Capella University Reviews of Master's in Psychology

"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."

"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."

"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."

"I liked the flexpath Capella offered. It was great because I could spend my time focusing on my studies. However, online, there was a lot of miscommunication. Most of my instructors were great. They were approachable and understanding. I had a few who really worked with me and I appreciated that. There was one really bad instructor who was biased and that was challenging. The other challenge was that I had three different academic advisors and the last one was the worst. The library staff was amazing and very helpful when doing my research. The writing tutors were hit or miss. But over all what I paid in tuition and what I got for a degree was well worth the cost."

"Student Beware!! I think Capella must take on more students than they can manage. Last year I was activity by military orders and had to put my FlexPath course on military hold. They held a $1,200 balance on me. Then when I restarted my program while deployed and finished it no one noticed or contacted me that my master promissory note was out of date. My financial aid got kicked back and no one contacted me. I finally called to see what was going on and they said that financial aid can no longer covered my amount due which is now $3,800 and they expect me to pay this out of pocket. I've been in the military 16 years and use student loan repayment. I've deployed 3 times. NOT A MILITARY FRIENDLY SCHOOL!!!"

"WOW now that I'm reading people's review, I realized I'm not the only one going through this... I'm being charge $3,000 for a course I NEVER TOOK and the lack of empathy is unbelievable.. ITS A SCAM AND I REGRET EVEN REGISTERING! DO NOT DO IT! If you call, they will never answer no matter what department you call. Academic coaches are never there and can take up to 4 week to response (sometimes more), even if it's urgent. Just save yourself the anxiety and stress and go somewhere nicer."

"I'm halfway through my program and I don't have many complaints. I'm specializing in behavior analysis. I've had no issues with speaking with anyone if I needed to reach financial aid or have any general questions. My professors have been pretty responsive as well. Keep in mind that this an online school. Sadly, no one is going to hold your hand and make you feel like you're a part of something. It's a self accountable program. What you put into it, is what you'll get out of it. I have learned a lot so far and if you have live class meetings that are 'optional', I would urge you to attend those at every opportunity. They could use more live class sessions or lectures to teach the program. Otherwise, if there aren't any live sessions for a class, it can feel very dry, as you'll be basically teaching yourself through readings and discussion with classmates. Also, if you're new to online school or you're returning after a significantly long period, you might feel a little lost navigating the campus site, but you'll get accustomed to it, hopefully. I would add that I don't think the program is very challenging right now (that might change as the course sequence progresses). I also don't think they grade papers as harshly as they should for a graduate level program either. I'm not sure if I'm just a good writer, or whether the standard is pretty low, but I've only seen one professor provide a significant amount of feedback. Anyways, take all that with a grain of salt. Program's okay and the course sequence is ABAI approved. It'll get me where I need to be. I'm not wowed by it and I most certainly would not pursue a PhD through them. Go to a brick and mortar school for that. So in short, I'm sure there are better schools to consider before this one, but if, like me, you were just ready to roll up your sleeves and jump in and just get that course sequence done, it's worth considering, I guess."

"I've been applying to Capella for 6 weeks and they still have not finished my application. Capella informed me that, I will still be billed but will not be granted access to my courses until my application is completed. Spoke to the supervisor of Admission who stated due to Covid and people working from home we are behind. THEN DONT BILL ME OR GRANT ME AN EXTENTION. HANDS DOWN THE WORST EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED."

"I have a lot of good things to say about Capella. I found the work challenging, with a medium amount of academic rigor, I learned a lot in the time I was there. I had to take a quarter off due to health issues and the university was helpful and supportive. Most of my professors have been very good and I have enjoyed my classes. Capella is pretty expensive, but I found it to be worth the money. I did, however, have one or two classes that could have used more instruction; all of the ABA specific classes have 2 hours of instructor contact per week, but the regular psychology classes did not and i certainly felt the absence of weekly check ins with the professor in those classes. I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from my time in the University."

"I left the program after one semester. I was never so disappointed and all of it stems from their online system which goes down constantly is complex and not user friendly, Even at the end of the term I cannot access my grades. The professor was not approachable and I found the whole university to be less responsive than I had come to believe. Run Away!"

"Considering the fact that I have a Master's in Education, and am in a Doctorate Psychology program at another school, I can say I felt scammed by this school. I Signed up to take some elective credits for transfer, with the Flex Path program which is a complete disaster. Now I have F's on my transcripts and never did before! Many of the instructors give very poor feedback which makes it difficult to improve your work, and if you ask them for clarification they will not help you. Good luck getting a hold of one of a tutor. If you do they can be more helpful that the instructor, but sometimes they are on leave and no one tells you, and then of course it's time to roll over to a new billing period. You feel like they are trying to scam you towards the end of every billing period so you'll have to pay for another."

"The Flexpath program was perfect for me. I was able to work at my own pace and complete the degree in less time than with a traditional program. There was always a way to contact someone for help or clarification on an assessment. The feedback and comments left by the professors where helpful and added to my content knowledge."

"As a current student at Capella University, I have been so impressed by the quality of education and communication with Capella faculty that I have experienced so far. Online learning is not new to me since I earned my undergraduate degree online as well. For a graduate program, I thought it might be limiting to further my education online instead of in a traditional setting. However, I have received the same amount and quality of knowledge regardless of the setting and I have experienced great communication with my professors. They have always been eager to give feedback and helpful in many ways. Every staff member I have communicated with has shown me kindness and has put the effort in to connect with me and help in any way they can."

"Absolutely awful. Communications go unanswered for weeks at a time. Class requirements aren't included in the syllabus. Don't find about about "requirements" until you've submitted assignments. Structured so you have to keep paying tuition and never quite meeting hidden objectives. Easily the worst education experience I've had. DO NOT GO HERE."

"The beginning process to apply was even brutal. The man I spoke to to select a major was helpful but once I decided to apply, it was a mess. Passwords and usernames didn't work. Online support was not helpful. They could not even figure out my login issues and had to email me that they will reach out later once its resolved, which wasn't swift. This happened multiple times. It was a mess. If this is what I experienced in the beginning, the actual classes must be a nightmare electronically. I decided to select another school."

"This school is a joke. Half way through the program I wanted to quit, but I told my self I should stick with it to the end. The semester I decided to withdrawal I didn't complete the course. The teacher sent me an email AFTER the course ended. I told him I was not intending to continue. He asked if I would answer a one question quiz in the class, so I did not thinking it would matter since the class ended. Well, because I answered that 1 question quiz I got an F instead of a W. THANKS!!!!!! Not wanting to transfer an F on my record, I started again. Still not happy with the program I stopped another course after week 4, I got an A in that class without having done work for 6 weeks. At that point I only had 4 classes left to complete the degree so I did. Thinking it couldn't hurt, right? Boy was I wrong,----- Employers are not hiring resumes with Capella University listed on them. This school was one of a very few with the program I went into which is the only reason I went there. Now I have an outrageous amount of debt, and no job thanks to this school. If employers think the degree is a joke then student loans from this school should be erased. Close this hungry money mill down. Anyone please start a class action law suit!"

"The program is rigorous and requires a lot of time a research. If you are uncertain of your goals I wouldn't recommend approaching an online masters course as the time you need to allot to a successful education will surpass the amount time most people have. I personally found the advisors to be useless and the professors to be the best route for learning more about your career and how to prepare every step."

"Capella has a wonderful learning environment for most classes. I was able to work when I needed to and had several instructors that were understanding when I has a home issue and needed to turn in work a couple of days late. I have run across classrooms that have instructors that were hard to read. I mean that once I thought I had figured out what they were expecting of me in my work, then it would change a bit for the next assignment. Otherwise I have never had a bad class through the school. Financial aid has been helpful when needed and my advisor was fantastic when helping me get my program set up. Online schooling is not for the faint of heart and you must be self motivated to do well in these classes and in this environment. If you are, then you should do well here. I liked my Master's experience enough that when I was ready for my PhD program I came back to Capella. I am a few quarters into my PhD and the classes run how I remember them."

"I enrolled in Capella University Psychology dept. I was working full time, but thought a higher degree would help me. The time and money I spent on this so called education is a farce. I was bombarded by phone calls, email and snail mail that Capella would provide me with an excellent education. BUT SPACE WAS Limited. So I fell for their hype. The course room was inoperable most times, assignments were failed or sent back due to a missing quote mark. Financial aid was pushed constantly, because if I did not accept the award, there would be none next quarter. This is a for profit business. Oh one more thing, when I attempted to apply to jobs Capella said were available, sorry job never existed. The real kicker was when I actually secured an interview for an I/O Psychogist, the interviewer snickered when she told me my degree wasn't a real degree. I can still hear her laughter as I left, that has been 10 years ago. I stopped putting Capella University on my resume."

"I have been a student at Capella for a year now, and I must say that my experience has been wonderful. I don't want to talk about the school itself in detail, but I want to talk about personal responsibility, the changing world, perceptions, and reality. I want to start first by mentioning my sister is a graduate of Colorado State University, with a degree in sociology; c/o 2003, I chose to join the Air Force 4 years prior; 1999. So we left the nest at the same time, and did different things with our lives, she picked education, I picked to go straight into the workforce, and no, she did not participate in distance learning, she she did all of her work on campus, in Fort Collins. When she graduated, she had very high hopes for her future now that the was equipped with the knowledge she needed to be of professional value to some entity. To her disappointment, no one wanted a fresh college graduate, why? take some guesses? between the time she graduated, and up unitl about 3 years ago, she could not find steady work in her field or related fields. To make my point here, your degree, no matter where you get if from is only worth what you do with it, and what someone is willing to pay for the services you can provide based off your education. People think because it is distance learning the experience will be easy, but the reality of it is that it is not, you will have to fight with financial aid sometimes here just like you would at Colorado State, or you may have a professor who is just not a people person, just like you would at Colorado State; same challenges, just in a different way. One's education is what they make of it, how much are they willing to learn? and how much effort fo they want to put forth? It is only the schools job to provide you with the information and insight, they are not supposed to just give you good grades because you come to class and go through the motions, that is not learning. To end, I am sorry to reveal to some that for-profit program are no different that others, if you think this is not true, consider this, go to CSU's admissions office and say" I would like to enroll" and when they ask you "how will you be paying for your education, say, " I want to go here for free" and wait for the campus police to arrive, point is, even though most schools o not advertise they are for-profit, they essentially all are ."