Charter College Online Reviews of Certificates in Medical Assistant

"Too expensive, quadruple the amount of regular community colleges and none of the credits transfer if you ever want to progress and go into nursing. They make you apply and use financial aid even when you prefer to pay out of pocket. Only good thing is I met some amazing people, became friends and stayed in touch. Just go to regular community college to get your certifications."

"Charter college is a great school being on campus helps a lot with learning the hands-on skills you need for the real-world workplace. If you live out of state there are online classes. I love charter and my instructor is the best! Please come to charter college and start earning your degree today"

"I started Charter College with the intention of getting my CMA certificate in a matter of 10 months. The enrollment process was fairly easy, but the enrollment personnel definitely brush over a lot of things. First, I wasn't told that at the end of your program, you have a five week UNPAID externship. I was not made aware of this until one of my instructors mentioned it to me after my second mod of school. (Keep in mind, while I was in school, I was a CNA living paycheck to paycheck.) I was trying to figure out how I would pay all of my bills during this time. After this incident, I looked at my financial aid to see if I qualified for any kind of stipend to cover my expenses during the 5 week period. Not only did I not qualify for anything, but I found out that my tuition was $24,000!! When I was being enrolled in the program, no one discussed tuition and only told me that my financial aid covered it. I feel that the way they recruit students is like a predator finding someone to prey on. Thankfully, I got a job that trains MAs in a matter of six weeks. The things I've learned in my first two weeks have been far more beneficial than what I learned in the Charter College program (all while being paid to be working). I had ONE good instructor and another who didn't know what she was talking about. The amount that you pay to go to school does not nearly equate to the amount of money that you make as a medical assistant anywhere in the U.S. I dropped out of the program and saved myself from $10k in additional student loans. Best. Decision. Ever."

"What a joke! very disappointing for 20,000$... The teachers hardly respond to your teams messeges along with emails. There is nobody on the same page or behind. HUGE LACK IN COMUNICATION between anyone you are always lost... The head person from Vancouver WA accused a student of stealing a laptop as well even though she had her own... I would not send anybody here I would tell someone to spend the extra money else where. When we went back to in person I missed the first night of my class because no emails were sent out about in person lectures. When I brought this to my teacher attention she just said I need to get my eyes checked."

"This college is very expensive $23,100.00 for a certificate program. They will take all your FAFSA grants money plus you will need to take students loans to cover the expensive certificate program. They forced the students to take the 3 exams for the license from NHA (National Healthcare Association) even when they students are not ready to take the exams. The first exam is before take the internship. The internship is in 3 months just at the beginning when you just started the program. Then the forced the students to take the exam again after the internship and again before the graduation. The students don't passed the exams and won't be able to take the exams again because is only 3 times or opportunities that the students have to take the exams. The students will be able to work in WA under a registration, but the door to have the license is closed forever. Also, the door to use grants from FAFSA because they withdrew all your grants money. It means that you will be stuck for the rest of your life with a Medical Assistant Registration. If you want to become a nurse, study a bachelor or a associate in nursing. You will find out that Charter College took all the grants money in a certificate program. It is better and cheaper to study an associate or bachelor in nursing at any community college than waste your time and money in a very expensive programs at Charter College."

"So far, since I have been going to this school it has been an amazing experience, the teachers and staff are all very nice and approachable.. I was looking around for a good medical program and I picked Charter College. Looking at the reviews and what the school is about, I went ahead and applied to the school.. This has been a great experience for me.. I wanted to get on the right track to be apart of the medical field and Charter College is openly and honestly helping me to achieve this goal.."

"I’m so glad I went back to school! Charter College in Pasco, WA has some of the best staff that are always willing to help. It feels like a family! We would get together in the HUB and study. I totally recommend this school for HVAC, medical assistant or dental. I’m even going back for my AA!!"

"My whole experience from the beginning to the end of the program was awesome. The staff was so supportive. If I had a specific problem and if they didnt know the answer, theyd find someone with information or a solution. The staff at my campus care and enjoyed doing their jobs."

"I am in the Medical assistant program in Montana and I have to say that I am seeing a lot of bad reviews and people saying not to go to this school. I can honestly say that Charter is so welcoming and kind, from the moment I started school. Calls can be persistent from what seems like sales people, but they are friendly and want to get you started. I am currently taking Pharmacology and the instructor really knows her stuff and she uses different learning styles for people who need the extra help (which I needed the help) not to mention how understandings and patient she is with teaching. This school uses mostly online so you must be dedicated to your computer, while the hands on will be in class normally 3 times a week. Overall, I recommend this school ONLY if you are comfortable with doing your work from your computer and ready to buckle down!"

"It all started with wanting more information on the program and campus. From then on it was nonstop sales tactics. Receiving constant calls asking if I would be registering, telling me spots were filling up and they needed a decision right away. I'll admit I have no complaints about the first few mods, the instructors we had on campus had been there for awhile and knew their stuff. Well, most of them, one instructor seemed like they didn't care how assignments were graded and would never respond to our emails when we had a question. The online Billing and Coding instructor was horrible and unfair in her grading, when comparing our work and grades with other students we noticed it was inconsistent. Then comes our last mod before going out to externship. The Pharmacology instructor didn't know anything about what she was teaching. When giving a lesson on drug calculations, she would confuse herself, which led to the students' confusion. We had to get our information from other instructors. When we would have questions, we were told to "Google It." When we brought it to the attention of the Campus President, she laughed it off and told us to be patient with her and to do what we can. Because of this, I didn't want to go to class and felt uncomfortable and questioned: "What the hell was I paying them for?". Now comes externship, we were not given a choice where we wanted to be placed. The person responsible for this put a few other students and me at sites that were new to the campus extern program. Which led to a four-week delay, we had to get an okay from the site before we could start our extern. In my opinion, I felt that they should've gotten everything settled before placing any students at those sites. Such as background checks, drug screenings, and other documentation. We felt like guinea pigs like they were using us. When we asked if this would affect our hours, we were told it would not. Until the fifth week of extern, we were told we needed to make up the hours. The hours that we lost because of their incompetence. I was looking into the Associate's Program but after all I had been through I decided against it. To me ALL of this wasn't worth it. They do not take any responsibility for their mistakes. They don't listen to your concerns. You're basically on your own."

"Very last module the instructor didnt know how to teach pharmacology! Was told to google and talked with the Dean to only find her laughing about the whole situation and nothing was done! Externship happened and didnt get to start on time then was told the last 5th week it was our responsibility to make up the hours!!! Highly regret trying this program & the money put into it!"

"The school does as best as it can, I see a lot of comments about job placement and work. No school can guarantee a job after graduation, they state they will help you get prepared and ready for the field. SMH The programs are perfect for something with a busy schedule, being a mother that's exactly what I needed. I would recommend this school if you're looking for something quick and direct to the career field. Honestly, do your research or go visit a campus to get your own opinion."

"Charter College never placed me for work after Graduation. I Graduated with High Honors, had a wonderful teacher (N). The school only took my money, never followed thru with all their promises! I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL AT ALL!!!!!! Bad bad"

"I was a single mother of a 1 year old and I was 20 yrs old back in 2013 when I did the medical assistant program.They sell you a dream about high paying jobs when in reality most local med assistant jobs were only offering minimum wage with no benefits unless you were bilingual. I paid my in school loans the time I was there in time every month and the month of graduation I was going to get my certificate and they said it wasn't ready needed the deans signature and she was out of town on vacation, that same month I lost my job and I owed the next month of payment , They never gave me my certificate at the end of that month when the dean came back because they said I missed that month payment . Hmmm but I should've had it the month I graduated when I was on time.The deans fault. Then let me add the forged my signature on a document saying I found a job in my field at a retirement home which I never did ."

"I have been struggling to receive my certificate for over a year now and I can honestly say that Charter College does not teach their classes efficiently and do not care about your education as long as you're paying their over priced tuition. When I enrolled I was told that I would be receiving hands on learning in my classes. The further I got into my program the more they started to change the rules and regulations on everything. Within a few months the 'hands on learning' was extremely limited. ALL of the classes, homework, quizzes, and test were done online. Including some 'lab' classes. I was not informed this when I enrolled. It is false advertisement. My classmates and I struggled throughout each class due to the lack of hands on learning and the amount of flaws and glitches in their online program. Only 2 of my classmates actually graduated and received their certificate. I found it extremely difficult to meet the needs of their online classes. Every class is 5 weeks and the amount of information given in those 5 weeks are equivalent to a semester in college. Especially since you only get 1 day (4 hours) a week for each class to learn about the material you are given. It is a very cheap education that demands you pay a high price for. Charter is not open ears to criticism from the students nor from the employees. As I've seen them get fired for doing so. When I enrolled they were very convincing that this was the best program you could ask for, and that your academic needs would be met to get to where you need to be. Yet when students including myself, had stepped up and brought up an issue regarding the school or academic struggles, were dealt with only arrogance and given was the impression of "shut up and go make charter look good." Every single time. It's no surprise that this school has a 37% graduation rate. I would 10/10 not recommend this school to anyone."

"My wife has been out of school for over 30yrs, with a 9th grade education and a GED she signed up at Charter In Fife Wa. To get her prepared for re-certification with the state after a 5yr hiatus from her 25yr career as an MA. This was a new campus at the time she started there and we expected there to be some hiccup’s. However the most frustration part was that she was not told she would be facing all the topics and classes that are actually required during the "sales" portion of signing up with them. Im righting this review because I have the time and have been very involved in assisting my wife in getting through her schooling. My wife was told that she would need basic computer skills and the focus of the “sales” were on the Medical Assistant part of the program. When in fact the computer portion (1mo) is pretty in depth. Additionally there is a second class that runs concurrent to the first. We’re not even sure what it is called, but it delves deep into understanding people and things of this nature. The difficult part for my wife is that they are having her do stuff that other schools in the area for MA do not have you do. We see the value, but it made things very hard on her to have to write papers, essay’s and things that she had never ever done, not to mention the 30yr gap in schooling. So this alone almost made her drop. Then because there was so much work for her to do online after day classes, she was spending all her time working on that. She actually stopped going out of frustration. We were able to talk to the director of the school, he worked it out so that she only had one class at a time, extending the length of the whole schooling by one extra month. And my wife was given time to sit down with her instructor to come up with a plan that helped her to be successful. But that’s all it took, she is now in the second half of her second month and doing great. The staff is very helpful and willing to make her successful. Yes they are a business and you’re staying there is how they make their money, and you can sometimes see that fact in subtle ways. But more than that your success at their school is what makes them successful, and we can see that they are interested in both your success and theirs. The one issues I have seen that cause people to drop out is that they get frustrated but don’t ask for help until they feel they are too far behind, so they drop. In the end, this school’s curriculum is more robust than their equal competitors’, but I believe that this fact will make students more valuable to the prospective employers. As my wife is only halfway through her 2nd month of classes, I do not know how the total experience at this point, but I will come back with an update after she graduates. Overall, this seems like a great school. It has its good and bad points, but mostly good…So far"