled. Instead of reducing my course load they increased it and then suspended me because I could not keep up. They still charged me for the classes that I had only been in for 2 weeks even though I didn't sign up for them. I completely gave up on Virgina College and tried to get my transcripts but I could not reach anybody. I left messages and sent emails but the only call I got back was from a collection agency telling me I owed over $2000 to the school on top of what I owe for my student loans.Now I can't go to any school because Virginia College swindled me. They are nothing but a bunch of cons from Alabama."

"Save yourself the headache and trouble. I just enrolled this quarter and now I regret it. You never know anything about you funding and if everything as far as classes were covered unless you look into it yourself. I was enrolled in three classes by them and come to find out on my own i was only covered cost wise for two so when i called them and asked them about it they gave me the run around and later i discovered that they dropped me from one class. They didnt even bother to call me about it first and the sad part was that it was a class i worked the hardest in and i had just completed a assignment for and did all the discussion work for. It really upset me how they do business and to be honest I dont even want to continue going to this sorry school. I am now researching other school because I am indeed going to transfer."

"I am about to graduate the criminal justice program. I found it very convient. However do not get me wrong even through it was convient to take the classes with my schedule; I found the class extremely challenging and informitive with the current state of our criminal justict system in all its aspects."

"After wasting time and money at another school, I was reassured by the advisors and financial aid department that I was on the right track.I started off as a full-time student or so I thought. After the third 11 week term I was switched without my knowledge to a part-time student. Because they put me at part-time student it push me from finishing an AA degree in 2 years to finishing in 3.5 years.When I had a medical issue that almost cost me my life and needed time to recover and needed medical leave, I was told that there was no medical leave that I would have to withdrawal from school and then reapply. I knew that was not an option for me, so along with fight for my life, I continued my classes. When I was not able to complete a final in one of those classes because I was in a surgery, (they had all the paperwork to prove it), I appealed the decision that stated that I could not take the test after the class was closed. I got a zero on the final and just barely passed the course.After talking to my advisor I was informed that I was getting yet another "new" advisor. Each term you get a new advisor, you never have the same one each term. To me it is too much.Then each term it started to be problems with financial aid. Now it is problems with teachers that can't teach.So in the long run, the problem with Virginia College... THEY ONLY WANT MONEY. They could care less if you are fighting for your life, have no money to give, and your teacher has no formal teaching in the subject that they are teaching you.Before you spend your money with this school, find other schools and ask them questions that you think maybe stupid, but may happen later in life."

"This site says tuition is 12,000 thats is not correct with interest I am going to be paying almost 30,000. They make you pay for courses that are learning about online and their school. Why should I have to pay for a class that has nothing to do with what I am going for. I wanted to take just one term off so I had time to get married and they made me drop out then said I had to pay to get reenrolled. Plus they dropped me from full time student to part time without my knowledge."