"GCU seems very promising and, honestly, perfect when you first attend, but you quickly realize just how money-hungry the school is and how little they care about their students. While the campus if gorgeous and safe, faculty and leaders couldn't care less about the wellbeing of the students. Campus food is unreasonably overpriced (for example: a carton of eggs is $6), professors show no concern for struggles students are having outside of the classroom, and you aren't even allowed to temporarily park on campus to bring up your groceries without receiving a $150 ticket. The nursing program is disorganized, racist, and sets students up for failure. The program is more concerned about students representing the school well at clinical, then they are at actually teaching you how to be a nurse. I wish I would have attended ASU."

Jova

Reviewed: 1/29/2019
Degree: Healthcare Administration
Graduation Year: 2019

"Please be cautious before enrolling and or transferring from another university to Grand Canyon University. Prior to attending GCU, I had been a presidential honors student. I decided to transfer to Grand Canyon University due to being offered a full ride/tuition scholarship. Hence, I decided to take clear advantage of this opportunity in order to not have substantial student debt. Unfortunately, the enrollment counselor did NOT mention that my 3.8 GPA would not be transferred simply due to policy. This private Christian university carries a mission statement primarily based on collecting monetary value and nothing beyond this point to better help students succeed (according to personal experience). Though, Im not overly upset towards the tuition because I did not have an increase in student loans. Im most upset, because I have not learned anything I did not already know before transferring to Grand Canyon University. Grand Canyon University is a very private, close-minded campus. I felt a tad bit moronic attending the required Christian classes. Attendance in Christian classes certainly defines a Requirement when being a GCU student. Realistically, my overall character does not include religion, though my beliefs and individualism promote spirituality. Religion and spirituality correlate; both are also divergent in unique aspects. WARNING- Do NOT bother expressing being atheist, agnostic because the faculty will treat you entirely different. Whether being unreasonable or inflexible, unethical... be prepared. Do NOT express personal religion even if Asked by professor (s). The majority of classes personally attended started with a prayer session. Uncomfortable experience. Attending Grand Canyon University has provided negative insight concerning this campus. ADDITIONAL WARNING- Yes, Grand Canyon University has a good reputation. If a potential student is not religious, then attending Grand Canyon University would not be a compatible fit. Also, if and when a potential student would like to gain knowledge of majors while excluding religious distractions, then the potential student should continue to browse for suitable universities then narrow down the most suitable university by comparing pros and cons. Now, I am soon to receive a BS in Healthcare Administration from Grand Canyon University. Therefore, I am depressed, alongside resentful towards myself for making the Worst decision thus far in my life. I have two current options: finish the BS without honors and feel "average" which forces upon depression, disappointment OR I can earn my BS elsewhere with Honors to only Start All Over. Did I waste these past three years attending Grand Canyon University? I sure did! And if I could take back the decision in transferring to Grand Canyon University, I would in a single heartbeat. Lastly, my experience attending Grand Canyon University has not been desirable nor satisfactory-focused. Closed-minded faculty, judgement towards students not being religious, the private university is expensive, and I had been uncomfortable needing to associate myself with prayer sessions the beginning of some classes. My academic advisors have been changed three time in the past two years without notice. I'll call to speak with the assigned academic advisor to only discover another academic advisor has been assigned again without the university feeling the need to provide me with such essential updates. Unprofessional. Hopefully, this post helps potential students."

Anonymous

Reviewed: 1/29/2019
Degree: MBA
Graduation Year: 2018

"I just graduated in December with an MBA. A lot of students struggled primarily because the business school does NOT require the GMAT therefore many student do not have the requisite math or English skills to succeed nor did thy have any real world work experience. I had several classmates that had no business being enrolled in a graduate level business program (no pun intended lol). The most successful students have either financial (accounting, finance, etc), engineering, or healthcare background (RN, PT, etc). In addition, all the successful students that I worked with were either employed and needed the degree for promotion or had a specific plan after graduation. Here are some of the big points about GCU's MBA program 1. Relatively inexpensive 2. Can complete entirely online without residency requirements 3. GCU will allow you to accelerate your studies if you're paying cash (I finished the 22 month program in 16 months) 4. It is a self directed educational experience The faculty are NOT there to teach you. They are there to simply grade your work. This is graduate school so there is NO hand holding (unlike a bachelor's program). You must learn the material on your own and find the answers to questions yourself 5. You need to be proficient in Excel, Word and PowerPoint. You should be comfortable with freshman college level math and writing 6. GCU uses a flawed anti-plagirism software package - all assignments must be run through this ridiculous program. I was falsely accused of academic dishonesty. The instructor never had any real proof and when I requested a formal hearing they denied me and just sent me a silly non-disciplinary warning letter. My recommendation for potential MBA students is if you're good at self learning, comfortable with MS Office software, can write a good academic paper, have sufficient basic college level math, have a background in accounting, finance, engineering, medicine, nursing, etc and have sufficient real world work experience then GCU will be a breeze for you. If you are lacking any of the aforementioned then you will struggle dearly and I wouldn't bother enrolling"

Armyvet

Reviewed: 1/26/2019
Degree: Nursing
Graduation Year: 2020

"So far, great school EXCEPT that the requirement for ONE online class is participation 5 DAYS A WEEK. YOUR GRADEs SUFFER IF YOU DON'T. Their policy is 3 days but ALL of my professors REQUIRE 5 days, so forget about taking more than one class. Don't believe counselor."

Gene

Reviewed: 1/23/2019
Degree: Christian Counseling
Graduation Year: 2019

"I would advise any future students to be careful in applying to the school because they might take advantage of you and then cover their tracks. Instead of being all about the students, they are more interested in their programs and what they are trying to establish."

Malinda

Reviewed: 1/14/2019
Degree: Special Education
Graduation Year: 2021

"Grand Canyon University is a scamming institution and the other reviews here are accurate. I too feel dumb being duped and wish I would have looked at reviews before enrolling. They claim to be a Christian institution but act like money hungry heathens. I am a stay at home mom trying to get my masters in English Education and needed an online course to help my struggling family financially. They made all these promises and were so sweet on the phone. They take up hours of your time manipulating and coercing you that you can do it. Claiming you only need to work a few hours 3 days per week. Its triple that work load. They do not care if you are barely passing the class. They do not care if the instructor is lazy and terrible at explaining things. They only offer to talk to the professor when you are already failing and nothing can be done about your grade. They do not care if the teacher triples the work load right after the cut off for getting a full refund on tuition. Their first intro class is boring, endless busy work, way more work than any online course I have ever taken at CWU, terribly taught, confusing, and over $1,000! My family was going through a sudden death in the family and I became extremely ill due to grief and almost went to the hospital the week after I enrolled. I tried unenrolling on time but was too sick to sit at the computer and when I finally was able to I got the run around with how to unenroll. I finally spent two hours searching for myself to find out how to do it. I was only 2 days away from the cut off with unenrolling and they refuse to refund me. They do not make allowances for extreme situations. They lie over and over that there is nothing they can do. I do not have $1,000 to fork over. I got the same fake persona salesman liar from their manager even after explaining my circumstances. I had been using all financial aid to help pay for this degree and planned on paying it off myself when I got a teaching job. Now instead of blessing my family its cursing it. They will only give you 4 months to pay it off with a payment plan. I wish I could give zero stars. Bottom line run away from this fake lying greedy university!"

Reviewed: 1/10/2019
Degree: History
Graduation Year: 2021

"Abundant lack of care, professionalism or help when it comes to teaching or helping students. Have been waiting 3 months for a form to pay for a class that was failed twice, with no help from any of the staff or assigned counselor, to help explain the material. Counselor would only say "well just pass the class". Obviously not doable when the material isn't comprehensive and no staff at GCU can be bothered to teach. Now it seems they're a fan of blackballing students even when they're trying to pay out of pocket for a class to be able to continue education. Extremely disappointed with GCU."

Sharon Coleman

Reviewed: 1/8/2019
Degree: Psychology
Graduation Year: 2018

"This school should be closed for their fraudulent practices, theft of funds and all out deception. I was enticed into attending this school. They received my financial aid and kept the stipend while telling me they mailed it. They lure you in with promises of earning a PHD while all the long lying to you about the degree and what you can do with it. This type of practive has to stop. We do not enroll in universities to end up defrauded out of our financial aid. I intend to fight."

Grand Canyon University is a Scam School

Reviewed: 1/4/2019
Degree: Education
Graduation Year: 2018

"RUN AND RUN FAST AWAY FROM THIS SCAM SCHOOL, THEY STEAL YOUR FINANCIAL AID EVEN YOU STIPEND AND LIE ESPECIALLY TARA ROANE, THEY ARE A FRAUDULENT SCHOOL BEING SUED BY THEIR OWN STUDENTS. THEY LIE AND ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A CHRISTIAN INSTITUTION. I AM SO ANGRY FOR ALLOWING MYSELF TO BE DUPED BY THIS SCHOOL. THEY DO ANYTHING TO GET YOU IN THEN LITERALLY MAKE FUN OF YOU WHEN YOU ASK WHERE YOUR LOAN FUNDS ARE THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GIVEN TO YOU ARE ITS BEEN 5 MONTHS AND MY STIPEND IS STILL IN THE MAIL. SCAMSTERS"

Shelby Cornett

Reviewed: 1/1/2019
Degree: Liberal Studies
Graduation Year: 2018

"Awful! Out of the years worth of online schooling I did, there were two teachers that were even decent instructors. My student services counselor was a joke! I clearly stated for 6 weeks straight that I had serious personal problems going on that were extremely important and needed my attention, what did she and the instructor do? NOTHING! I was to the point of being so stressed out I emailed my counselor informing her of my desire to commit suicide before FINALLY being allowed to take leave of absence! Upon returning after my LOA, I encountered technical difficulty after technical difficulty on top of literary being severely ill every other week. What did my instructor do? Close my assignment drop-box and give me a 0%! Im a 4.0 student! Who also kept him up to date on EVERYTHING!! I found out two days ago about the assignment drop-box which was the straw that broke the camels back. Got online, applied to Kansas University, and sent GCU an email requesting my transcripts immediately be sent to KU. Im SO DONE with this awful school!!"

go girl

Reviewed: 12/5/2018
Degree: Special Education
Graduation Year: 2010

"Grand Canyon's online Master's program was the perfect program for me. It allowed me to obtain my degree while working full-time in my current job. The degree allowed me to advance within my company and as a professional in the community. The work required me to apply my education in real life situations through observations, teaching opportunities with partner schools, and through submission of a multitude of work. Great teachers that worked with you, especially in those times when a student didn't "show up" for their part in a group project. I actually have made a lifelong friend through my program as well. We still to this day communicate to share curriculum and the most recent developments in special education. I recommend the online school for anyone who needs flexibility in their educational goals."

PhD student at GCU

Reviewed: 11/28/2018
Degree: Psychology
Graduation Year: 2021

"I am a first year IO Psychology PhD student at GCU and have nothing positive to say about this program. At first, the conversion to non-profit lured me in as this should entail funding, however, thus far the only PhD students being funded, at least by income, are the current employees. In fact, half of my classes are filled with current employees at GCU, who constantly point out they receive 70% off tuition. Ive applied for TA positions, academic counselor positions, and adjunct positions with not so much as a call back, regardless of being admitted into the doctoral program. Furthermore, many of the doctoral students admitted are well over 50 years old or older and havent written an academic paper in decades. Shady. Many other doctoral students have complained to me that they are not graduating on time and being forced to pay thousands more in additional dissertation courses because of delays with their committees. It has become painfully obvious that unless you are a current employee at GCU, as a doctoral student, you will not be funded, will not be given opportunities to gain teaching experience, and will likely be laughed at by the larger academic community for buying into a scam school meant to max out your student loans in exchange for a worthless degree. The conversion to non-profit status does not guarantee anything, unfortunately, and GCU has almost zero commitment to academic outcomes for its doctoral graduates. Im actively applying elsewhere to escape. RUN."

Joe Bob

Reviewed: 11/27/2018
Degree: Psychology
Graduation Year: 2020

"This is by far the worse "college" that I have ever attended and I have credits from a host of different colleges. The doctoral courses were terrible. Most instructors provided little to no feedback and the school would do nothing when another student obviously cheated on several occasions. The doctoral programs are simply overwhelmed with too many students and professors who do not have time to provide any type of substantial feedback. You might as well pay yourself to watch several YouTube videos, read books, and complete essays. I certainly believe in not being "spoon feed" but this is absurd. Several doctoral students have had to completely re-do all or part of their dissertations at the final AQR review stage and this was after full committee and AQR (proposal stage) approval. What you and your committee plans, thinks, and does really does not matter once you reach the final review stage. This problem could be remedied by having ARQ input from the beginning. The expected quality is not the same. You will see some GCU dissertations that should have never been passed, while others are excellent. Some students do the bare minimum and are passed right through, whilst others needlessly work hard to no avail. Same as the doctoral courses, most chairs provide little feedback, the IRB is unorganized and often unprofessional, and some of the AQR reviewers are overworked, stressed out, and unprofessional in comments. Ask yourself. Will a GCU non education doctorate really mean anything? Be certain you will be able to find a better job or promotion at work before you start any doctoral program. Otherwise, the cost is not worth the extensive economic and physical costs. Why spend less time away from family when the level of support is just not there? I highly recommend taking the GRE over a thousand times if need be and attend an on-campus doctoral program at any D1 college. I once asked GCU if I would simply "sit in" as an observer to gain valuable experience and of course they said "No" and I was the best student. Go figure."

Rob Adkins

Reviewed: 11/19/2018
Degree: Public Health
Graduation Year: 2020

"Entered the Masters of Public Health program. As with every other review - the beginning exchange was really positive. They were basically cheerleaders talking to you about how great this is and that is and how wonderful of a student and experience you are going to have. Through the admitting process you have an "admissions counselor" who says "If you need ANYTHING or have ANY problems you contact me first. Then you have a "program counselor" that tells you the same thing. Once admitted, the first course is basically a $1200 Comp I review. APA this and APA that. I was in the honors Comp I & II classes at my undergrad and they picked apart my papers that we were writing to no end. However, Moving to my second "class" - I received new that my uncle was dying and I drove to Chicago (8 hours away) to see him before he passed. I emailed all of my "counselors" and instructors to let them know what was going on. I missed a little over a week of classes and therefore wasn't going to make the "A" in the course that they wanted me to have. I tried to expain to everybody involved why I missed the classes and that I was sitting in a hospital watching my uncle die - I wasn't in the Bahamas saying the hell with my homework. I was dismissed from the program. Would I recommend? H*** no. Run away and fast. Find a different program."

Elizabeth D

Reviewed: 11/19/2018
Degree: Psychology
Graduation Year: 2020

"My experience thus far has fantastic. The professors have been attentive, interactive, and knowledgeable. Actually, my last professor earned her PhD from UC Berkeley and was a content expert in course material. I especially prefer the online format with focus on one class per eight weeks, consecutively. The idea of having my dissertation imbedded into each course from the beginning was the biggest draw, as several colleagues have shared horror stories regarding their lack of preparation for completing their dissertations on-time despite finishing all PhD courses as scheduled. Caveatthis program is a TON of work. Those looking for a degree mill had better apply elsewhere."

Brittney

Reviewed: 11/14/2018
Degree: Psychology
Graduation Year: 2018

"I am extremely disappointed in GCU. At first when they are receiving payment from you they are extremely nice and helpful but once you are done they do not care at all about you. I now have a Masters degree I can not do much with because of "miscommunication"about the practicum in which they do not offer for my degree and was not informed this until after I was close to the end of my program. I also called to see when I would receive my diploma and was told I have to pay another $150 to receive it. For a degree I already paid for they want more money. For being a strong Christian College they definitely do not care about their students, all about the money!"

Truth

Reviewed: 11/8/2018
Degree: Education
Graduation Year: 2018

"Go to a different school for your Doctorate. This school says Christian but it cares about exploiting students and taking their money. Once they have all your student aid and living and they will make you pay $500.00 every quarter for years trying to complete the program."

J. Moore

Reviewed: 10/29/2018
Degree: Counseling
Graduation Year: 2021

"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 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."

Different Expectations

Reviewed: 10/24/2018
Degree: Nursing
Graduation Year: 2017

"I atttended GCU in 2016, directly after I received my ADN from a city college. It was a totally different experience to me because for one; I had never done online classes. Also, I knew it would take alot of discipline to be able to obtain this degree. I started looking and the recruiter was very helpful to me. After I reached out for information she stayed in contact. I had let her know I would not be able to start until I received my official license. The day my license posted the recruiter called me again and asked if I was ready to start. I was very enthused by this because to me; it showed interest and concern. I ended up starting the same month I received my license. At first it was hard, and difficult. I was able to call my counselor hash out different things and for the most part my teachers were very understanding. The only part I regret is that I took all my classes one at at time. Seeing as though when my friends heard about the program, they immediately enrolled and doubled up on their classes. Either way I graduated with honors and I am ready to start over again with my MASTERS. This time I will double up LOL."

Stephanie D

Reviewed: 10/18/2018
Degree: Public Administration
Graduation Year: 2018

"DO NOT choose this school!!! Started my first class and got half way through when Hurricane Florence hit. I contacted my instructor, enrollment counselor, and student services counselor. They were not concerned at all with the fact that I was homeless and lost everything, only that they re-enroll me in the class and charge me a second time. When I asked for a leave of absence, they refused, stating that because I had failed the first class (due to the hurricane and no internet or computer) and had not logged into the repeat class, that they were forcing me to take, I could not get a leave of absence. Instead, they send my financial aid back and withdrew me leaving me with an outstanding balance of almost $3000. It is almost impossible to get in touch with anyone at the school other than the two counselors you are assigned. There is not directory for offices such as financial aid, academic affairs, etc. This school is a scam. They are only after money and are not concerned with their students at all."