"GCU is a great school! Everyone in NY that has gone there is I found the 8-week online class sequence to be very thorough, with academic rigor. As an online student, you have to do 8 discussion posts (APA format) with references to make a substantive post that will earn you a 100% for the participation points. In my experience, I have learned that at GCU, there is a lot of reading in my online program. The classes are writing intensive, and there are 1-2 projects (be it essays, filling in charts with research, etc.) every week. Professors are faithful, friendly and experienced (for the most part. I did have a grade appeal because one of my professors (I have taken over 10 classes here) didn't have due diligence in opening up an assignment because I sent him the wrong assignment through the online platform. I didn't see what the problem was since every other professor knows how to do it. My grade appeal was denied, but at least I got a B+. My only complaints are that it costs twice as much to finish your degree sooner, than just taking one class at a time. I found this school with Chapel on Mondays (that are live-streamed). I am from NY, so I found this to be very refreshing"

SMadigan

Reviewed: 2/22/2022
Degree: Communications
Graduation Year: 2021

"I love GCU! My master's in Communication and Education was awesome! I learned so much! I loved my teachers and had no issues. Honestly, the only ones in here that gave a bad review are because they didn't pull their end. Let's be real!! I worked full time, have four children and as able to get a 3.96. I am not a genius! It's a great school and you won't be sorry!"

Erica

Reviewed: 2/16/2022
Degree: Business
Graduation Year: 2020

"Very happy that I decided to continue my education here. I had a liberal arts undergraduate degree from a state school which did not prepare me to have a career. I was working jobs that my degree made no impact on whatsoever which made me regret going to university in the first place. It was disheartening for almost 2 years after finishing my undergrad and still not being able to make more than minimum wage. GCU was much more affordable than the previous state school I attended. They were very upfront about everything (even financially) before and during my degree. The best decision I ever made was to go for my master's here. The instructors I had actually worked in the field that they were teaching and I learned a lot from them. I ended up landing a job in the field I studied in a little over six months. Great experience!"

Cameron Gudgell

Reviewed: 2/15/2022
Degree: History
Graduation Year: 2022

"GCU's Master's degree in History with an emphasis on Education program is an excellent program for any K-12 social studies teacher or anyone that has a passion for history and education. The curriculum is challenging but well worth the experience. I am starting my Ed.D program in K-12 Leadership soon and am excited to get started."

Linda

Reviewed: 2/7/2022
Degree: Health Sciences
Graduation Year: 2022

"Worst decision I have ever made regarding an education. My money would have been better invested in a small business. Is the program doable? Apparently very doable since I have classmates who write on a 6th grade writing level and yet continue to get passed from one class to the next through the program. The goal of GCU is clearly to collect money for classes and shuffle people along with no regard to quality education or accountability. The school counselors tell you only to "leave feedback at the end of course survey"- there is no actual guidance offered. Although I have had a few good professors, most have simply been facilitators who check in now and then and give grades. My present "professor" has given absolutely no feedback whatsoever, has not participated in any dialogue, and has made no corrections to erroneous posts. There are no class lectures, but merely posted articles (many of which are outdated) and random textbook reading assignments which may or may not pertain to the topic. I struggle to get the work done, not because it is difficult, but it is frustrating 'busy work' and one must be dedicated to being self-taught to get anything out of this. Make no mistake- this school is in the business of being a business, not providing an education. I am nearly finished with the program with a 4.0. If I had not sunk investment in and if I could find this particular degree (grief and bereavement) anywhere else, I would have left after the second class. All I can say is that I will have an MS and hopefully those letters after my name will mean something to someone and no one will ask where it is obtained."

Alicia

Reviewed: 12/30/2021
Degree: Nursing
Graduation Year: 2022

"Honestly, the worst platform I’ve ever used. I’ve attended two other colleges/universities to obtain other degrees and this was the worst (and the most expensive). The program/class set-up was rigid and not a “go at your own pace” type of program. Unbelievably overpriced. Their communication was awful which caused a delay in me starting my practicum and the actual class platform was so not user friendly. There is no way to get notifications from the teacher or classmates when communicating within the class. No direct messaging for group projects. Bottom line, had I to do it all over again I definitely would have chosen a different school without a doubt."

Asdzani

Reviewed: 11/15/2021
Degree: Political Science
Graduation Year: 2021

"I have read a lot of reviews on here and I wanted to share my experience as a graduate of GCU. During my academic journey with GCU, I have had my share of instructors who were not supportive or even helpful with the curriculum but there were only two instructors like that and the rest of the instructors were fantastic!! I also read one person's post that stated that GCU does not give honors. Rest assured, GCU does give honors. I made the dean's list several times with official letters to back it up and I graduated cum laude which is clearly stated on my Bachelors degree. I was pleasantly surprised. I also read many posts that stated that they had a problem with support from the university and how counselors are not helpful even with their pay coming from the student's tuition. Thankfully this was not my experience. I had great support and direction from my counselors, academic advisors as well as other university staff. The only problem I had was that GCU kept changing my advisors every 9-12 months, but each and every advisor I was given were very supportive and extremely helpful. I also read many posts that mentioned how GCU is not living up to the Christian views, and as a Christian, I would have to disagree. Just like with all Christians, we do not live the "Christian" way of life all the time as much as we would like. Come on, truth be told, people do step outside of the Christian belief more than they care to admit. Those people can only hope to do their best to follow the Christian path and that is what GCU does. This is just my experience and I am so thankful and grateful for my experience because most of the reviewers did not have a wonderful experience with GCU. Always perpetuate what you want in return, have faith and it will be. Focus on the greatness of you and use your experiences to enlighten those you can without indifferences. Happy Day."

MABM

Reviewed: 11/7/2021
Degree: Nursing
Graduation Year: 2018

"I had a very professional and rewarding experience at GCU. I felt very supported throughout the program and I felt such a level of accomplishment when I graduated in 2018. I am now working at my dream job and I am on scheduled to start their DNP program at the end of the year."

Arizona

Reviewed: 10/25/2021
Degree: Sociology
Graduation Year: 2022

"Always rate your professors 100/100 or 10/10 because of the new systems in which teachers can see who rated them. There are GPS applications and new software such as "dragon" in which teachers can see their feedback! This way students will pass their class. God bless everyone in the name of Jesus amen!"

Lilly

Reviewed: 10/18/2021
Degree: RN to BSN
Graduation Year: 2021

"Their RN to BSN is not designed for full time working nurses. Extremely difficult, and you always have a research paper on Sundays. Aside from, writing 3 assignments per week and at least 4 “peer interactions”. The professor was not understanding, in the very least. Played favorites, was not helpful and when you had a question, she would tell you to check syllabus. Very confusing program since it’s was my first online class. Professor had little patience and just docks points on assignments instead of HELPING. Paid them And dropped the program. NEVER AGAIN!"

Rhonda Suzanne Massey

Reviewed: 9/21/2021
Degree: Organizational Leadership
Graduation Year: 2023

"GCU has excellent instructors and curriculum. However, the student counseling paycheck comes out of the tuition costs. Therefore, the counselors are basically working for the learner. However, the counselors job description is so overbearing that they do have not time or regard for registered students in their workload and tend to judge students as if they are God. Students have to put up with them multi-tasking on counseling calls which means that the students under their advisement do not have their full attention. The counselors forget that they are not doing the best for the already registered student population under their counsellorship because their work load is impossible: the bringing in of new students quota. Therefore, the approximately $300 a semester that enrolled students are required to pay for the student counselor is a waste. Additionally, GCU, while advertising themselves as a Christian university, did not make adjustments for doctorate learners who were advised by these counselors that GCU did not want doctoral students coming to required residency when Covid first outbroke, and GCU is not making concessions to doctoral learners to extend this time of dissertation completion even though doctoral learners lost approximately a year of the seven year deadline for dissertation completion due to GCU not accepting residency students during the first Covid outbreak for approximately a year. Unlike Christian values, GCU is greedily enforcing the time limit for on campus residency even though this is dangerous travel along with the in class time during this horrible Covid epidemic. GCU has shown colors of greed in not allowing an extension to doctoral students to complete their degree when Covid issues decrease. Because the student counseling is a terribly stressful quota position, the university will not tolerate a negative report against their actions and always side with the counselor no matter what the circumstances. There are counselors who will outright analyze your words and criticize students even though there is nothing to criticize other than a need for answers to questions. They act like God. And they are bad about not returning a request for an answer to a question if they perceive something in the student's voice that they don't like, even though the student is being professional and is just asking a question of wanting to clear up an opinion that the counselor judged as a harsh question. You can speak in a normal voice to some of the counselors, yet they put their perception into the students words and then write their opinion in the students folder. I spent $100,000 with GCU and called a counselor to get help enrolling into a different area and the counselor would not help although she had known me all the years I attended GCU. She said that I sounded harsh. I was on a recorded call so if an administer would actually listen to the unprofessional way some counselors speak with students, they will see that I had no harshness in my voice. I simply called to find about about another program of study so as to temporarily avoid flight travel and then in person classroom residency until Covid is not such a life and death matter for the unvaccinated . I am so glad to be rid of these counselors who are protected by their supervisors no matter what they do because their job is impossible, the constant recruitment quota which they mistreat and judge the students already enrolled and who are in their care for approximately $300 per semester out of student pocket."

Sanchez Sanchez

Reviewed: 9/20/2021
Degree: Counseling Psychology
Graduation Year: 2010

"I graduated in 2010. I owe over $80,000 in student loans. I can't even get my transcripts. They can't find me in their system. I was able to easily order my BA n my other transcripts with just my birthday and SS. Nope, not GCU. They won't verify me. It has been a nightmare. I'm trying to apply for certifications and licensure. Every other university provides transcripts.My BA was in 1996 and it was found in 5 minutes and mailed. This is unacceptable."

Wendy Martinez

Reviewed: 9/17/2021
Degree: Nursing
Graduation Year: 2020

"The school makes fake promises to their students, they keep the students longer than they are suppose to, don’t let their classes get transferred to a new school and don’t allow the students to finish their programs. After the student has a huge loan and only one class left they made up lies and suspended the student. Then did not allow the student to return to finish one class left to graduate and not allowed to transfer to another university."

Adam

Reviewed: 8/19/2021
Degree: MBA
Graduation Year: 2021

"Great program at a great price. The student services and support were lacking, but if you’re getting an MBA you are probably the type of person who doesn’t need a lot of guidance on classes and scheduling. If you are not a good academic writer and researcher, struggle with grammar, and generally struggle to put solid ideas into writing, you will struggle. As a working professional managing a nursing home during a pandemic, it took a lot of work to finish but finishing was definitely possible. The flexibility for working professionals is great. The Colangelo School of Business, in my opinion, will rise in prestige and reputation. It gave me a lot of the tools to take my career to the next level. The biggest takeaways for me were the financial projections, budgeting, and accounting practices. It was also heavy on leadership theory and provided a lot of good content. I was accepted to ASU and U of A as well, and I do not regret for a moment going with GCU. I’d choose it all over again."

Shaun

Reviewed: 8/13/2021
Degree: Business
Graduation Year: 2021

"I will be honest and straightforward, getting a doctorate degree here is not a walk in the park. I have talked to other colleagues that had doctorate degrees from other schools and have experienced the same hard rigor. You can finish the doctorate degree in 3.5 years because I have (3.25) but the truth is it is based on one's own work ethic. So if you are not ready for the rigor then do not apply. You will be stuck in the program for 7 to 10 years disgruntled individual that thinks they deserved to go to the next phase. They do not owe you a thing and they want your dissertation to be publication-ready and committee's names are being signed on the dissertation. They do not want to make their names look bad by "just passing" mediocre work. They will not hold your hand during the process because you are an adult and can read the templates they provide but if you leave something out they will let you know. You have to go in very humbled and ready to learn and be coached. First-class, you should start working on dissertation material to be ahead of the game and graduate as fast as you can. Honestly, my committee and teachers throughout have been amazing. I did not have an issue with any professors, though some grade harder than others but that is normal. Most complaints I hear are people blaming others, the school, etc. For instance, I have seen complaints about posting a few minutes late and getting a grade deducted, complaining about the teachers. They do not hold themselves accountable for posting or submitting late instead point the finger at the program. Again, most of the complaints I have noticed were due to students not holding themselves accountable and were not ready for the rigor of the programs. If you are not ready for rigor and want to go at a slow pace, expect to graduate in 5-10 years. If you have a strong work ethic and are coachable, you can be done within 3.5-4.5 years. Hope this review helps."

Troy Peters

Reviewed: 8/4/2021
Degree: History
Graduation Year: 2020

"I completed a Master's Degree program in History at GCU online. I was told that I was not eligible for graduation as my GPA was 2.99 and it had to be 3.0. They want me to take one class over that I got a C in because the professor would not accept my last paper for trivial technical issues. The class would have to be out of pocket for $2500 so I can get .01% of a grade increase. I can't afford this and don't know how I can even get my degree now without doing this. I highly recommend anyone thinking about taking courses here to not do it. There are better schools out there with lower tuition and much better programs that would be preferable to going here."

Steve Schu

Reviewed: 7/7/2021
Degree: Education
Graduation Year: 2022

"GCU's Masters Degree programs do not instill learning but rather instill arduous, meaningless busy work to try and change your learning style to match theirs. Every single class structure is the same... (2 discussion board posts with 3 replies to each discussion board that MUST be posted at least one day apart as well as one paper a week.... EVERY week) It reminds me of past elementary schools that educated students to become factory workers with their one way or the highway approach. The courses do not allow for creativity or divergent thoughts, just turning in work on time. For example, in one class, I submitted the entirely wrong assignment for the week and realized it a day later. Panicking, because it was worth 100 pts, I attempted to resubmit. After logging in I realized that my professor had not only graded it, but I received a 100, for a paper from an entirely different class, one year prior. It was then that I realized that GCU is not about furthering your knowledge and allowing for diverse thought, but rather providing their students with boring, regurgitated assignments that will only lead to imposed deadline syndrome. Enjoy."

struggling student

Reviewed: 6/17/2021
Degree: Healthcare Administration
Graduation Year: 2025

"Worst decision ever. the instructors don’t even “instruct” they provide you with various links of articles to read or videos to watch instead of teaching you themselves. Then, there’s multiple assignments due every week. I fell behind and was given no mercy, but my instructor takes WEEKS to even submit grades for discussion questions. Communication is horrible. I was told by the financial advisor that my scholarships and financial aid covered all my costs but I got a letter in the mail saying I owed over $1,000 to the school and I’m literally only on my 3rd course. Instructors are rude and horrible with communication. I was lied to about what I would be making once I graduated with my degree. I was told we would have instruction through something like zoom, but all my “learning” comes from the links they provide to different articles and videos. They don’t even teach us themselves. The learning platform is so annoying to navigate, especially for discussion questions. Just would not recommend this school to anyone at all, ever. This is the worst decision I have ever made in my entire life. I’m looking to try to transfer schools because I am so disappointed in this. I was so excited to start classes then quickly realized all the lies that were shoved down my throat by recruiters."

Jason

Reviewed: 6/15/2021
Degree: MBA in Organizational Leadership
Graduation Year: 2022

"If you get stuck with a horrible instructor there is no way to withdraw without paying the full tuition. They are completely unwilling to help. Make sure you read the reviews of your teachers and if they are bad run before you post or you are locked in. For a Christian school they are not supportive at all of their students."

Disappointed

Reviewed: 4/27/2021
Degree: Business Administration
Graduation Year: 2021

"I was initially very excited about the program. I did think it was odd that a DBA program was requiring a dissertation. Little did I know, the program was a PhD program just marketed as a DBA program. Out of the gate I was enrolled in a class, started the class, submitted assignments to then be told they enrolled me in the wrong class. I had no choice to stay in the class, which resulted in playing catch up in the new class. Additionally, the program (entire doctoral program) lacks enrollment numbers to establish a set schedule of courses. Therefore, the school is constantly changing your schedule - without letting your know- and your graduation date due to gaps from one class to the next. There were instances where I had a month gap from one class to the next. They also want you to start working on your dissertation at the start of your enrollment, which is great; however, as you progress through, depending on your professor, they mark points off your responses and work if they do not agree with what another professor deemed as competent. You do not have your first residency - in-person meet with your chair and dissertation team - until you are a year into the program. What results is a time to be told that everything you have done thus far is not appropriate and much rework is required. Please note, when you attend the week long residency, you are enrolled in an online class prior to the onsite residency and you are still required to keep up with the current course that you are enrolled - thus during this time, you have three courses, plus the need to be out of work for an entire week. Furthermore, you come across some professors who publicly blast you in front of the class and will publically show favoritism to fellow students making comments such as, "There need to be more people like you in the world." The professor does not provide any useful or positive feedback to any other student in the class. Moreover, you will have professors that will dock you points from a post or an assignment stating they were expecting x,y, and z; however, the expectations were not identified as the requirements within the course assignment or rubric. In addition, the school grading system is not favorable to the student. When a student has a 96% in the course, their grade is an A- that results in a 3.7 gpa for the course. Lastly, their learning platform is not great. It is circa 2005 where, if you do not watch, your discussion posts will not stay within the thread. If anyone is reading this, I would highly recommend that you draft your responses in Word, copy and paste into the discussion thread, submit the discussion, then check to ensure it is still present the next day. It is too bad that this did not work out, but I was able to transfer to another University and will complete my DBA 1/2 year sooner than with GCU."