Carrington College Reviews

  • 92 Reviews
  • Multiple Locations
  • Annual Tuition: $13,975 - $54,125
18% of 92 students said this degree improved their career prospects
24% of 92 students said they would recommend this school to others
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Student & Graduate Reviews

avgkmb
  • Reviewed: 1/24/2024
  • Degree: Nursing
"To whom it may concern, I am writing a formal complaint against Carrington College and my experience as a student for the last 3 years. My initial conversation with your recruiter and financial aid did not inform me of your probation status and the NCLEX pass rates at your school along with the initial cost of the program was not made clear to me. I already have two other degrees as my financial aid was limited and I was unaware of the amount of funds and the financial liability that is now before me of $70,000 that you say that I owe to this post-secondary education for an ADA two-year degree that I did not obtain. My experience as an older student who has ADA with your school, I feel that not only was the program itself inadequate in education but the treatment by the staff was not professional and unorganized at best. Each semester I was told that I was so close always0 .05% to 0.07% from passing and each time I was convinced to repeat and try again only to fail 5 times and twice the same class always by the same percentage. I witness this manipulation done to several other students and I believe it was based off the professors and the Deans discretion if a student would be able to continue as we were not allowed to see our final answers on our final exams. The handbook seemed to change every year to accommodate the school. First it said 3 fails after pre req, then I was told it went to 5, then it went back to 3 again and after 3/2024 It will go back to 5 again. Only the handbook is web protected and unable to print, forward or prove this information. I was told when I left my AP was included and that was why I could not come back , however before I was never made aware that a pre req fail mattered. I had points taken off repeatedly for homework reasons such as the wrong font size by Professor L and she would not let me see the font, when it was not incorrect and the Dean told ne that she saw several other mistakes and that I should be grateful for my grade. Other schools are not as harsh on their grading and homework requirements in one class I had 80 assignments before the final, we were sent to SIM labs and clinicals the day before a midterm or final to physically drain us and make us not successful. We were sent to the clinical an hour away only to be told that was the only option. Other schools do the clinical on different weeks to make the students successful and given time to study. We were never given time to study. This simple degree felt like a military bootcamp, not a school that was supportive. I was told repeatedly “this is how it is in the hospital. This is not true. After doing 30days of 12c hour clinicals and repeating 4 classes I was told my care plans being inadequate when other students had the same information or less and they passed. I have worked in healthcare for 10 years as a CNA and I believe my care plans were adequate, but I was told that I had the wrong word such as the nurse” should “or the nurse “will” and the instructors repeatedly did not pass me. If you look at the majority of my plans from the instructors who treated people fairly, they all gave me high scores, I feel some of your instructors are bullies, unprofessional and undereducated at best. A and K both treated me horribly and others and because of them I had a horrible clinical experience they should not be allowed to be educators. I feel that the school singles out students who work in the medical field and do not want them to pass as we were told repeatedly the way were thinking was wrong, it was as if they wanted to mold a new grad with no experience more than a seasoned medical worker was not good enough. I just wanted to learn to be a nurse. For example, why is Professor L teaching med Surg when she never worked in Med Surg only Mental Health. I was told the class she was teaching was Med Surg when I was told the day before the final it was Fundamentals when the whole time, I was studying Med surg only to fail and the professor said “I told you the first day of class it was fundamentals” when in fact the class is called Med Surg. Her syllabus dates never matched, and all the PowerPoint were repeats from previous teachers. After I passed her class that she failed me twice I was told by her “I’m surprised you passed, next semester will be really hard for you”. I had another teacher, maybe nursing isn’t for you. Why would a teacher say that to a student. It is no one’s business what my dreams or goals for my life are. Some other examples of how I believe many students were treated unfairly is the questions were made by the instructors from previous semesters and was told only 20% change needed to be made when the tests did not in fact match what they were teaching. Our study guides were not study guides but just chapters numbers not content, so we never knew what we needed to study. We were taught math our first semester but tested every exam. We were not taught the body systems in order but expected to understand the “concepts” and be a better critical thinker. We never had any tutors available at tutor.com, IT was none existent and there was zero student support systems that were adequate ,the printer never worked, the teachers, clinical instructors and the Deans and rules were constantly changing. We were not made aware of the books were tested out of were actually ATI books and were did not have access to these books and were not told until the end of 4th semester. We were told to read Elsevier online and other textbooks, we had so many but never used one book in class only PowerPoints. The only teacher that taught out of a book that followed any kind of curriculum was the Peds teacher and the OB teacher Professor B. Professor D was an exceptional teacher and not all my experiences were bad. How can half the class fail and have to repeat each semester? Why are none of the syllabuses not available after leaving the class and I must ask for them when other colleges said it should be available to me? Why was I not sent an appeal and other students were, I had to write a letter myself? Why did it take over two weeks at times to receive emails back from teachers and sometimes there were no responses ever? Even after I left. I never received a proper exit letter that I could take to another school, only a denial letter, I have yet to hear back from financial aid and my transcripts were mysteriously sent after the semester started at another school. Why were we given the surveys before the final exam? It should be after class. Most students fear retaliation, so they only gave high scores. This does not add up. Why could I not see what I missed on any final exam? But I could see all the other exams? I think this is a systemic breakdown of For- Profit schools taking advantage of students financially but mainly because they all want to keep their jobs and due to the nursing board regulating the accreditation based on student scores AFTER we graduate. This allows NO ONE to graduate unless the school wants you to, I believe they had their favorites. If I had known sooner the pass rate for Carrington, and that their probation ends in March 2024 gives them reason to only care about “students that are above 80%” I would have re considered. I see this is a teaching issue. I and many others had an 80% yet we failed the final! If you look at my ATI and UWorld pass rate of 84%, I believe the school only takes high scores because they are afraid of closing and losing their accreditation and are treading water as it is a sinking ship and the biggest mistake of my life going to this school. I was never given any sort of ADA accommodation that was going to help me. I was given 50 seconds more on a test, but it was up to me to ask the teacher to implement. I was denied any alone testing at any time. Even though this is what I asked for, other students were allowed. This ADA accommodation did not help in any way. I am writing this letter to bring awareness to other people that the experience of becoming a nurse should be a good, not competitive and intimidating, there were several students that left and said they never wanted to be a nurse and people are afraid to stand up and make a complaint. I feel that I lost my dream, my finances and my self-esteem and I have never had a school make me feel so terrible in my life. I have a 3.6 GPA at other colleges and an exceptionally high review at my current job where I have been for 10 years. I know have to start completely over and pay for college as none of my credits transfer when I was in my last semester. I now owe this school $70000. For what exactly? This has financially ruined me. And I now have to start over. I guarantee this is a nationwide problem and why we do not have enough nurses. I hope that this school will close so all the students who were taking advantage of will have an opportunity to not have to pay this exorbitant amount of money and hopefully become nurses someday and not be made to feel bad while in school. Thank you for your time."
LH
  • Reviewed: 12/6/2023
  • Degree: Massage Therapy
"I have been attending Carrington College in Boise and it was been the best journey of my life. Everyone here is very respectful and helpful. Lucas and Crystal are amazing instructors. I'm in my externship and I feel everyone involved in my growing has went above and beyond to make sure I'm ready. Thank you Carrington for the boost I needed in my career!!!"
LH
  • Reviewed: 12/6/2023
  • Degree: Massage Therapy
"I have been attending Carrington College in Boise and it was been the best journey of my life. Everyone here is very respectful and helpful. Lucas and Crystal are amazing instructors. I'm in my externship and I feel everyone involved in my growing has went above and beyond to make sure I'm ready. Thank you Carrington for the boost I needed in my career!!!"
Gg
  • Reviewed: 12/1/2023
  • Degree: Radiology
"I spent $53,000 to attend their radiography program. It was a worse financial decision of my life and im going to be paying student loans for ten years for an unusable degree. During covid they set us up for failure, fired good teachers and leaving untrained staff in roles they were not fit to be in. My degree is laughable. They made me go to a town hours away from my residence to attend clinicals where the staff at the hospital did not want to train students and was treated terribly for the full year of clinicals only for it to have no pay off. There’s no support and their staffing is constantly changing. During the two years i went there they went through like 5 financial aid staff and when you’d go to the financial aid office it’d be a full new person who had no idea what was going on at the college. In general this facility sells you on the idea of bettering yourself just to let you down every step of the way."
Alex L
  • Reviewed: 9/12/2023
  • Degree: Nursing
"~$60,000 per student in the Nursing program. We were given old iPads, slow computers, out-of-date books, broken projectors, printers that don't work, a sub-par library, as well as simulation equipment that is both expensive and finicky. The turnover rate for instructors and nursing staff (about 2 or more per semester) is insane for the 6 figures they're paid annually. Students are taught the bare minimum once they get to Level 3. Clinical schedules are made last minute and instructors are allowed to pick favorites, give answers to those they like, and treat the other students terribly. The only ones teaching and testing fairly were the male Pharm instructors. On top of everything, there seems to always be tons of drama involving both staff and students. The wait at CNM is worth it."
Montana Satterwhite
  • Reviewed: 8/18/2023
  • Degree: Medical Assistant
"Lance is awesome and so is Colton and everyone there that approves u officialy to the college they are all very respectful and very sweet and helped explain things very well I would recommend this college to anyone they are hands on and they are willing to help u achieve the goals u want!"
Krystal Ward
  • Reviewed: 8/4/2023
  • Degree: Health Sciences
"Carrington College is the worse place to attain anything. It shouldn't even be legal for this place to operate. To finish all my classes and be dropped during extern for no given specific reason and NOT receive my certification and diploma really wasted my time, energy and effort. It's false advertisement. I have never seen anything like this before."
RV
  • Reviewed: 6/18/2023
  • Degree: Dental Assistant
"It’s a good school to go to if you are ready to handle fast paced and rigorous classes, they’re not for the weak. There’s a reason it’s accelerated, so just try to keep that in mind. Credits are not very transfer friendly. I’m currently trying to transfer out of the AS degree program because I realized all the science classes I am taking aren’t going to help me pursue a bachelors degree or prerequisites for a graduate school (like dental or medical)"
RunAwayFromCarrington
  • Reviewed: 6/13/2023
  • Degree: Nursing
"Run. Run far away and fast. I had the deprivilege of sitting shotgun on a journey with the Mesa, Arizona Carrington College Nursing program and all I can say is, RUN. Point blank and period, run. Do not give them your money and if you already have try to get it back ASAP. For a mere $43,000 Carrington College tells you they will provide you with everything you need to be become a Registered Nurse. Here’s all the stuff they FAIL to tell you… • They do not have a permanent Dean or Director of Nursing. They change regularly and often during the semester making the administration there a joke. • Teachers are in the same boat. For most classes during the 18-month curriculum the teacher quit or was fired and replaced; as many as three times during a single block. As a result, there were teachers from Reno, NV proctoring online and by proctoring, I mean handing out PowerPoints and expecting you to learn. • In fact, the ENTIRE curriculum is PowerPoints, and not good ones. You could just get copies if you prefer to save yourself the money and just skip to the part where you teach yourself. That’s how it ends up when you go to Carrington anyway. • Who cares about the classroom though when you know you are going to get all your experience and real learning during the clinical hours. Wrong. Here is what you can expect to experience for clinicals: o Incorrect information of where to report and what is required of you to get set up to attend clinicals. o A new preceptor/teacher for every clinical; sometimes people that Carrington just found to fill in for the day. o Last minute cancellations or changes to your clinical schedule. o In reality, most of the clinicals ended up being the student nurse sitting at home and doing simulators (v-sims) on a computer with no instructor available. Great way to learn! • And what was the end result you ask? Well, way less than half the class passed the NCLEX on the first try. Most struggled the entire curriculum to teach themselves. Most had to take the test MANY times, trying to re-teach themselves along the way. Many have not passed and will not pass. • And here’s just a couple more fun facts from our experience: o Every single schedule changed. This was sold as an accelerated nighttime nursing program, but Carrington College expected you to be at their whim anytime of day. If they wanted you at the school, you were expected to be there, even with less than 24 hours’ notice. They had zero respect for students’ personal lives. o Carrington College was previously disciplined for allowing student to cheat on tests. As a result, the way they attempt to proctor tests is obnoxious. Expect to not know where you are taking your test (at home, on site, at an alternative location) as they have a hard time getting teachers to come on site and proctor exams. o As mentioned, Carrington College is regularly either on Censure or Probation with the Arizona state nursing board. This is because of several factors but first and foremost is the fact that the student nurses they produce can’t pass the NCLEX at high enough rates. This is public information. You can validate their current status through the Arizona State Nursing Board online. The bottom line here is $43,000 is a lot of money to invest in your education and there are much better places to get your education. The community colleges here in Arizona are your very best option and are only around $15,000. Get on the wait list now and don’t rely on these ridiculously expensive schools to provide you a future. I’m having a hard time understanding how Carrington is still in business and in all honesty would consider taking legal action against them for false advertising of their program if I thought it was worth my time and money. So in conclusion, RUN."
NiLi
  • Reviewed: 5/17/2023
  • Degree: Medical Billing & Coding
"The professors do not care or are not fully knowledgeable of their subject matter. When asking questions they don’t answer/give short generic answer. After 1yr I still do not have a job because hospitals don’t recognize Carrington or NHA credentials. They told me I could begin applying while in school and that some companies may even pay for school… these were lies. It is very frustrating to have paid all this money for school and STILL be unemployed!"
Anonymous
  • Reviewed: 4/16/2023
  • Degree: Veterinary Technician
"They take in more students than externship site and they don't guarantee job placement or externship in writing. The sign off sheet for externship is obsolete. I went through 8 months no externship, job, or certificate. Don't not attend this college!"
Juandarius Hamilton
  • Reviewed: 3/7/2023
  • Degree: Health Sciences
"In 2022 this review would have been pleasant; based on a different staff. The 2023 staff is terrible. They were terrible. They barely hopefully throughout my journey. They’re unprofessional unreliable. There was a lack of communication, and they have truly made this difficult for me."
Kitten
  • Reviewed: 2/6/2023
  • Degree: Veterinary Technician
"Imagine going to Starbucks and paying for a $6 coffee and breakfast and then being told to make it yourself, that's what it's like Carrington college fir $18,000, which instead of teaching the class go ask another student and walk away. Here's the price for Portland community college. Save yourself some money! Item Cost Tuition and fees See tuition and fees (Use the college cost calculator to determine costs per term.) Textbooks and note packets $500-$800 total, for the entire program Supplies* $300-$500"
Kitten
  • Reviewed: 11/8/2022
  • Degree: Veterinary Technician
"The staff is really nasty. There's days I wanted to cry. The financial aid office messed up my paperwork. The staff is caddy, gossip, rude, and unprofessional. My personal info spread out to entire campus. If it wasn't for VA benefits I would not go here. The first semester we had no teacher for four weeks. The course is really hard so much homework you can't hold down a full time job. It's only certificate course, but I am spending more time than I did with my Associates Degree. The financial aid office will not give you a straight answer. I'm three semesters in and too deep and working my tail off to quit. This school all they care about is money. They are super nice, until they get your money. Then they show their true colors. I heard from people that are ahead they can't find a place to go to clinical there supposed to help you, but they don't."
student
  • Reviewed: 9/17/2022
  • Degree: Veterinary Technician
"It was so stupid, I wanted to go to this college but since I live in Oregon they only had vet assistant. the vet tech school was in Cali and with Cali being very expensive to get a apartment they sadly didn't have dorms. I asked the Portland campus why they didn't have vet tech and it was because no one wanted to do that program. they also told me I needed to start with vet assistant first then join into vet tech which I thought was weird because I have a friend who was already a vet tech without being a vet assistant first. It felt kind of suspicious to be telling me I needed to be a vet assistant first then a vet tech when you can be either or."
JW
  • Reviewed: 8/16/2022
  • Degree: Medical Billing & Coding
"There is not ONE SINGLE POSITIVE thing that I could say about Carrington! I truly wish I could have made ratings of NO STARS after giving several ONE STARS. I learned NOTHING I did not already know. I expected to be taught how to code. Of the 9 months I wasted attending, we might have covered ACTUAL coding for no more than a SINGLE MONTH! The other 8 months covered basics; writing, terminology and general topics of little import to my career. Financial Counselor basically pulled a "bait-and-switch". "You qualify for multiple grants and discounts ... " I qualified for NOTHING and was stuck with 2 loans. What I received was not worth the paper my 'certification' was printed on. Job placement assistance was a joke! Promised positions in the $30-$35 range. No employers/positions offered directly was anything over $20. If I wanted to follow up or get any direction, I had to call them. TLDR: If you've worked in something close to your chosen field, you already know ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING they will be "teaching" you."
Letticia
  • Reviewed: 6/27/2022
  • Degree: Medical Assistant
"So this school is absolutely terrible. I started the school September 2021 unfortunately due to circumstances out of my control I had Covid-19 I was hospitalized put on a ventilator for 40+ days and then was in a rehab for about a month. I had my family contact the school about a leave of absence and about coming back when I came out of the hospital and this school decided to just withdraw me. The VA was helping me out with tuition here and because of the schools decision to just withdraw me instead of putting me on a leave of absence they screwed me over completely. Now the VA says that they cannot approve to help me anymore due to laws of being withdrawn and not being able to reenroll. The school has increased their tuition since kicking me out and charging nearly 3,000 more for a program that isn’t even worth the amount they were charging back then. All with the excuse of needing to increase due to demand exc… I have the uniforms the iPad exc. The school has went from having class available nights 2 different schedules to just one they don’t even have a steady MA teacher for their medical assisting program. The in class assignments are a joke they don’t make sense and have many many errors. I have been trying to get a hold of someone anyone from the school all day calling multiple numbers even leaving a voicemail on the campus directors line but nothing no one here gives a crap. I just am looking to withdrawal from the school may be considering looking for help from the BBB or a lawyer because I feel as though I have been completely screwed over. The school at this point owes me. I wasted time and money here all to be screwed over, this needs to be fixed asap…"
Ken Ryan
  • Reviewed: 6/23/2022
  • Degree: Medical Billing & Coding
"Im stunned to see the reviews are so low for this school. I absolutely loved it. And I think that for anyone unhappy with this place, would be because they didnt try hard. You get out what you put in. I got my Billing Cert. I got hired immediately. I have been employed the entire time. And never thought id make it as far as I have. I bet if my entire class reviewed Carrington, they'd say the same. I recommend this school. I would go again just for fun. Spokane was tight knit, great instructors and staff. The students cared and encouraged each other. Thank you, Carrington. Kenny Ryan Spokane, Wa campus class of 2012"
No one
  • Reviewed: 4/13/2022
  • Degree: Radiology
"In the radiography program you have a one year external ship which is unpaid. Carrington will tell you that your program will be 23 months but then they will withhold your degree from you and will not allow you to sit for your exams until months after your last day of clinical. The communication from the school is terrible and once you leave campus no one will come check on you to make sure you are learning what need to from your clinic site. The school is also extremely expensive and you will need to take out a huge loan. Which good luck repaying if you can’t work until after you licensing exam many months later."
Anne
  • Reviewed: 10/18/2021
  • Degree: Nursing
"Do NOT attend this school. There are so many other options, pick them, and run away from this school. Teachers are useless, matter of fact everyone on this campus is useless. You will be treated just as a money sign because that's all they care about. Deans and teachers drop like flies here which means you'll have a "professor" that knows nothing about what they're teaching you. Terrible School, wish I read the reviews instead of going to this school. This school should be illegal to attend"