Can any recent students or graduates from Capella University share their experience?

I have been trying to look up reviews on this school but have had no luck on anything recent. If anyone attended this school or knows about this school can you share your experience and thoughts on Capella University, also whether or not you would recommend this school? I would love to hear some one who personally attended and what their take on Capella is as am unsure whether i should go for it and attend their school since i have read a lot of bad reviews but nothing really recent. would you recommend it? What other online schools do you recommend for IT if not Capella?

Thanks everyone!

 

Hi HI243,

Welcome to Degree Info! Here's why your posts don't show up right away: http://www.degreeinfo.com/general-distance-learning-discussions/35100-new-users-ask-where-did-my-posts-go.htmla

Capella is a great online school, one of the best. I attended Capella for a while, and found it to be a great experience. The problem with Capella is the fact that it is really expensive. There are other cheaper options out there. I left Capella only because I found cheaper options.

Those school review sites are almost always negatively skewed. Look up any school you can think of and you will see predominately bad reviews. They end up being a place for washouts to vent, I don't put much faith in them.

 

Blackbird got his PhD in Family Psychology at Capella.
Shawn Ambrose got his PhD in Human Resources at Capella.
PM them.

 

Thanks so kindly for your feedback i appreciate it so much, i feel lost at the moment whether or not i should commit to them and their bachelor's program due to everything i have read in those sites been nothing but negativity including some lawsuit about a student or so on. I have found many students blame their institutions of education for their own misfortunes no matter where you go. That is why i am trying my best to do as much research as i possibly can before commitment. but now i feel much more at ease after your recent thoughts on the subject thank you. Capella seems like a great school they are accredited even by ABET which seems somewhat difficult to find in online universities.

Also, if you dont mind me asking what other online universities would you recommend? I am terribly worried of student loans and debt but higher education unfortunately comes with a price :frown:

thanks a bunch for responding :wave:

 

HI243,

As Ted mentioned, I have a PhD from Capella. For the record, my degree is in organization/management, not HR (although my dissertation discussed why soldiers left the military - which would work in an HR program )

First off, there was a lawsuit filed by a former Capella student by the name of Jeff LaMarca. LaMarca was dismissed from Capella due to violations of the Capella University Code of Conduct. LaMarca filed a lawsuit, which was tossed out by the US District Court. Capella University settles counterclaim lawsuit against former learner

OK - you want to major in IT. Do you have any college, or are you starting from scratch?

Have you looked at community colleges in your area?

Have you looked at state universities in your state?

I mention community colleges and in-state schools first, because as Surf Doctor notes, there could be less expensive options. Capella University provided me with an excellent education, but at the doctoral level, the options for online PhDs are limited.

Look at local options first, then check out geteducated.com for online options.

Good luck!

 

Hi there,

So nice to meet someone who attended the University. To answer some of your questions, i hold an associates degree and seeking to further my education to the next level for a bachelor. My options are EXTREMELY limited i travel A LOT due to my husband, he is active duty military. Where we are located at the moment there is literally only one college with little to no options in what i am looking for and there is only one University in the whole island (we are literally in an island in the middle of nowhere) so there are not many options for me. I also wanted to attend a university within the US since that is our home and we will be planning to eventually stay there when we stop the moving around.

I did a lot of research and kept deciding on capella with their acreditations i am convinced am just worried how people say that distance learning emloyers dont take their diplomas seriously and how many graduates from capella employers barely consider and even dont bother to look at their degrees and all this nonesense ive been reading online. I figured as long as it is regionally accredited there should not be a problem.

thanks so much for responding i really appreciate all your feedback so much!

 

Oops. Sorry for the mistaken info about your degree title.

 

Mathguy got his PhD jn IT Management at Capella.

 

I have not attended Capella but am considering them for a PhD in IT as someone already noted there are very few online PhD's. From my research they seem to be a decent school. There are tons of online Bachelors (and Masters) programs in IT that are much cheaper, and better in my opinion, then Capella.

I went to Thomas Edison (all online) for my Bachelors in Computer Science. I did lots of CLEP and DSST exams so my total cost for a Bachelor's degree was under $12,000. I now have one more semester left for my Master's in Computer Science (all online) at Univ. of Illinois-Springfield for a total of $13,000.

 

If I was a spouse of active military I would pick LU. Spouses get the same discount as the military. It's 250 a credit hour for all levels. LU stands for Liberty University.

 

Trident (some hate the school) offers flexiable degree programs and a discount for military. Being a military spouse, I would explore Charter Oak, Thomas Edison, or Excelsior and use CLEP examines to finish most of the degree. It would be faster and cheaper to earn a bachelors that way. At any rate, I would avoid Capella at a BS level. there are a lot of cheaper options out there.

 

This is one of the best places to find honest answers about schools. Forget those school review websites unless you can filter out all of the losers venting their frustrations.

I have an undergraduate degree from a traditional university, two graduate degrees from National University and one graduate degree from Liberty University. I have also enrolled and dropped out of doctoral programs at Capella, Northcentral University, Walden and University of Phoenix until I finally settled on Liberty University.

I can not say enough good things about Liberty University. It was the best experience of my academic career and about half the price of Capella.

Student debt is a serious issue and you are wise to be worried. The best advice is to finish as many units as you can at a local community college. My daughter did this, then transferred to UCLA and will graduate in about 6 months spending less than 1/3 what it would have cost her (me). Many members of Degree Info regularly recommend Excelsior College and Charter Oak State College as some of the more economical options. Both are fully, regionally accredited just like traditional state and private universities. Both schools are also fairly open minded about transferring lots of units in. There are other good choices and it is likely that someone else will bring them up.

___________________________________

 

Hi243, are you in the American Military by any chance?

 

My husband is in the US Military yes, i am not military myself though.

Hi everyone! Thanks so kindly for all the feedback and helpful advice.

I looked into all the universities mentioned so far in this thread, however none have the degree i am looking for. The degree i want to do in specific not many online universities offer it at least none of the ones i have looked in to and if they do it is at an associates level and not a bachelor's level and i have been doing a ton of research and Capella seems to suit me the best so far. Western governors university has the program i am interested in and it seems legit but they require an internship which is excellent and of course as you have realized on my previous reply due to where we are stationed there is little to no opportunity for internship. It is so frustrating trying to advance education wise and have such little to no options in this place. Capella gave me a discount of everything as well as a grant that i can use for been a military spouse which is better than nothing. The total of how much it would cost me came out to be no different in price for my second option which was WGU and Capella is accredited by ABET while WGU is not at least i dont see it on their site. I am really stuck in deciding what to do but Capella seems to be the most flexible for my limited options in my current situation. I don't even know when we would be going back to the states and it is pretty hard and devastating to wait so many years to continue my education and have a career of my own as well.

 

Sorry, I missed the part about your husband being in the military. Is the military grant substantial? If it would cover a respectable percentage of your tuition, then Capella would be an excellent choice. It is one of the best of the online schools, just pricey.

 

This is a valid point and goes for the wives of veterans also. I haven't seen a drill sergeant in 23 years, but my wife still gets a military discount as she enters her graduate program at LU.

 

If my wife ever starts a degree program chances are it will be at LU (I'm a veteran). I'm not going more out of pocket for a lesser school. LU has a wonderful campus and plays sports. These are factors in how well a school is known or perceived.

 

Devry also considers military spouses and they charge $250 per credit : "If you are currently serving as an active-duty member, guardsmen, or reservist military personnel serving in any of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, you and your spouse are eligible for DeVry University's special military pricing. Tuition charges for military students per semester credit hour of $250 per credit hour."

I am, however unfamiliar with Devry any thoughts on this school anyone? Is Devry a legit worthy school and would you recommend this school? They have 2 programs i am interested in but are they legit?

SurfDoctor,

Capella offers me a 15% discount for overall tuition for been a military spouse etc as well as the $6,000 grant for enrollment before October which is fine with me as i want to start school within a month (i know is bait) but it works for me i guess.

Now so far Capella is a go, but now am looking to see some thoughts in Devry for you knowledgeable distance learning folks.
During my search I never really considered Devry before because of one of my husband's friends graduated from there and had a difficult experience receiving her diploma after graduation. But everyone's situation is different and i am unsure of her full story as it was a very long time ago.

Now i am thinking to see if Devry is worth it? I would pay $250 per credit for a bachelor and close to nothing for an associates. Its affordable. Some of their programs are also ABET accredited.

Anyone know anything about Devry? Any thoughts, or advice on them?

Thanks everyone i really appreciate all the information and thoughts and for taking your time in responding.

 

What degree program are you looking for? And who is your target audience? I personally wouldn't recommend any of the schools your looking at. For-Profit Uni's have a bad stigma. I would attend a State school or a Private Non-Profit.

 

Thank you, i am interested in the Health Information Technology program. Any thoughts? I am interested in a bachelor's degree in Health Information technology and so far at a bachelor level Capella seems to be the one offering it, other than that i just keep seen health information management or administration elsewhere for a bachelor. I am new to the IT field and i feel i want to do IT but in a Healthcare setting. I have seen very few bachelors in health information technology but i wouldn't want to go ahead with a university that is not valued or considered by employers this is my worry.

Lately my enrollment counselor at Capella is so eager to enroll me its frustrating and it is making me want to just abandon them as i am still doing my research and really considering my options and he automatically enrolled me to start next Monday after i told him for next month which is upsetting as i still have a lot to take care of before i start and he said its fine i can always just drop the course before the financial aid drop date or something as to not be charged after i told him it is too soon! So am already a little upset at this pushiness as i am still researching my degree and all this things that they do not clarify before actually enrolling. Wherever i ask about a degree automatically they ask for my info to start the process without explaining details first. this i absolutely hate. so frustrating