"Walden University is one of the worst college to attend and I wouldn't recommend any student at this school process. They give you the run around with Financial Aid and I am posting this on social media. The VP never return my call and good luck speaking with an Advisor. This is a horrible college experience and I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone in this process. Some student in tur past is correct about mit coming to Walden University. I am going to another school with better support for student and caring on a daily basism"

Becky

Reviewed: 6/12/2025
Degree:
Graduation Year: 2026

"The program is set up to allow you to complete all your online education in advance and leaves clinicals for the last thing to do. Once you have reached the point of starting your clinicals, all help drops off. There is no communication on what to do next. Any time I have reached out for assistance, I'm told to refer back to the same website that I've been using this whole time without any new information. They also require you to use outside resources that you have to pay out of pocket (hundreds of dollars worth) but do not disclose this. My experience was good (not great) until it came time to start clinicals. I feel like they just want your money, but do not want you to succeed in completing your degree."

Jake Wengronowitz

Reviewed: 5/29/2025
Degree: Social Work
Graduation Year: 2025

"The majority of negative reviews I've been reading through seem to gravitate towards the Ph.D programs offered, and not necessarily the Bachelor Master's level course work and professors. It is a fallacy of generalization to smear an entire college simply because "one" of their programs and procedures is below average or even "poor" compared to others. For those of the more virtuous, circumspect, and academic minded seeking a review that takes into account one's experience in its entirety, this is the review for you. As millions have stated before, regardless of what subject you end up choosing, IT IS WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT that eventuates into the experience and caliber of student and future employee you are. As a Social Work major, I found that the resources, books, online content, and access to the virtual library are some of the most relevant, categorized, and scholarly one can find anywhere and the course work and expectations are inescapably clear from day one. The giant swing and a miss that most students seem to be griping about it the "lack of interaction". Honestly, if you entered into an online school thinking that your teacher has enough spare time to spend hours on Zoom or Teams with you per day to teach you the course work, you are gravely misunderstanding the point of online college. I've never had a professor blow me off completely or fail to respond. I've never had a deficit or absence of resources to complete any assignment. I've never seen the timelines and deadlines for projects as unfair, daunting, unfairly graded, or demanding to a point of cruelty. The point being, the students (myself included) who take the time access, engage with, internalize, and drive themself to victory are not the ones you'll find in the review section raging and fuming and spewing their diatribes left and right. At even a moderate pace, Walden University is entirely doable for him or her who will try, just like any other accredited institution. Employers DO NOT CARE that your degree came from an online school of disputatious repute as long as it was accredited and followed state guidelines for awarding your degree. We live in a world where, save for the doctors/lawyers/elite business folks, your college of choosing means nothing as long as your actual finished products in the work place effectively demonstrate your competency....and competency only comes through personal application and practice on your part....online college is not meant to hold your hand through life and convince your interviewer you are fit for the task. That is your job. If there is one complaint that I can certifiably claim makes Walden weak, but is now near ubiquitous with online schools, it is that the usage of AI to do coursework is absurdly rampant to the point I've pointed it out to professors in the past and even showed them how to scan for plagiarism. At the end of the day, if you used Perplexity, Meta, ChatGPT, Claude, AI Writer to get through college, you'll have to keep doing that the remainder of your life to keep up the guise. You will be a lie, and live a lie. It is what you put into it, not the school's reputation, not the uncaught cheating, but what you personally invest into your futre. For those reasons, seen from the view of someone who archived the knowledge given deeply and made use of nearly every resource the school had to offer, Walden University will fit the bill for most degrees. I will also agree though their Ph.D program needs extreme face lifts, modifications, and changes of staff if it wants to exist into the future. The scathing commentary is far too numerous, uniform, and idiosyncratically written to be AI created or coincidental."

FuturePMHNP101

Reviewed: 5/23/2025
Degree: Nurse Practitioner (Psychiatric-Mental Health)
Graduation Year: 2026

"Please Do not go here and avoid at all costs. I transferred here as they were the school that took the most of my credits after I competed 75% of my degree elsewhere and had to transfer after having my baby as I no longer able to commute several hours away and stay in a hotel overnight on days I had to be in class I Have had issues since day 1 with Walden. One professor gave me a 0/100 for turning in an assignment a day EARLY and said I have to wait until at least monday to turn work in. She then changed the due dates on the last assignment of the class at the last minute, and gave me yet another 0/100 when I turned it in the day it was supposed to be due (if anything it should have only been an 8% deduction with the classes late policy). I chose not to fight it because I was so sick of dealing with the instructor The following semester, I had a professor not grade THREE of my assignments and I never heard back from her despite my multiple attempts of emailing her and calling her office. It turned out, she had the wrong email address and office number on the syllabus. When I finally got ahold of her, she told me it was too late for her to change my grade, resulting in a failing grade in the class and a tedious and nerve wrecking appeal plea with the school committee for a grade change. The instructor then became spiteful I won the appeal and I had to reach out to another instructor to grade my work as I did not trust the instructor to grade me fairly. I went from a “D” to an “A” once my three assignments were graded. I went from a 4.0 student at a highly prestigious university, and that was after completing 3/4 years of my doctorate, to a 2.5 gpa (higher now since the appeal) due to turning in an assignment early, not getting the memo due dates were different from the calendar, and a professor not grading my work.Besides these issues, I have not been taught anything. It’s all been tedious work but I have not learned anything. There are no lectures, instructions, or guidance at all . There are loads of hidden costs and “gotchas” involving money. I am (hopefully at this rate) finishing my degree and never looking back. I had really high hopes when transferring to Walden and ignored the bad I had heard about Walden. I think told myself these people just have been bad students or slacking off and were just whining. Unfortunately, I have had one negative experience after the other during my time at Walden and could not recommend Walden at all"

Master's Social Work Student

Reviewed: 5/8/2025
Degree: MSW
Graduation Year: 2025

"My professors and instruction through curriculum was great. I am a returning student after many years of a break so it took some time to get used to technology but I learned quickly.The most horrible part of this program is the Field Experience. Coordinators are NOT HELPFUL. Their responses take weeks and they tend to blame students though there is documentation through email. They provide no help securing placement and are hard to reach for guidance while trying to figure it out on your own. The supervisors in this department are worse than the coordinators. Honestly, the Field Experience alone made me want to transfer after my first one.HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE"

basicinstinct

Reviewed: 4/5/2025
Degree: Nursing
Graduation Year: 2026

"If you are planning to do a post master degree here. Don't enroll if you plan to go to commencement. Post grads to not get to walk across the stage. You are not told that you can not participate until you ask about graduation. So all the money you spend, your family will not see you walk across the stage."

Omega-3

Reviewed: 3/25/2025
Degree:
Graduation Year: 2025

"I am leaving Walden because I have no voice. Some professors are great, and others seem bored, inefficient, pompous, and aloof. There is an "I got mine, get yours" energy—a Wizard of Oz mentality, even. For example, one professor never gets back in the timeframe set up by the school and will fail you, but does not know how to clarify what is needed. To add insult to the frustration, my academic advisor acts like they are annoyed when I bring up these points, thus, I have no voice or support. It is the professor's way and that is it. It is shameful that students are minimalized in this manner. I genuinely seek to finish my degree, but this is not the school for me. They couldn't care less about my education or well-being. In this economy, who needs the extra stress?! Don't waste your time! All that glitters is not gold."

Mary didn't have this lamb

Reviewed: 3/21/2025
Degree: Education
Graduation Year: 2025

"WORST SCHOOL EVER! I wish I could give them half a 0-star. Everyone, please do your research, which is something I didn't do until after. I just went with social media. Don't make the same mistake I did. Online schooling is horrible, and their Tempo is a big rip-off. Apart from tech support, no one has proper communication skills at this school. Every week has been a rollercoaster since I started here in November. It's ridiculous how they waste people's time and bill them for it. This was four months that I will never regain, and now I'm going to have to be fishing for another school. I hate this! Thanks for nothing."

J'aime Giaccone

Reviewed: 2/28/2025
Degree: RN to MSN
Graduation Year: 2024

"If I could give Walden University zero stars, I would. I cannot explain enough how awful this school it. There is absolutely no teaching, guidance or help. The professors don't even know how to answer your questions because they probably don't even know what their class actually entails. I had to reach out to the director on numerous occasions because I could not get ahold of my professor for weeks. The exams are solely based off the book which is crap, very unorganized and useless. None of their NP practicum rules are straightforward but again, you can't get ahold of anyone about it. They do not care if you're held back a semester, even if it's a result of their mistake/wrong regulations - yes wrong, they told me some kind of crap about why one of my rotations wasn't approved but when I went to the SBON, they said they had no clue what my school is talking about. One professor flunked one of my assignments and when I asked her to explain what I did wrong, (after going to the director because it had been weeks and she hadn't responded yet), she said it was a "grading error" and fixed the grade to be 100%. Then the last assignment of the semester, she nearly flunked me on even though it was about my own study plan and how my skills improved throughout the semester. Truly a HORRIBLE experience and I DO NOT recommend."

PhdEducation

Reviewed: 11/24/2024
Degree: Higher Education
Graduation Year: 2025

"The Education PhD Program through Walden U was a poor choice. After getting through all of the courses and into the dissertation process, I completed a form requesting a specific professor to be my chair; the professor also informed me they wanted me as their student. However, I was given to an instructor who would not return calls, emails, and other outreach. I received an Unsatisfactory grade after a few terms, and my entire financial aid package was revoked without warning. My GPA (3.6) and attendance were fine; however, an unresponsive/unattentive instructor subjectively offered me a grade that has lost me any chance of continuing for at least the piece of paper. There is no appeal process as most universities have. An absolutely awful way to end a poor experience. Tons of extra debt with nothing to show for it in the end."

Mega

Reviewed: 11/24/2024
Degree: Psychology
Graduation Year: 2025

"Attending this school was a negative experience. PhD advisors department are a joke. Three days later after withdrawal, I wanted come back (I was in almost dissertation). Literally I was rejected not for finantial department, but regular advisors, my advisor never contacted me. Like a punishment, I would have to wait two months. The same after some months. Conclusion, you will be only a number, not empathy, not interst. Make other choices if possible."

Christopher Tuggle

Reviewed: 9/6/2024
Degree: Social Work
Graduation Year: 2027

"This school is a joke. Im not fond of the instuction given. The online social media community is almost unanimously negative. Many students report problems with the internships. Its as though the goal is to enroll as many students as possible despite the institution not having the ability to fulfill its obligation. Getting anything done through support is like pulling teeth. I would never enroll in this school again even if i changed my degree plan to something different. By the way I did change my degree plan upon leaving the school because my experience was that bad overall. You decide you want to help people and enroll in social work and they completely ruined it. But hey im better off now."

Max

Reviewed: 9/4/2024
Degree: Accounting
Graduation Year: 2017

"The extreme costs result in no Return on Investment. Want debt? This is the place to get it. Make an honest mistake on bill payment and immediately turned over to collection with no courtesy of a call or opportunity to understand what is happening. Seemingly motivated by money rather than education."

Tanya McCullough

Reviewed: 8/23/2024
Degree: Nurse Practitioner (Adult-Gerontology Acute Care)
Graduation Year: 2024

"I chose Walden University for convenience. I currently work as a practicing nurse practitioner and wanted to obtain a post masters certificate to advance my career. From the beginning, I had difficulties with the university. After I started classes, I was told I needed substantially more clinical hours every quarter than had been previously discussed during the admission process. This is something my advisor should have know ahead of time. I am currently attempting to take my national boards through ANCC which requires Walden University to fill out a form verifying my education and clinical hours. The form was filled out incorrectly and I am waiting for them to correct their mistakes and return the form.Throughout my year at Walden, there seemed to be one technical mishap after another which caused more work on my part as I spent a lot of time on the phone with IT, sending emails, and resubmitting assignments. My graduation was actually held up because the system said I did not complete my clinical hours despite my instructors certifying that I had enough clinical hours to graduate. The online clinical simulator program is tedious, not user friendly, and does a poor job corelating with what you would experience in real world practice. I did well in the program only because I am a practicing nurse practitioner. The instruction was poor and the guidelines were sometimes outdated. Much of what I did was through self learning. There is no way I would have come out of this program as a competent and safe new nurse practitioner with adequate skills to practice medicine."

Jillian M.

Reviewed: 8/10/2024
Degree: Human Services
Graduation Year: 2024

"I just finished my summer quarter and heading into my final quarter at Walden before graduating. I have to say, I had a wonderful experience at Walden. First off, the counselor that supported me since day 1 is AMAZING. She calls to check in once a quarter to see my progress and discuss my courses. I had no issues with financial aid and all my money disbursed and I got refunded as well. The professors I worked with are extremely helpful and took time to help. They also left great critiques on my assignments and discussion posts that help me for future assignments. They graded all assignments and discussion posts on time. No issues at all. I'm even recommending the Bachelor's program to my husband as well since he works full time. I was able to almost complete my Masters while working a full time job, taking care of my daughter and my elderly mother, and being a devoting wife. It's possible with great time management, hard work, and patience. Thank you, Walden for an amazing experience. One more quarter to go and I will be a Masters Degree holder! :)"

Sherri Rollins

Reviewed: 8/4/2024
Degree: Counseling
Graduation Year: 2025

"Walden University have been a pleasant surprise. I read a few reviews and worried that I wouldn't enjoy the experience. I really enjoy the the classes the rigor the professors are tough but they are flexible if you communicate.i love the Acdemic Skills lessons and I really enjoy the Skill Setter practice software. The simulations are amazing!! I highly recommend Walden University."

Shannon Lea

Reviewed: 7/29/2024
Degree: Business Administration
Graduation Year: 2024

"As a current Master's Tempo student at Walden University, I encourage potential students to thoroughly research not only Walden but also consider other universities as academic resources before applying. My experience as an MBA student at Walden has been disappointing, underwhelming, and a complete waste of significant financial investment.First, the "educators" at Walden are referred to as SMEs (Subject Matter Experts), which seems to be a way to avoid actually educating and instead act as glorified paper-graders. These SMEs are often unwilling to provide guidance or insight into their feedback. When they feel challenged, their response is to stop responding to inquiries for clarification.When asked for further edification on subjects that are not comprehensible, SMEs typically direct students to the Writing Review Center or send a link to a video on paper structure, rather than explaining what could improve the submission for future real-world application.For example, I was told by an SME that the company I was researching was not a reliable source for its own mission and vision. Instead, I was advised to use a ratings and review platform as a more accurate and credible resource. When I asked the individual overseeing the Tempo program to explain this directive, he stated, "Companies lie all the time. If you go to the webpage for the flat-earther society, you will see that." When I questioned if this comparison was reasonable, given that the company I was researching is publicly traded, and why the company would lie about its mission and vision but an unrelated website wouldn't, he became defensive and refused to answer.Another SME told me to make changes to a paper simply because she wanted me to, even though these changes were not aligned with the rubric. Additionally, the individual overseeing the program has encouraged me not to ask questions and to just make the changes to my papers without understanding the "why." His instruction was to follow the SME's way in school but do it my way in real life.My reason for choosing Walden was not due to it being a reputable institution or one that would reflect well on a resume; instead, I went with the cheaper option. I am learning the very hard way that cheaper is not better. Had I known this would be my experience in the beginning, I would have avoided this institution at all costs.Please heed a current student's warning that there are far better college institutions out there that may be slightly more expensive, but the education you will receive elsewhere is going to be far superior."

T.John Shannon

Reviewed: 7/12/2024
Degree: Nurse Practitioner (Psychiatric-Mental Health)
Graduation Year: 2024

"I read negative reviews about Walden before I enrolled, however against my better judgment I used the fact that they had rolling enrollment to entice me into choosing them. What an absolute mistake and I regret being too impatient to wait for another institution's fall enrollment. The quality of instruction is very poor. I have always believed that you get out of your schooling what you put into it, and that's another one of the reasons I went ahead and enrolled. I cannot call any of the instructor "professor" because they do not teach or guide. They do not give feedback. They by-and-large do not reply to e-mails. I have always been an A student, through undergrad and through another masters degree program I completed, I have never gotten less than an A. Indeed, here at Walden I have a 4.0 but unfortunately I haven't learned anything. The biggest issue are the prime courses (pathophysiology, pharmacology, and then your MSN specialization courses) all have midterms and finals. You take the exam and then you get a score. You are not allowed to review the exam to see what you got right or wrong. Also problematic is that every single exam I have taken has had multiple errors on it - some exams have questions with no correct answer. Some have questions repeated multiple times throughout the exam. Some questions have all the multiple choice answers the same so I know that the reliability and validity of the exams is not good. As a student you don't know what you don't know until you don't know it and to not be able to review an exam takes away one of the biggest ways a student can learn. I am at the end of the program and I have had to spend $1000 on a review course and review guides in order to be able to learn content and complete practice exams where I can get feedback. If you have any other options for your education, please take them. I cannot give Walden any credit for preparing me for the boards. It is a waste of money, but I was already halfway into the program when I realized the full extent of the mistake I had made by going here and I just absolutely couldn't transfer out and have to repeat courses so I stuck with it."

Alicia

Reviewed: 6/6/2024
Degree: Psychology
Graduation Year: 2027

"Doctoral student, the Walden University, is not recommended. I very much agree with many of the published reviews. I decided to withdraw from Walden University for several reasons, among the most serious, the amount of biased details. They have everything very well studied. At the beginning of your doctorate, your Ph.D. advisor will treat you wonderfully, until you get closer to your Dissertation process, in which they will ignore you. then they will change for the worse. Instructors who will criticize your work more, the Dean on duty who will not work for your success or concerns if you have a problem, and the advisor who will ignore any issue you ask about. And all that, because you will already be close to the dissertation, which will also be eternal in time and cost for the student. In my case, they also confused me about the end date of the degree."

Ashley E.

Reviewed: 5/25/2024
Degree: Business
Graduation Year: 2026

"I recently made the best decision to move on from Walden University. I have to express my disappointment with the quality of education and the support services provided by the institution.Trying to gain support from advisors and other staff has been highly frustrating. The responses are slow whenever I reach out for advisory information or assistance, and the guidance is often vague and unhelpful. The advisors seem to be only there for the check and unable to provide the support students need. To make matters worse, whenever I call for help, I am reminded that the calls are recorded for quality assurance. This feels more like a way to protect the university rather than genuinely improving support quality.Another primary concern is the university's apparent focus on funding over student success. There is a strong emphasis on tuition and fees, and it often feels like the institution cares more about revenue than the educational outcomes of its students. The people in the financial aid office are shady and unprofessional. Scholarships and financial aid are hard to come by, and there is little transparency about how funds are allocated.My experience at Walden University has been disappointing due to the inadequately prepared professors, lack of effective support from advisors, and the overwhelming sense that the institution prioritizes funding over education. I hope the university takes these concerns seriously and makes necessary improvements to serve its students better."