Grand Canyon University Reviews of Master's in Counseling

Please believe these students when they tell you this is the worse school ever! What Jennifer stated is exactly true! I am going through the same thing now. I have not received my disbursement and it's going on 2 months. When I asked for thr financial aid department they said that they did not have one and I could only talk to my studen service counselor which handles both. I asked how is this legal?? How can you call yourself an university with no financial aid department! I was appalled. I even... Read More called my Mohelia to let them know what was going on. They also couldn't believe this. I don't understand how schools can get away with things like this. I already had a rough time last year with ending up homeless because of my lender and had to go to court over it now I'm trying to further my education and got scammed!! I even asked do I need to fly to the school just so I could get my check because I will if I have to because this is ridiculous. PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL, IF YOU DO YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET IT AND THEY ARE GOING TO KEEP YOUR MONEY.

There are some good things to say and some not so good things to say. One disappointment I noticed early on in the program is the quality of students enrolled at the graduate level. At this point of an academic career, students should be able able to write in complete sentences. I have been embarrassed by some of the class posting by how poorly they are written. With that said, you get out of the program what you put into it. Like anything in life, you reap what you sow. I personally enjoyed the... Read More journey. The one negative aspect to the university is how they process financial aid. I never had an issue getting textbooks and needed materials for classes when I was an undergraduate, but at the graduate level, financial aid is not disbursed for at least 4 weeks after a semester starts at the very earliest. One semester, I had to take out a personal loan to get books and then pay the loan back after I received my financial aid. If you can get by without the university's assistance, you are better off.

This school is great! the staff and teachers really care about your success. I love the curriculum. I started my Bachelor's degree there in 2016 and completed it on time. They have a wonderful math tutoring service to assist in a wide range of hours for online students. The tutors are very patient, and will make sure that you are confident prior to ending your session. I am glad that I continued on to my Master's program there as well and will be graduating soon. I get random calls to check up on... Read More me to see if I have any concerns. I would recommend this school to friends and family.

I chose GCU because I remember the quality of education that was provided years ago. The fact that it was a Christian university also added to my decision. I chose GCU because I work a very demanding full-time job and wanted something that was a hybrid. Well, my experience has been less than pleasurable and for the most part has added a large amount of extra stress to my life. First complaint is regarding financial aid. Students are NOT allowed to speak to anyone in financial aid, at least that is... Read More what I have been told by my student counselor and has been my personal experience. I have been told SHE is also that contact person. Every question or concern I take to this "counselor" receives one word responses and basically everything is shut down. I have given up seeking help from her. As to my financial aid, I have recently sent an email to the people listed as the contact person through the Department of Education. It has been four days and I have yet to get a response from anyone. We are well into the Fall semester and I have yet to get any school monies and there has been no movement from GCU on the certification. They continue to blame the Dept. of Ed., while the Dept. of Ed. continues to say GCU has not done anything on their part according to what they are seeing in their system. And so, I wait. Secondly, the professors ... out of eight classes, only about three of them have been worth anything. For reference sake, I have a Master of Education already, so I am not saying this simply because I am being irrational or am immature. I have standards, especially at this level and GCU falls way short!! The teaching has added nothing to my educational career. Every new class I enter with a great attitude and every new class never lets me down with the fact the content and teaching stinks!! On occasion, a teacher has come a long that has been exceptional, but that is NOT the norm at all for GCU! I just finished a class with a teacher so bi-polar she sparked my PTSD so significantly that I could barely attend classes. For example, we could never tell if a reaction we had to something or a question was going to warrant a professional caring response OR if she was going to demean us and criticize us. By the end of the class I refused to even engage and simply attended so I didn't get dropped from the class. Third, this summer I parked in parking area right outside my class due to a health issue that came about suddenly that prevented me from walking a long distance. After the class ended that night I immediately went to an ER for care where the doctor wrote an excuse for me as I had gotten a ticket for parking in an unauthorized space for my parking decal. I appealed the ticket based off my health condition and temporary disability. In my appeal I provided them the appropriate proofs and supports. My appeal was denied and the $50.00 ticket stands. I have attempted to contact security over and over again via phone and email. Once again as is the case with GCU, they DO NOT and have not responded! They simply refuse! I took this concern to my student services counselor in the hopes of getting help or the name and contact information for someone in that area to assist. I got nowhere, which did not surprise me, but I tried. GCU has a level of sentries set up that prevents you from speaking to anyone who might have the power to change or rectify a situation. Just another example of how GCU conducts themselves and treats their students. The Master of Counseling program I am in currently is not CACREP. Over the summer we heard they were bringing a new CACREP program and so we all had questions and concerns. Student service counselors were flooded with calls and concerns. We were directly lied to about the program not even existing. In fact, they got angry and became rude with us in our questioning and in voicing our concerns. On the LAST NIGHT of class a student services counselor showed up with the news that there was in fact a new CACREP program starting and if we wanted to switch we had to make the decision THAT night! We were also informed that if we were using financial aid to pay for school that we would lose two classes of tuition and have to pay out of pocket to start the new program. So in essence, our borrowed money would need to be repaid for two classes we NEVER took, GCU got paid for and we would STILL need to pay out of pocket for the next two classes. Professionalism at its finest, don't you think? Some of us stayed with the old program simply because we could not afford to lose all that money and have to pay out of pocket, while others were able to transfer. Those of who stayed were subjected to worry over whether our cohort would even remain to exist since our numbers had dwindled so significantly. Out of approximately 28 who began our cohort in September 2017, there are now only 6 of us left. You figure it out and do the math. Why do I stay? Frankly, because I don't trust them not to say I owe a large amount of money should I try and dis-enroll and go somewhere else. I feel I am stuck at GCU with no way out. There is no one I trust to talk to about my concerns. I feel I am in this degree program alone and have to fight for everything I get; there is absolutely NO support!! It feels terrible and I am angry my money ultimately is paying for this education and their salaries. The Good: I have great classmates. The teachers that are good are GOOD. The facilities are ok, not great. You get free access to Microsoft Office. The Bad: The e-books stink. You can't print them nicely if you want to. There have been classes where the books have been changed, but the online assignments haven't so they do not coincide with each other; the instructor even said she had taken this to the higher ups and they had ignored her. Financial aid department is a mystery and you can never talk to someone directly. The student services counselors are a joke. There is no support.

I read the poor ratings before signing up for classes. I figured that the students who wrote poor comments were most likely poor students and that I would surpass those students because I did very well in my bachelor degree programs and career. I was so wrong and have a huge student loan to prove it! I never had the same counselor or instructor for very long. Many did not make it through the semester. Students without jobs, careers, or ambition tend to perform best. They were able to sign into the... Read More computer every morning making meaningless, uneducated comments for "points". Other students are supposed to comment on their ignorant posts. The whole progam is a joke. It is established for attendance, not content. There graduation rate seems to be very low for a reason. I wonder if there is a noted graduation rate for their online campus only? I am sure that it is very low. None of my friends graduated from their masters program either. They have great marketers for their online program, but that is all!

I've always believed in the saying "the cream rises to the top." That thought is certainly true at GCU. Although most for profit schools are upon difficult financial times, GCU has found a way to rise above and continue to provide a excellent education for it's students. The school mascot is an antelope, and the motto of the diverse student body is 'rise up.' That motto is carried across all facets of the school. You see and feel it everywhere! Not only in the education you receive, but the friendliness... Read More of the staff and instructors. I would definitely recommend furthering your education at GCU!

This program and school are top-notch! Everything they said they would do, they did. I have no complaints with Grand Canyon and have recommended them to many, including family, friends, and colleagues. I learned an incredible amount in this program. I have been working in the field for 3 years now and find that I am as qualified as the rest of my counterparts that attended a brick and mortar school in person. I am very thankful for my education at GCU. Excellent program! Excellent university! Staff... Read More members (from financial aid to enrollment to professors) truly care about the student and their career goals. Thank you, GCU!

Most of the staff that I have contacted at GCU have been helpful & friendly; however, the student services advisor that I was assigned to has been somewhat rude and not very knowledgeable. I asked about completing my online degree in another state and the advisor replied I could not. I further investigated and found out I could. The advisor also mentioned that my learning and degree are meant for the state that I live in. I have big plans after I receive my degree and they do not involve working... Read More in the state I live in or for that matter in the United States. I do not feel that this counselor is motivating or encouraging and is just doing their job unlike other GCU staff that I have spoken with.

I have been in the field of Addiction Counseling for a few years. I am still working full time so I needed to find a University to accommodate flexibility. I looked at a number of online schools and settled with GCU. I am also a Christian so GCU appealed to me due to their Christian affiliation, and that is my biggest complaint with GCU and why I am giving them a 3 star rating instead of 5 star. Although the M.S. program I am taking is considered secular, GCU DOES NOT integrate Christian principles... Read More or scripture into their curriculum, instruction, or classroom discussions so beware of this. I was lead to believe that they did and they do not. The university I attended for my B.S. degree did a beautiful job at Christian integration so it is entirely possible to do this and make it rewarding even with a secular program degree. As I said, that is my BIGGEST complaint with GCU. Now, having said that, the instruction with GCU is fairly solid. The professors are good. The instruction is good and challenging. They expect graduate level writing which I am pleased with. All writing, even class discussions, must be written in APA and done so with the expectation of having minimal errors. I actually like that way. Online instruction is not for everyone. You must be disciplined, organized, and a self-motivator. If you can't be those things or struggle with self-accountability, online is not for you and you should attend GCU or other university in a traditional manner. I think GCU is a good university. I've read some of the negative reviews, and honestly, I don't understand them. Other than what I wrote regarding Christian integration, I have NOT found GCU to be unethical or unprofessional in the least. The professors are helpful, knowledgeable, and want their students to succeed. The advisors are equally helpful. It seems to me that financially speaking, GCU is competitive. In other words, I didn't find GCU more expensive than other universities, and it certainly wasn't my experience that GCU tried to "screw me over with hidden fees". Bottom line is that my educational experience has been good with GCU other than the aforementioned lack of Christian integrational education. I would still recommend GCU to others. I hope that what I have written is helpful to others!

I don't agree with some comments that because the school is a for profit that they go easy on the students. This has not been my experience at all. My program is just as rigorous as a traditional institution. The instructors are extremely knowledgeable and attentive. I have attended the traditional university and I find online to be just as difficult because of the structure. However it is worth it. So far I have the same student advisor I started with last March 2014. I have two classes left before... Read More I begin practicum at which the school is assisting. I highly recommend GCU.

You can skate through classes putting in little work just like an on campus university, but if you want to there are plenty of opportunities to do well. Do the all the readings and independent research and you will be more knowledge than students in traditional programs. It's great if you have "a life" outside of school. There are weekly posts and papers. Some students do a very minimum post (5 sentences almost word for word from the book) but most do longer posts incorporating additional research... Read More and real life experience. My suggestion is to develop a good rapport with other students and the professors. You can publish papers and do research with them which will provide job opportunities. Sometimes it is difficult to get a hold of your adviser but it was like that at my undergraduate traditional university as well.

I have LOVED GCU. My advisers are always helpful and available. I have had the same student services adviser and enrollment counselor throughout my entire program. Ask for S. L. if you want an incredible counselor. The classes have been awesome. They require a ton of research and writing; don't attend here if if this is not what you prefer. If you're looking to study a textbook and regurgitate information in a test, this is not for you. I have had a couple sub-par instructors/professors. More than... Read More half of my instructors are PhDs, and many who weren't were about to complete their PhDs. There were a few instructors who were not fully engaged and seemed to care little about their students, but overall, that has not been my experience. The other part students entering this program should know is that they do NOT hold your hand through the practicum process. It is up to the student to find a practicum/internship site and supervisor. This may require finding multiple sites to complete your hours. It is not easy in some areas to find people willing to do this. Other than that, I highly recommend this program and this school.