Capella University Reviews

"I took the flex path option for both my BSN and MSN and loved the self paced, competency based program. I wrote almost all my papers on my passion, hospice. I was encouraged to publish several papers by my professors and created a hospital based end of life educational program with my BSN and a college institute high fidelity simulation for my MSN Capstone for the college I teach at. With a full time job and family, I felt this path gave me so much experience and satisfaction as a student. Many students completed their degrees quickly, but I took my time and completed both degrees in a little over 2 years. Tuition was a little over $2000 per semester (covid relief from the college for my BSN and a reduced tuition agreement with my employer). With tuition reimbursement from my employer, my total was around $9,000. Customer service was good for me, though the masters practicum and Capstone took a little digging to figure out. I'm totally satisfied with my decision to attend Capella."

"I recently graduated from Capella’s Flexpath program. My experience was positive overall. I used my GI-Bill and didn’t have any issues with the finance department. The program allows you to finish your degree on your schedule. However, you will have to finish the entire course in a specific timeframe. It is not easy though. I wouldn’t recommend this program to anyone who isn’t self-motivated, disciplined, and resourceful. I have never attended a traditional brick and mortar college so I’m use to learning on my own. Everyone learns differently and this program might not work for everyone."

"I was enrolled in the flexpath masters of Healthcare Administration program at Capella and I honestly wish that I never was. They still have my last name incorrect even though I sent the forms multiple times to change it (months later). I submitted the appropriate paperwork for withdraw to Capella and they did not process it until two months later! I showed them proof of my timely and adequate withdraw and they ignored it. Now I have a balance of $3,000 because of their mistakes, and they want to send me to collections!! I am getting lawyers involved, but I wish I did not have to deal with this mess. I should not have given Capella the chance as soon as I saw their graduation rates."

"Please do not waste your time, energy and/or money on their flexpath program. Coaches offer no guidance and steer you wrong. You do not have autonomy over your academics. Heaven forbid life gets in the way, it is held against you. LOOK ELSEWHERE!!!!!"

"If I could give this school a -5/5 stars I would. The only good thing about this school is the flexibility of the flex path to be able to complete your classes when you can while also working a full time job. Aside from that, good luck getting ahold of a coach or a professor. The fact that this is an online school and not one person is available 24/7 is insane. Unless you get tuition assistance/financial aid or finish your degree in 3 months you'll be paying loads of money. 3,500 plus more fees here and there every 12 weeks. Oh and if you're still enrolled in a class into the next billing period you'll get charged 3,500 again. Capella shorted me 6 weeks of financial aid for this academic year and I was on my capstone class but because I didn't finish it within the billing period timeframe I got charged 3,500 that I now have to pay out of pocket. The professors and coaches don't help you whatsoever, they basically just tell you you could do better and make you feel stupid. I got told if I didn't finish my class before the billing period ended I'm screwed and there's nothing they can do to help me. Steer clear of this university and save yourself some money."

"This for-profit business is just awful. I did not experience complications until I was nearly complete with my program. They are very misleading with guideline procedures of doctoral course projects and most of them are never satisfied with progress of assignments. I had to change my topic and revise all my signature assignments despite of the satisfactory grades I achieved for the first three course projects. They expect revisions endlessly. The coordinator from the doctoral success program at some point will join in on the hindrance. Without explanation, the education department suddenly replaced my original instructor midway during the fourth project course. Now, I am told that I must take a course that irrelevant to my academic plan which pushes me back even further from graduation. This for-profit place is a natural disaster waiting to happen. I now regret everything about Capella and wished I attended a public university instead. I don't recommend Capella to anyone."

"Capella is disorganized. You can never get help from anyone. When you reach out they are rude. They don’t actually seek to help, they just try to pass the buck and make you jump through hoops to accommodate their overall incompetence as a university. The professors don’t care about students, and the staff is incredibly unkind to learners. If you have a major, time sensitive issue, they will fully allow you to be dropped from classes due to an “admin error” on their part, and then take their sweet time getting back to you. In addition to this, over the phone and in email they promise to get back with you and call back, email back within a certain time frame. They always take longer and that is if they ever get back to you at all. They try to blame you for things that they also admitted are their fault, the training must be terrible. I’ve had an issue every single time I register in a new set of courses, I hate it here."

"I graduated nursing school in May 2021 with my ASN from a local community college. By December 2021 I had my BSN. I did Capella's RN to BSN Flex Path. I think people who review this university negatively are those who do not want to take the initiative and do their work. This is not high school. This is adult life for people who are working adults who want to advance their education. I personally found it very challenging to be disciplined and get my work done, but I went in with the mindset of doing my degree ASAP and pay as little as possible. I started in July 2021 and by December 3, 2021 I was done with my BSN. This is a serious test of discipline. If you cannot commit to being disciplined I would recommend a brick and mortar school to obtain your BSN or MSN. I am contemplating doing my MSN now at Capella too, and with Flex Path."

"I genuinely enjoyed my time at Capella University. I am graduating with my M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and I felt this program was extremely beneficial. Some professors were better than other, but for the most part, professors genuinely wanted you to do well in their course. I have heard of some students having difficulty with their academic advisors, but I was fortunate to have a great advisor. I applied to be a Capella Ambassador and I enjoyed Capella offered this for current students. I am able to provide my honest feedback regarding the program to prospective students. Capella never asks me to say certain things or asks about my conversations, but simply provide me with contact information for me to reach out. A few things to consider/plan for: Residencies cost money. As of 2022, there are two required residencies that are located in a popular city (Dallas, Orlando, Phoenix, etc.). Students are expected to pay for flight, hotel, and their own dinners; breakfast and lunch are provided. Each residency cost me about $800 with everything. Some students paid about $1,200, depending on their flights/food they purchased/etc. This is important to keep in mind when planning for costs. Second, internship is required for this program. Between practicum and internship 1 and 2, it is about 9 months. Students are required to find their own internship location which students should work on as early as possible as contracts are sometimes required for sites. Practicum requires a minimum of 100 hours completed over the 10 week course at the approved site. Internship 1 and Internship 2 require a total of 600 hours over the two courses, averaging about 30 hours per week. This is a large time commitment so it is important for students to plan accordingly. Personally, I saved up money/took out additional student loans to cover bills during the Internship 1 and Internship 2 (6 months total). This program is great for people who enjoy working a normal schedule and still working towards their degree as in-person classes are not required so students can complete work on their time. Important: a lot of motivation and self discipline is required for this program. There are no recorded lectures, students are expected to read required material, provide discussion posts, complete essays, and complete quizzes/exams based on the assigned readings/other material (videos, case studies, etc.). Find the program that is right for your schedule and right for your lifestyle. Personally, this worked out for me as I prefer to learn this way rather than an in-person class."

"Capella will rob you. I attended this school online, there was no help from anyone. They do not answer or return your calls or emails, I try to drop out a week after signing up and now they are charging me over $5000 that I have no clue of. I am going to dedicate a page only to advise others not to attend this school."

"A lot of money for little quality. Faculty in early courses are attentive but once the capstone portion is near the experience takes a nosedive. There is no consistency amongst faculty, so each professor from course to course gives conflicting directions, which causes re-work over and over again. Instructors miss grading deadlines and make ridiculous mistakes. You can get this degree done quickly but you'll pay a price in actual education. Pay to play university."

"Please avoid this school! Surprise fees and bills. One of the financial aid representatives all but admitted Capella is meant to rob students. You learn virtually nothing by wiring paper after paper and pay far too much money for the horrible education"

"I have been dropped from two courses at Capella, both due to their own lack of responsibility. The first time, I was dropped due to lack of payment. I had a loan waiting for them. It had been approved by the loan company a month earlier, they just had to do the paperwork. I never received any response from the financial aid department, over email or phone. The second time, I was dropped due to lack of participation. I had filled out assignments and participated in discussion boards. There is no reason why I should have been dropped. There was never any communication from the University before I was dropped either time. I found out when I tried to open up my course and couldn't find it. Both of the times, I had to search and search as to why I was dropped and received barely any help from academic coaches or the financial aid department. I would not recommend this University to anyone."

"Absolutely amazing they charge people for their online degree program. Capella’s online portal is terribly organized, uses numerous outside sites for submitting or completing work, and after three weeks still was not graded on weeks 2-3. It leads me to wonder what you’re actually paying for, they type up a really long blog for each class with imbedded links within the blog they call “assignments” and the student checks off their progress when they complete a task because there is no program tracking what you’ve completed and submitted and what is left to complete. Barely any response from academic leadership and at least a week to wait and in order to speak to an academic advisor, once you speak to the advisor they then inform you that without dropping a course in the first 12 days they charge you for it. Just a shady and unprofessional school in its entirety. If I were to graduate I wouldn’t feel the need to hang a diploma from them on my wall. I transferred to Arizona State University and it’s been such a better experience like the previous college I went to for my A.S."

"Capella will waste your time while they collect tuition. The school simply tries to prolong your journey so that they can keep charging you for tuition. You can write a perfect DNP project paper, but the instructors will grade your poorly and ask you to integrate their biased opinions into your plans. Then, they will question everything you say or do. The school gives you 3 attempts on assignments but the instructors help you waste them pretty quickly. For example, instructors will tell you to change "x + y = z" to "y + x = z" and will then change their mind completely and ask you to change it back to "x + y = z." When you do, they will just tell you that the answer was never Z. You see...there is no pleasing them. They are paid pawns. They're not there to help you succeed. They're there to syphon your money."

"The school is completely disorganized. The programs they use are horrible and out dated. The. learning environment online is awful. They set you up to fail and are completely ok with it. I have gone to community college online during the pandemic and the rushed to combat the pandemic doing online was better organized then this garbage. You don't get what you pay for at all"

"I am in my first year in the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) and my experience as been great. The professors are very helpful and are easy to reach if/when needed. I realize that this is my journey and my financial invest.....WHAT I put in is what I'll get out of it. So far I have been getting all A's but it's a matter of staying on top of everything. NS"

"I am working full time as a nurse, so 40 hours a week working Monday - Friday. I needed a school that is flexible and allow me to go fast at my own pace. I was determined to finish in 1 semester. I only had to do the core classes (8 classes total) with 4 papers each for the last 7 courses, the first being 3 papers; a total of 31 papers for my BSN. I completed my BSN in 11 weeks (1 semester), which cost me only $2,800 (after military discount; would have been like $3,200 or something like that). I would have finished in a month and a half, but I was just too lazy to go day after day with papers. I averaged one class every 1.3 weeks (again would have been a class and a half every week but too lazy). Papers are super easy to write (except for 4030, that was a bit difficult but def doable in 1 week). Let me know if you have any questions."

"Lucky for me, I caught on early to the scam that is Capella University. As a late learner in my life, I have completed all of my higher education online. I attended two well known online universities and one local university online and obtained my Associates, Bachelors, and Masters degree. I chose Capella for my Doctorate because they were one of the only universities to offer a doctorate in my field. From day one of the course, I realized something was wrong. Their student class portal was unlike any portal I have seen. Every other university leads you and helps you by showing you what is due weekly. At Capella you have to spend an entire day looking at each week of your course and pulling out what is due each week. Additionally, the lay out of the course itself is a mess with what you learn and the assignments listed twice making you search to find where to submit your work. I promise you, look at any other University and you will see an easy to follow, well structured course. Capella breaks theirs up to ensure it "look" in-depth and fancy but it is simply the same information listed over and over. I advice you, as someone who has had great success online, avoid Capella like covid. Mask up, put you gloves on and stay a minimum of 6 feet away from them and their enrollment specialist"

"Great overall experience. Capella was supportive from the initial questions throughout graduation. The professors were supportive, clear, and concise during courses. The academic counselors were quick to answer any questions and provided guidance throughout my program."