Southern New Hampshire University Online Reviews of Bachelor's in History

"I attended SNHU originally to complete my associate's degree. Then to finish a BA in Political Science / History. They were very transfer-friendly and allowed many ways to earn credits instead of needing to sit through an entire semester. They allow you to take Sophia, CLEP, and use your life skills for college credit. I left SNHU and got into multiple tier 1 master's programs elsewhere. SNHU really changed my life, and for this, I am grateful. As for my career, since graduating from SNHU, I started a job working for DHS with the federal government, and I am making 23-27% more annually."

"I have been with SNHU for several years, transferring in from a Community College. Prior to that, I attended a private four year liberal arts college for two semesters, which is what SNHU started out as before investing heavily into their online program. So, I have a good idea of how the university world works. In addition, I currently work in a public university in the midwest. In short, I am no stranger to college. That being said, I want to clarify a few things I have noticed in the reviews: 1) I see many people upset that they had to take "pointless classes" that "had nothing to do with my degree" well, those, my friend, are called general education credits and every single college has them no matter what your major is. Are they fun? No, but they are required. So, if you are majoring in Psychology expect to take a History class. If you are majoring in a STEM field expect to take an English class. This has been the way it is at every college I have attended as well as the one that I work for. Be grateful SNHU has no foreign language requirment, most colleges also have that in addition to those pesky general ed courses.. In fact, SNHU's general education classes are actually quite seamless. The 100 level classes are designed so that they are not so hard so you can get through them to get to your major classes. Even better, they are only eight weeks! The community college I came from was on a semester calendar which meant that those tedious general education classes were 16 weeks! 2) I see a lot of people complaining about extenuating circumstances such as childcare or illness making it difficult for professors to work with them. This is college. Not high school. The people teaching your course are paid professionals. Treat them as such. Often they have deadlines as well and often juggle multiple classes in addition to a day job because most of the instructors here are adjuncts. This isn't a bad thing at all, every single one of them I have had has an advanced degree in their field as well as relevant work experience. I'm a history major and I've had high school history teachers with an M.A. in History teach my classes and I've also had P.h.D's who have been published in magazines like National Geographic. Every single one of them has been knowledgeable and the few times I have needed to turn something late they've been extremely understanding as long as I emailed them with an explanation. I do want to point out that because they are adjuncts and not tenured full-time professors you have to understand that they are not making a lot of money nor as they treated very well by the college. They get no benefits such as healthcare. It literally is often a side job for them or they are trying to break into academia. So treat them well because they are often overworked and underpaid and most of them really do want you to succeed because trust me, they've been in your shoes as an undergraduate. 3) Financial Aid issues. I have only ever had one problem, SNHU accidentally overpaid my aid one term and as a result they corrected their error and used funds from their own account to ensure that the overpayment did not effect me in any way. In fact, they called me and emailed me explaining the whole ordeal and were very pleasant about it. Every other term I have had no issues. Like every other college you do have to maintain a certain GPA and make sure you are passing your classes to keep your loan eligibility. From what I have read in other reviews it seems that folks are either not doing well in their courses which does impact their aid or they have withdrawn from a course which does indeed impact your aid. 4) Reputation concerns. Recently, I was reading my local newspaper and stumbled across an article that a new city manager had been hired where I live. In her bio it listed that she had an M.A. from SNHU! Jobs like city managers are very competitive and often attract top tier candidates. Obviously, if where she had gotten her education was an issue I would think she wouldn't have been hired. In addition to this case, the college is regionally accredited which is the best accreditation a higher education establishment can have and as a result SNHU credits do transfer and many alumni are often accepted into prestigious M.A programs. 5) The layout of the courses. Yes, each course is structured the same. For working adults, who the target audience is, it makes the transition from class to class much easier than it would be in person. Going into it you know you will have discussion posts and "milestone" projects but the predictability of it is actually quite nice. When I attended in person classes the instruction was all over the place, I either had instructors demanding a paper per week or a paper per term or random tests which never occur here. Again, this makes the process so much easier. 6) Expect to put in effort as because this is distance learning you must READ. You must take initiative. Someone isn't standing there lecturing you for two hours every other day so in order to succeed you have to do some self-teaching. That isn't just at SNHU that would be in any online program. If that does not work for you I would not recommend any online class at any university. 7) Academic advising. Yes, they will phone you. But how much they phone you depends upon you. Your advisors are monitoring your coursework and grades whether you realize it or not. If you start getting a lot of phone calls it means that you aren't up to par with where you ought to be. My advisor seldom calls me aside from the start of the term when he sees if I need anything or if I want to drop the course or change a course. Other than that, I don't hear from him because I am consistently turning in my work and getting A's. In short: do your work and they won't bother you. If you aren't doing a good job expect them to hound you because that is their job. Also, I have seen some reviews saying how folks would get different advisors from time to time. Again, this is not uncommon, especially in the current labor market. Academic advising often is a stepping stone job in academia, people do it for a few years and then usually move up. I imagine SNHU is no exception to this. I see it happen as the college I work at. Overall, I hope my review put to bed some of the misconceptions that some of the bad reviews might be putting out there. As of my time writing this I will be graduating in less than two months. I have nothing but good things to say about SNHU. As an adult, working full-time, I appreciate the opportunity SNHU offered to a nontraditional student like myself. The online platform was very good for me but to succeed here you must be self-motivated, have the ability to read a lot and follow instructions, have the ability to ask for help when you aren't clear on something and understand that college isn't just about taking a bunch of classes you want to take, sometimes you have to power through the stuff that isn't fun. You also have to be okay with not sitting through traditional lectures and getting. Unfortunately, the marketing from this school has, I believe, attracted many first time college bound adults who may not be ready for the academic rigor of college and as a result many are often underwhelmed and even disappointed in the experience. The truth is, college, no matter in person at somewhere prestigious like Yale or an average state school isn't designed to cater to your every need. They are schools, you are there to show up, do the work and learn. Only you can make that happen, the college provides you with the tools. SNHU is no exception."

"I'm a new student and so far its been a pretty good experience, but the bad reviews have me a little shook. I was very close to my degree and then life got in the way, but I can't give up my day job to go back to school. Which is why I chose SNHU. Once I was accepted, things moved really fast and I was really unprepared and overwhelmed and I didn't fell like I got all the info I needed. So I took charge and made sure I could start in the next term and now it's all GTG. The Online environment is really easy to navigate and the course requirements are fully laid out in the syllabus. I can also pick classes and track my completion to my degree myself in my program evaluation. I feel like I am in full control of my goals and getting this done. I've attended a four year university before (with 500 people in a lecture hall) and I can honestly say it's the same - only cheaper. Yeah, the instructors have a lot going on and don't really interact but I have never had a university professor actually interact anyway. When I was in on campus environments years ago, I never even met my advisor my SNHU Advisor called me twice already. It's all pretty straight forward from my past experience. What I prefer here is that I'm not just regurgitating to quizzes and tests - I have to write to show understanding and proficiency. It may not work for you but you get out what you put in and no matter where you go, there you are. So be prepared for some extreme ownership of your progress."

"I don't even know where to begin with horrible cult-like atmosphere of this school. Part of me is a bit nervous about typing this review because I know the SNHU minions will come out in droves and begin to attack! Oh well here it goes. I will start off by saying the ONLY reason ANYONE should ever go to this school is if you currently have a job and you want to promote within it. For starters though I graduated with a 3.9 GPA so I not just some bitter person that could not hack it, if fact everyone can hack it at SNHU the criteria is set up so that you CAN NOT FAIL unless you just don't do the work. No full time professors they are all adjunct so good luck getting someone to write you a letter of recommendation after only dealing with you for 2 months. Somehow though I was able to get professors to write me letters of recommendation or at least they said they would but then when the time came they did not. One even went as far as to say "It would be an honor to write you a letter of recommendation you are not only one of the best student in my class currently but one of the best students I ever had the pleasure of teaching." Yea, they didn't write me anything. Sounds like its all a ruse to get you to return to SNHU to complete your advanced degree as well (psssst that's called academic inbreeding and is frowned upon.) Which leads me to my next point. Everything is a commercial with these folks. They record every conversation you ever have with anyone there and it is a requirement that you agree they can use your conversations for commercial purposes or you CANNOT attend. Anyone who tries you otherwise is a flat out liar. You HAVE TO agree to this or you CANNOT go here. Which that doesn't matter because you SHOULD NOT want to go here. Let's not forget all their fake honor clubs and societies. For whatever reason I was supposed to feel "honored" that they selected me to apply to join some group that basically did the administrations job for free AND you had to pay if you were given the "honor" of being selected to join. "Congratulations on being so smart give us 100 dollars so you can pad a resume with a club no one has ever heard of." I researched these so-called clubs and societies they have and REAL schools fight to keep these societies OUT of their school because they are a scam to take your money. Of course I was attacked by the mob of SNHU minions when I pointed this out. Well sorry folks, but I think I'll listen to the folks at Berkley, Duke, and IU who say these clubs and societies are illegitimate and refuse to allow them in their school. The adjunct professors I just mentioned - they are there for show nothing more. They are a slave to the rubric just as much as you are and THEY DON'T WRITE THEM! You have some qualified adjunct professors here but the school castrates them completely. The advisors. Those poor poor advisors. I had 4 times as many advisors as they claimed I would and most of them hated their job. They all quit and went to work at different schools. This turnover rate had a direct impact on my degree. I got to my final class and all of a sudden I was not receiving my financial aid. I called finacial aid they claimed it was coming soon, I called a second time "should be there any day now." I call a third time "Oh well since this is your final class and the only class you are taking this fiscal year you aren't eligible for financial aid your advisor should have told you this and doubled you up on a class one term." Oh JUUUUUUST GREAT. They didn't offer any real help either other than continuously telling me that since this was my final class I should really find a way to get the money without offering me any resources on finding a way to get the money. So at my wits end and with nothing to lose I e-mailed the president of SNHU himself and boy did I light him up! The next day I get an e-mail telling me I'm being offered a scholarship for my final class. COOL! I think this school may have finally redeemed themselves for once but that was all quickly tarnished by their incessant need to be praised for anything and everything they do. I believe I received five phone calls that day and 3 surveys asking about my satisfaction. This school is constantly looking for a chance to get a pat on the back or record you saying something positive so that they can plug you saying that into one of their commercials. They were highly disappointed when I refused to shower them in praise because they fixed their mistake. That's what grown ups do when they make mistakes SNHU - they fix them. You don't need to be thanked for that you should just do it. That scholarship they gave me is the only good thing I have to say about this school but of course they immediately trampled all over that saving grace with their need for reaffirmation. If you are one of those SNHU sycophants and this offends you just spare me the wall of text I've already heard it all from you brain washed minions. You are walking billboards that have been conditioned to give free advertisement on a constant basis under the ruse of a quality education. My degree currently rests in the closet under a stack of old magazines and that is where it will stay forever. I already wasted thousands of dollars on this school I'm not spending another 5 bucks to frame this worthless piece of garbage."

"I attended college at a brick-and-mortar to earn my first degree, and made the Deans list, and that degree from that brick-and-mortar school (high ranking New York State college) helped me to get the job I sought. I am continuing my education at Southern New Hampshire; their online program is amazing for working adults like myself. One of the reasons I did choose this college is because of its high ranking. I am working very hard, just as hard as I did at the brick and mortar state college. Southern New Hampshire University is an excellent school with a good reputation, and its brick and mortar location was in existence for a very long time prior to its online branch. I am happy with my choice and would recommend SNHU."

"For your undergraduate degree I believe you could do much worse then snhu. I had a counselor from the military division and she was great. Started my masters there it was terrible. Be prepared to write essays for every class. The secret is to find out what the instructor wants and adapt to that. Undergrad at snhu yes go elsewhere after that."

"Here is the thing, the classes were great, the teachers were great, everything else is REALLY REALLY BAD. I started to feel that the school was was lying to me so I had to take matters in my own hand and call the Department of ED. I had to file a complaint, I feel like they are scammers, they take your money, they tell you all kinds of different stories, but they arent mean about at least. They they dont think you know anything about financial services so they will try to tell you anything. Nothing makes sense, watch how they process your aid, if they even do. It probably goes into their pocket, there is a reason why this private school can be non-profit."

"SNHU is an absolutely wonderful school to attend. The school offers condensed courses so you can give extreme focus on 1-2 courses for 8 weeks; instead of 5-7 courses for 5 months. This allows you to not only study condensed material, but it gives you the ability to retain the information stronger to use later on in life. The staff is extremely responsive, always responding within 24 hours with any question that you may have, and always gave me the help I was asking for. It is also extremely affordable for people looking to save money on college. Not only with cheap classes; but additionally, the student has the ability to graduate quicker and cheaper due to the school acceptance of CLEP and DSST exams. SNHU accepts all CLEP/DSST exams at the ACE recommended score and will accept up to 90 Credit Hours worth of tests. I personally used this feature for 78 credit hours, and paid only $16,000 for my degree, when the average Bachelor's degree cost $100,000. I highly recommend Southern New Hampshire University because they give you more than a worthwhile education for such an affordable school."

"Southern New Hampshire University Online is a reputable, affordable, and convenient option for students that for one reason or another are unable to attend classes on campus. I elected to complete my degree online because I was working full time and my schedule was far too erratic to accommodate a regular college schedule. Even online students have access to the campus library which is an excellent feature that I don't think many online schools offer. If you put in a request for a book through the Shapiro Library website they will mail the books to you and all you need to do is mail them back before the due date. It was a feature that I utilized a lot when writing research papers for my classes. All of the instructors that I have had have been very attentive and personable. If you have a personal emergency that will prevent you from completing the course work they will work with you. At the beginning of one term I let my instructor know that I would be having my wisdom teeth removed right around the time that an important paper was going to be due. She was understanding and agreed to give me a couple of extra days to complete the coursework. If you want feedback on an assignment before submitting or have a question about an assignment every instructor I had was more than happy to provide feedback and answer any questions. I never had a bad instructor at SNHU. All of them wanted their students to succeed and helped me work on my weaknesses when it came to academics and improve on my strengths. I highly recommend SNHU Online to anyone that wants to go back to school but still has to maintain their daily responsibilities."

"I am about one year out from graduating with a degree in American history and a minor in political science. I transferred into SNHU from a college in Arizona. From day one every staff member I have interacted with has been pleasant and helpful. My choice to switch to an online program hinged on my ability to find a school that was "hands on." Not once have I felt neglected. My advisor is wonderful and ensures that I am happy and staying on course. She typically checks in with my three times a term. I like that the courses are accelerated (8 weeks), and that I am able to attend year round, as this fits my lifestyle well. Just as with any college, I have found some professors to be better than others. Overall though, I have been satisfied. As far as the course content, a lot of it is up to you! If you are motivated and dedicated, and throw yourself into really learning the material provided than you can obtain a quality education. Sure, there are "dumb" people able to skim by and are still allowed to pass. However, at the end of the day when the hard worker and the good-off (who both have degrees) are going for a job, who do you think stands out? There are "idiots" in traditional settings at colleges everywhere! The difference is you do not have as much access to their work for comparison like we do in this setting. In short, the online learning community is unique, and much of what you get out of it is what you put into it. I would recommend SNHU online to anyone searching for an alternative avenue. You get the exact same degree as on campus, but with the flexibility of being online. It's not for everyone, but it has worked for me."

"The level of support has been exceptional. The level of anxiety I had going into this new learning platform was quickly alleviated. Inwould recommend this institution to any and everyone! From the initial contact the faculty and staff have been knowledgeable and professional. This school is not a degree. You are provided a thorough and robust education. It is fast past and difficult but not insurmountable! I an so grateful I found this school."

"There are some negative reviews that I don't understand and it seems that it is more of a personal thing than SNHU's fault. I will be getting my Bachelor's in August 2016 and have been going to SNHU since 2014 as a transfer student. Like many have said, "you get what you put in". If you don't think the course is fulfilling enough, you are doing something wrong. Each week has a module with plenty of material for you to research and learn from. If you chose not to review it and use it, that's on you. I find that the classes are as difficult as I want to make them, I like getting good grades so I put the effort in it. There was a class that I didn't care for and put minimal effort in it and my grade showed it. Sure there are some professors that are not as responsive as others, but I have had some that a clearly capable of teaching the course and give great feedback and sometimes are very critical if they think my work is sub-par. I work full-time and SNHU challenges me enough to feel I am getting what I pay for, yet flexible enough for me to still have a life. I've also had NO problem with SNHU when I have questions or need stuff signed for work, like tuition reimbursement forms so I don't know why others say they have communication problems; I think this may be lack of effort or not knowing where to look. I'm not trying to negate others complaints, I just don't have any and I'm looking forward to continuing onto my Masters at SNHU."

"I'm in my second term and I am pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything is going. I am a transfer student, so I've done online schooling before. The admissions process was a breeze; the counselor was amazing. My academic advisor is cool and my instructors have been awesome. The key to success in an online setting is setting weekly goals and deadlines. Never wait until the last minute to do any work(even discussions). You have to be a good self learner, but there are a ton of resources and people to help. You just have to ask for It! Good luck everyone!!"

"Great school. Like all education, it's what you make of it. It is true, you can skate by at SNHU and one does encounter students who seem to eat paint chips in their spare time. This largely disappears once you get out of the intro classes. With that said, the teachers care and hold you to the curriculum. Hard work is rewarded and you will learn. A lot of the negative reviews seem to be from those who don't invest the time required to make online education valuable. Others seem to think SNHU needs to more closely resemble Harvard. It is not for everyone and you must take it for the modest school it is. Try hard and I promise you will feel proud of the genuinely quality education you receive."

"The history program was dissipated after I graduated becuase as the President of the University said, " We do not want to be the Harvard of Hookset". He thought the program was to hard for his students. If you are looking at shchools i would not go to a school like this. I would want my school to be the harvard of Hookset."

"SNHU is running a grift on its students. Note that it gives you 3 credits for 8 weeks of work, instead of the normal 16 at a real college, but you pay as if you're at University of X or X State University. This system is in place so SNHU can suck down massive amounts of federal aid, not because it is the best way of providing quality education. SNHU exists to make money for SNHU ... tho' it is a not-for-profit unlike Phoenix and the other thieving dens. Regardless of the on-line schools' for-profit or not-for-profit status, at the end of the program, you get lots of debt for a sh!t sandwich without the bread. Now if you want to just fill a block, enroll here, but you should know that in the real world, people will in fact look down upon you for having a SNHU degree. SNHU is rotten to the core: they get only crappy professors (a great number of them educated only in on-line settings, which is why this is more a Ponzi scheme than a college) who make only $2200 a course (what's their motivation to go above and beyond for you when the prof is getting $110 on average for each student? ... that's $13.75 per week per student ... how many hours of the prof's attention each week do you think $13.75 buys you? -- about 15 minutes if your lucky); the work that students get away with performing is a pathetic (20 pages of reading a week in a class, for example) but the grades are inflated through the ceiling; and the staff designing the curricula have joke degrees (why do their deans, for example, have only MA degrees, and then from 5th-rate schools?). If you want a real educational experience, enroll at your local community college, earn your intro credits there, then go do the hard work and make the sacrifices at a brick and mortar school to get a real degree."

"I was a college dropout and I was working 2 jobs just to be broke by the end of the month. SNHU has made it possible for me to work and get my college degree. I love SNHU. The people are extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Financial aid paid for my education. I loved my SNHU experience and I recommend it to anyone!"