Utica University Reviews

"Hi everyone, Please read my review (I wish I had read the reviews before taking admission. I am a current student of the ABSN program at Utica college in St. Pete campus in second semester. I will be very honest in my expression. I took admission into ABSN program with big promises of support from Utica admission representatives and it looked very good that I will be able to complete my bachelors degree in short time. But the reality is there is NO support offered at all by the teachers, administration. The Professors are a joke and there is no teaching or guidance of any kind. The exams are made so hard on purpose that most of my classmates failed (Including me) and the teacher who got most failing in her class is the head of the department so no complaints can be done against her. All the complains and requests fall on deaf ears. The success coach guides that follow blueprint, but no exam has ever come out of blueprint. I and all my classmates have bachelors degrees in some department of education, so definitely we are capable of studying anything, but when the motive of the college is to fail and make money, then students lose confidence, time, money and HOPE. The people who come from HR department asking for reviews but nothing gets implemented. Its like different departments working for same goal. The worst part is my family doesnt understands how this college is and works and why suddenly am I failing? As a nurse we are meant to be compassionate and helping, but this college is making all the compassion and caring go out of our souls as the teachers and administration are so ruthless to us, so the future nurses are gonna reflect what they are taught. The teacher who failed most students, as an incentive has been promoted as head of another department. Please Please save yourself. Do Not go to this college. You will end up losing money, time and peace. I have sacrificed everything in my life to become a Nurse and this college has taken my desire away and left me so frustrated, feeling like a loser and worthless. The only teachers who cared for students were Prof. Franze, Prof. Hall who had to leave this college because of their policies. Please save yourself the pain and go to any college ( But do check reviews first)."

"I read the reviews, believed they weren't real, and continued with the process of enrolling. I urge you to please read my review before making final decisions. First, when I had to pay out of pocket, my expenses were black and white and I paid what I needed to. Whenever I got financial aid, an addition 1-2K were added to my bill. When I disputed my bill, I was told a class was not calculated correctly. Again, this miscalculation and addition to my tuition was added after I received financial aid and not paying out of pocket. It has happened every semester I was fortunate enough to get financial aid, and that seems sketchy at minimum. Second, the reviews on teaching yourself is accurate. What is not said is Utica creates their own test, will not tell you what to focus the majority of your time learning, and has a significantly high fail rate for medsurg. We have repeaters and threepeaters and its become a norm that nobody is questioning why we are all failing. Third, Utica almost lost their accreditation because students went to the board and showed proof that everyone is failing. Those who failed last semester were allowed to take the class for free. Majority of those students are still failing this semester. No lectures, the powerpoints and mini-lecture videos is done by a professor who just could not be more bothered by having to go over the material. Fourth, depending on who your tutor is, you won't get much help. Makayla is amazing, if you decide to move forward with Utica please make sure to attend her tutoring. Other tutors tell you, "This box is probably important, learn it" instead of going over the material and actually helping us understand what the thought process is and how to use it in the real world. Fifth, while I enjoy labs they do not have enough supplies to teach you. You will reuse opened lab kits that are not even the correct kit for the exercise you will be performing. The teachers in labs are very helpful, but that is it. I cannot stress to you enough that this school is not good. This school has made a lot of people fail, fall into debt, give up, etc. Their passing rate is 53%, that is not a good rate. I emailed the dean and was never responded to, I have emailed for help and it's fallen on deaf ears, the prepu questions are outdated to the new text book and does not help prepare you for your exams. Please. Do not go here. Or go here for your prerequisites and then leave.to start somewhere else. I have waisted 8 months here, I have listened to those who have wasted 16 months and are still in semester 2 because of constant failures even after 10 hour study sessions 7 days a week. Do not make our mistake. Avoid Utica at all costs."

"This is more like a teach yourself school. When I had an emergency family situation they were very uncaring and did not help me. I had to withdraw due to this family emergency and they still made me pay the bill even though I only attended 1 week of class. They do not want their students to exceed. Just want the money unfortunately. Teachers were lack luster and had no idea about the program when teaching and how it is run. I do not recommend spending all this money for this school. It was quite ridiculous."

"Horrible experience, most of the classes were very simple, except for the first and last classes. You can learn so much more from youtube about data science that this place. The program taught me very little, I learned almost all by myself with very little guidance, absolutely horrible. Most of the professors were a joke, they taught me very little."

"Great place if you want to spend thousands and get nothing out of it. Very little prepares you to graduate. Most of what is taught does not help you for the real world. The work we do might have been helpful 50 years ago. Can learn the same amount of useful information in a YouTube video or 2"

"I enrolled in the FNP program 3 years ago when it was just starting. I was intrigued by the online model, since it seemed easiest with a family and career. Huge mistake. Wish I would have transferred out. The other reviews are 100% true, this program is a money pitt. The tests are extremely difficult with no guidance from faculty. If you do poorly on one, you basically have no chance of passing. I've never struggled with school/college in my entire life, and this program is unrealistic. The weekly online classes are a total waste of time. If you fail you have to repeat all clinical hours along with the class. The directors are unreasonable and offer no support. Please look into other programs before committing to this one."

"I graduated in May and passed both ANCC and AANP the first try. I was prepared. I am doing good at my first job. I did not have trouble with the grading policy like is mentioned in some of the reviews. I think people see online and they think they can just buy the degree. I had to work hard, this program wasn't easy and they have high standards. Can't fake it till you make, I want to provide my patients wit the best care. I like that they had proctoring, I went to another online school for undergrad that was full of cheating which was a joke. MeeNah is the clinical coordinator and is the best, she really helped me with clinicals. I liked that I could meet the professors and classmates in the sync sessions. I love the tutor the school provided, never had that before in my AS or BSN. Give you the Barkley review for the boards. I did go PT at work the last two semesters, I couldn't work FT with clinicals."

"Worst nightmare in my life ….!!! Regret big time . Please future talented nurses . Do not go to that Scam money makers rats . They screw you , take your money . Back in 2018 I got accepted to accelerated nursing program Utica college in Florida , I moved from NY . They were so nice and polite . After program started ,all of the sudden they definetly trying to fail you !!! No help, no advisors . I decided to withdraw before deadline cuz I realized online is not for me . I went to advisor and they told me she is sick . I said but we have 1 week before withdrawals with W , but here they Rats everything they do planned . She advisor came back after supposedly sick time and withdraw me after deadline and kept me responsible for a whole semester tuition 15000! I already lost 5000$ . Never paid them back that money . For what ? For W . People try some other schools don’t go to those Rats 🐀"

"Stay away ! The faculty will try their best to fail you! The passing rate for each class is 84% and if you fail the final exam , you fail the class. Absolutely no help! The exams are unreasonably difficult , so that you will have to retake the class again. I wish I paid attention to all the reviews. Save your money, time , and mental health !"

"The Utica ABSN Program can be likened to the Fyre Festival--you are promised all these great things (and pay a substantial amount of money) and NOTHING is delivered. The pass rate for Med Surg is troubling and Utica doesn't do anything about it, yet students keep withdrawing or attempting the courses over again. There was a woman in my class who was repeating Med Surg for a 3rd or 4th time in "hopes of passing" this time around. There are no resources other than powerpoints that the professor reads directly from and you get linked to YouTube videos in the course shell. Even though the program is marketed as "distance learning", you have to go to the site in Liverpool to take your exams, but your quizzes can be taken online. Everyone who lived in NYC and beyond had to relocate here even though it was marketed as an online program. When you e-mail the professors regarding why you failed an exam, they tell you that the answers were in the book. Save your money and DO NOT GO TO THIS PROGRAM. IT'S HORRENDOUS!"

"Please stay away from this school's horrible NP program. The professors don't know how to teach. The tests do not line up with the cirriculum. The class average will be 77% and you need 84% to pass. The adminstration is equally horrible. STAY AWAY!!!"

"READ THE REVIEWS!!! I ignored all these reviews thinking about how great it will be and I wont have any problems... everyone assured me that the Health Sciences program will get me where I want to be etc etc. Well they lied and their website is incorrect, I currently reside almost 4 hours away from Utica and chose their online Health Sciences program which I was told was all online and will set me up for success into their MS Occupational Therapy program. WRONG, so $6,000 later, my mental health, 16 weeks later to find out that 6 courses I need in order to graduate I cannot take online I have to take on campus. Excuse me??? They have it on their program website that they offered these online for the health sciences major just to find out that its only reserved for a certain group of people in the nursing program. Well what the hell? So essentially I would have to enroll in another college or multiple other colleges to complete my degree. Whose paying for all of this? Oh right, me. And not to mention I was told I could take other classes that would satisfy the Anatomy and Physiology course by taking a Drug and Society course. Awesome, can't wait to be an Occupational Therapist who does not know the anatomy of the body. Nobody that I talk to there can truthfully answer how this had happened, then I was told that maybe my enrollment counselor was only familiar with the on campus program not the online.. so go ahead and sell me misinformation then instead of telling me you don't know. I keep asking for a number on who I can speak to regarding this huge mistake and can't see to get a number. Please please pick a different college, I am not sure how their on-campus programs are but for the love of god please do not attend their online program. I have decided to withdraw from the college after this semester, they were my only hope for a career change. Unfortunately I cannot any other colleges as for they are all on campus and Utica was my only chance. Thanks for nothing Utica."

"Review from a current student and RN manager: I am so beyond disappointed in Utica University . NOT a university for working parents or people with a busy lives ... seems like you need to know how to run a the bureaucratic side of a university in order to attend ... They have student success couches(ssc) who, as afar as I can tell, are only helpful if you want someone to pick out and register you for all your courses although they are at least nice people in that department. None of the departments communicate with each other, The finical aide office (FAO)is awful. I have spoke to a few very rude and at time condescending women in that department. The registers office(RO) is lacking. If you need something from either department expect it to take days to weeks for any issues to be sorted out. When dealing with FAO or the RO you are unlikely to have questions answered in full or in a timely manner or any real help given. I have found that no one seems to know enough about anything too help students out if they have any unexpected life issues come up they requires a change in the standard schedule. Basically I have found they will not give you any extra information that will help you manage your collage experience or make decisions when things do not go exsactly as planned or even when you think everything is "normal" then surprise, come to find out 3 departments cannot do simple things . The SSC do seem to try but they seem disorganized with a high turn over I have had three success couches in 2 years and in the past week have spoken with 3 different ones. There seems to be a communication failure within that department. Also the bookstore is helpless and the included book fee seems like a scam. The nursing electives and required classes are all over the place in quality and style. Literally have gone from classes requiring 5 posts and a paper per week for an A with 2 books to 2 post and no books and they are equal in credit value.. go figure. Also there are some really great instructors there who do genuinely care about the student and teaching , but far more who seem indifferent .So fellow RN's I do not recommend this university anymore as the befits of a the BSN on MSN programs are far outweighed by the lack of quality and consistency in the university its self."

"PLEASE read an honest review here. UTICA's ABSN program at first may seem great on paper because it is "fast, hybrid, and an ABSN". It appears as if you have the mentoring, guidance, resources, and anything else you may need to succeed...this is FALSE. I initially thought how wonderful - I enjoy teaching myself and learning on my own and did very well in my previous undergraduate degrees.....even with the negative reviews I thought well " I'm a 3.8 GPA student and was a pre-med, I can grind for a year". Man do I regret it. Although I did not have to re-take courses and didn't fail by one point like many other classmates...I only passed because I spent 12-18 hrs a day SEVEN DAYS A WEEK reading textbook chapters, watching videos from outside nursing student resources from SimpleNursing, purchasing Uworld NCLEX-prep, practicing as many questions I could find as possible, pulling multiple all-nighters...this was pure torture. NOT because nursing school is hard and I didn't put in the effort, but because this program is unrealistic. This program is not structured based upon student success, passing rates, evaluations, or frankly off any curricular structure that reflects a valid nursing program let alone any educational program. Even with the greatest learning skills, health-science-based knowledge, and time management skills, you will STRUGGLE in this program because it is not sustainable or feasible to maintain. Let me explain why. Course material is expected to be read and understood for testing purposes within 8-10 weeks. This means 2-3 exams a week in addition to assignments, projects, and discussions. That meant I would read between 15-20 chapters a week averaging 20-30 pages a chapter on top of hours for projects, discussions, and papers. Imagine finals week EVERY week for 4 semesters...this is UTICA. I figured like other hybrid programs, there would be recorded lectures or concise Powerpoints to offset this amount of material; I quickly learned that the voice recorded powerpoints were not lectures from true educators but staff members called "professors" reading from the textbook then literally copy and pasting headers from the textbooks with notes that stated "read pages x,y,z" or "refer to chart x". This was one of the hardest parts of this program in terms of organizing study material. Firstly, the professors honestly don't know how to teach or explain what we need to know because it appears they are just recycling and editing used exams they haven't written and randomly reading from a textbook. Secondly, they don't utilize the school canvas platform to upload powerpoints, videos, blueprints, etc for modules; they insert google drive links that are from years prior or e-mail separately. You will have the responsibility to check e-mail, canvas, PrepU, google drive links, tutor links, etc. This was madness and caused unnecessary miscommunication and anxiety. Exams. The exam material will not reflect the given material no matter how hard you prepare. The questions will be either a detail so tiny you'll have to memorize every chart's small lists, a ridiculous subjective-based question because the professor "writes for NCLEX and uses us to practice", or from an old exam that used an older textbook not presented to you in any way. You also cannot review your exams or ask questions about missed questions even though there are comprehensive finals. You may even find in detail how a question that 90% of the class answered incorrectly was understood as such and you'll get nowhere. Lab. Simply put, if you have Hall and Franze for a lab day, you will learn ALOT. The virtual lab was actually great because these two are educators. But if the director is around, she will take over and you will run around like disorganized sheep hoping a classmate is an EMT and can show you how to start an IV or assess an airway. Communication. Professor Hall and Franze and Schad were incredible. Otherwise, lower your expectations. Our director ignored ALL OF US for weeks about questions pertaining to our senior project due dates conflicting with preceptorships dates, overlapping clinical dates, canceled office hours, etc. I was "netiquetted" by another professor TWICE for expressing concern with an assignment's grade not reflecting her rubric....when in the end she had made an error in grading both times. Weeks would go by without a response clarifying issues about incorrectly listed dates, exam times/details, clinical details. The worst was if there was a change to clinical dates, exam dates, exam details, curriculum structure, vaccine status... you would find out with days notice. Yet we ultimately took the fault as students. I lost work-based school funding because of this poor communication. In conclusion, I graduated because of my previous healthcare experience and ability to make educated guesses on exams after ridiculous hours spent daily...and paid an insane amount of money to do so. Go elsewhere."

"PLEASE READ ALL THESE REVIEWS!!!!!!!! I did not believe this school could be that horrible and unfortunately I ignored all the bad reviews. I wish I would have trusted the reviews and saved money. Everything posted is what I experienced in the program. They will do everything possible to make you repeat and take your money. This was a low budget experience. The quality of the school and in person lab is ridiculously below standard. The equipment is cheap and outdated materials will be provided. It was very obvious this school is hurting for money and new admissions. They will eagerly lure you in and quickly take your money. No support provided at all. This place is a joke! My only advice is RUN!!!!!!!!! They won't turn any money away all will be accepted!"

"They are a big scam of a program. Save yourself money and stress. They will make you fail classes and retake for 3500$. I would never have went to this program had I known what it entailed. I read the reviews but I was eager to enter a FNP. Well, I hate to admitted but it is true the enrollment guy would call you every day to tell you how wonderful it’s the FNP and how flexible and well prepare the professors are. I started on August 30, 2021 the class is for 8 weeks first they lie to me. They said my assignment days were Thursdays and it turns out it was Wednesdays with posting class videos and class participation, follow by answering peers before Fridays again video and backed with a least two articles then follow by two page reactions papers on Sundays and quizzes ( of a least two chapters per week) Flexibility was Zero as a matter of fact at the 7 week my overall grade was B and for the last week I have to do a slide presentation in which by mistake I ended-up uploading in the wrong site as a result the professor was so kind she took 30 points and then she gave me a final grade of F. When I complained to the Dean HOW OUTRAGEOUS AND ARBITRARY WAS TO FAIL ME her answered was “the class was closed and I could appeal the professor decision. Then they put me in academic probation. Thank God this was my first and only class, then they were calling me to enroll in Spring Classes. Why would I want to waste my money, time and energy in a Collage that obviously has poor resources and has little to none support for full time working students. Also my professors who I could tell the way she treated me “unaware of her cultural bias” told me “gee gosh mmm I don’t know if you are a right fit for the program” For writing papers Smart Thinking charting $150 per 3 hrs. To check you literature papers and APA Form and they answering you most likely within 48-72 hrs. Honestly, the experience was very unpleasant not to mention a complete waste of $3000. STAY AWAY IT’S NOT WORT IT, I READ THE REVIEWS BEFORE BUT I WANTED TO GIVE A TRY AND I REGRET MY DECISION EVERY MINUTE PLEASE DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY."

"This is the biggest joke of a nursing school. They treat the students like absolute shit, do not offer ANY resources aside from the online ebook. Your exams will NEVER match the blueprints they offer to study. And they do not value the mental health of their students at all rather brush it off and say “that’s how nursing school it” Professors tell students “maybe you are not cut out for the program” rather than giving support when you reach out for additional help. The only lectures you got is the ones on YouTube. I can not like Victoria Schad/ Nelson are the only good professors this college has. They will NEVER show you your exam grades or the exam questions to review so you’ll never know how well/poor you actually did. They are a big scam of a program. Save yourself and your mental health. They will make you fail classes over 1 point and retake for 3500$. I would never have went to this program had I known what it entailed. This is not an angry student with a bad experience- EVERYONE feels this way. The positive reviews are NOT from their ABSN program."

"Ok, I waited to write this post because this school exhausted me both mentally, emotionally, and financially. Disclaimer: Nursing is hard. You better be willing to put in the work but this school is something different. This is a joke of a nursing school. It is what you call a scam. Many people are hopeful about getting into nursing school after putting in the work with prerequisites and getting a bachelor's. It is also very saturated in my area specifically (also many people from long island are targeted FYI). I was looking into a school that was fast as I wanted to progress in my career as quickly as possible. Let's talk about this bootleg school: -There is an admission counselor(Mark was mine) that will literally call you every day to walk you through the process of getting your money, essentially. At first, I was like what a great school, that really cares about its students and wants you to grow. It's kinda like being around a narcissist, it is all smokes and mirrors after you realize what you are getting yourself into. -Also many of the students in my cohort moved to Liverpool for this program. So not only does this school rob you of your tuition, now you have to move to this far away land and pay for rent where they do not teach anything relevant. -There are no textbooks, they only have ebooks which are very straining for your eyes with the amount of bs work that the school gives. -This program claims to be hybrid. It is basically an online program, to be honest. Professors DO NOT CARE. Some of these people literally have so much family stuff going on in their personal lives and bring that into a classroom setting or into the live zoom class. Some of these professors are VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. There are professors that have emailed back after 2-3 weeks which literally blows my mind even now. There was like maybe one professor that cared named Prof. Nelson. The department head is a joke. She does not care if you pass or fail or both. -Tests are monitored and recorded. The test questions do not have anything to do with modules, recordings, textbooks, old NCLEX questions or labs. There are no reviews. Tutoring is no help. I have attended many tutor sessions. They hire this random person from another state that literally goes over old NCLEX questions from her own notes which like never shows up on a test. -There are these random zoom labs, a waste of your 3 hours because you break out into a group and pretty much answer questions by yourself or a group. There are these vsims that are graded for less than 10% of your grade. The whole class just looks pissed to be there because it is waste of time. One of the classes is health assessment the exams are worth 75% of the letter grade based on 3 exams; so pretty you can not do badly on exams at all. There are is no form of direction and they make the tests so hard. I can go on and on with all the jacked-up things this school has put me through. This horrible, horrendous and disgusting institution of a school should be SHUT DOWN and should not be accredited by any means. I guess if you are naturally a good test taker, you should go here but if you are trying to really learn, please do not come here. RUN. Go to a real nursing school that actually teaches you something and you can help a patient. This school is scam. They will make you drop a class and then have you stay a whole semester to retake one or two classes. You will waste not only your MONEY but your TIME. Whoever runs this money-making institution they call ABSN and I hope you are reading this, I wish you all the worst in life and I wish you all the energy and pain that you have given for these last few months. May you reap what you sow, genuinely from robbing people of their money..."

"I didn't believe other reviews before getting into this program. Everything is online. No one teach you in this program. Professor are horrible they don't even know some stuff from book. They get confuse with some type of questions. It is true Professor just read email and don't reply that often. Assignments are useless and books are online too."

"I attended Utica College ABSN program in Syracuse. The only classes that were in person were the labs 1-2 days/week. Clinical rotations were also in person at local hospitals. As for the rest of the classes, they were quite literally “read pages 700-900 in the book by Friday.” There are no lectures and there is no one actually teaching the courses. There are resources like some videos and tutoring sessions, but a majority of the time these are not helpful. Some of the “videos” were teachers driving in their cars with children screaming in the back. With some of tutoring sessions that were online, an instructor did not show up 3/10 times. The tutoring sessions in person are only able to accommodate 5-10 people at a time. The program is incredibly unorganized and you are lucky if anyone answers an email. It can be hard having professors from Florida while you are sitting in NYS. With this said, all of the clinical instructors and lab teachers are amazing. They are so intelligent, animated, and are truly dedicated to help you learn. In addition to this, although there are issues with the program, I felt highly prepared to work in a hospital nursing setting. Compared to other nurse counterparts who have also just graduated from other programs, I feel as if I learned so much more material than them. Questions that these other graduates have are some of the questions I can immediately answer. I did feel prepared to take on a job. Along with this, the program offered many job fairs that were very helpful. The program made me so stressed and angry due to the layout and disorganization, but the lab instructors and the clinical instructors made it worth it."