American Public University

Hard work and self-discipline are required when taking online courses. I worked my butt off and had earned both a BA and an MA in History at APUS. I found the majority of Professors I had to be very helpful and did not experience anywhere near the issue's others have posted on this site with my classes, and or for that matter, Financial Aid either. Over the years I have attended brick and mortar schools, both traditional and expedited, and can tell you I never had to work as hard to accomplish my goals. It took self-discipline and determination to achieve what I did not expect others to hand over.

Honestly, if you want to attend a reputable college and receive your funding on time, stay far away from this university! The financial aid department is horrible! No one seems to care that they are playing with your money and that you are depending on those funds. You will continuously have problems with the financial aid department. Your funds will not be disbursed on time and you will not receive the amount you anticipated (that is stated on your ledger). You will experience great stress dealing with individuals who are supposed to be professional in this department. Please, do yourself a favor, and stay far away from all the hassles that the financial aid department hands out. Oh, one last thing, do not expect any reply back from the school, especially the financial aid department, if you email them. Your efforts are worthy and justified, but the response back is nonexistent.

I am a little over my second year into taking classes at APUS. I have no idea what any of these negative reviews are talking about, in the time I have been here the staff have made everything easy for me. From applying and enrolling to classes, to my financial aid, to actually taking the courses. I saw someone state that they will pass anyone? That is definitely not the case for me. I struggled hard in my last math class but luckily passed because my instructor worked with me endlessly to help me understand how to do the work. In fact, all of my professors have been quick to answer any questions and assist when needed. I have by no means been passed easily, I have to actually put in work to pass my classes. A lot of people do not seem to understand that choosing an online education requires YOU to have dedication and time management, etc. The fact that people are mad about this is beyond me. I think if you are someone who is determined to achieve their goals and not just someone that expects to put in the least amount of work possible then this school is great. All these negative reviews are quite baffling and some even seem fake...

I see a lot of people complaining about this college for various reason. Mostly saying that it is a scam and a waste of money, well welcome to collage kids, every collage is a scam just trying to get your money. In todays world it doesn't matter if you went to Harvard or APU. If you have a degree and do the job good you will be hired.

I also see people saying that you do not learn from APU, well its an online school, learning is the students responsibility, you get what you put into it, if you want to excel at your field of study than research and do well, if you want to gaff it off and not learn anything then do so and don't succeed anywhere in your field.

For those people who claim that the instructors never give students the time of day. Again its an online school and the student needs to be self motivated. As someone who has attended other collages and sat in classes I didn't get much one on one time with those teachers either.

Bottom line is you get what you put into it, if you are trying to better yourself and progress in a career than APU is great start. I bet you don't ask your doctor where they got their degree. If it can get you going into the next step of life then what wrong with that. I currently love APU and will be using it as a stepping stone to reach my personal goals.

Please be aware, it's not $0 out of pocket for graduate students, as advertised. It will cost $85 per class out of pocket for their "technology fee". This is very poorly advertised, but they will charge you out of pocket for this, and it's super frustrating as no one tells you until you enroll in the classes. Ensure you're cognizant of this when selecting universities. I wish I would've been!

I found most courses to be pretty easy to get through but when I ran into issues with how quizzes were graded from a Mr. William Whitley who is an instructor that won't allow anyone to see what they get incorrect or correct for that matter on their tests. I complained and absolutely no one would help find a solution. I was treated like a student and with no regard. I followed all the procedures to make my complaint but heard nothing back. I know from personal experience that seeing incorrect answers on homework and tests helps me to understand where I went wrong and what I need to either review again or change. Sometimes, most of the time, it's an error due to how the system wants to see the number vs an actual incorrect answer. I would recommend finding a school that is much more focused on teaching their students rather than just whizzing them through the courses, good, bad or indifferent.

Your money is paying for access to power points. There are no lectures. Just power points and reading. Teachers aren't really teachers, just pros in their field (allegedly). I hope you like writing. You will have to write an essay every $#*!ing week and then research papers on top of it. I AM SO $#*!ING TIRED OF WRITING PAPERS. You do not get your monies worth. You are literally paying for access to power points that could be summed up in a $#*!ing YouTube video. DO NOT DO IT.

Instructor FiFi selects students to elevate and others to suppress. Even though my assigned APA style essays and papers were correct, this instructor choose the grades she thought each student should receive. She showed favoritism to the students with European names and scam points of students without European names. This school and its instructors are biased towards students. This is not only insulting it is illegal and requires legal action.

Do not attend this so called university. The stories of financial aid problems are all true. They implemented a new computer system in July of 2013. My aid from last November has still not credited to my account. I received an email from them yesterday saying "we have no solution for the issue with your account and do not know when it will be resolved." In other words, there is no reason for me to stay at APU. They hang up on you, get angry that you dare ask about YOUR money, don't respond to emails and generally do not care. Every department does this. They care NOTHING about their students. This school needs to be investigated for fraud and shut down. RUN FROM THIS CORRUPT SCHOOL!

If you are a student who depends on financial aid to attend college... stay FAR away from this university! They have told me differing stories and lies regarding my financial aid over the past two semesters and NO one at the school can keep their story and facts straight. I had repeatedly asked the school if I would receive my financial aid to pay for my last semester and was assured that I would... then all of a sudden they tell me that I am not eligible for financial aid and are sticking me with a bill for tution. If they had been honest and told me that there was even a remote chance that I could not receive aid to pay for the semester, I would NOT have enrolled! Yet, they wait to tell me that I cannot get aid until I have been past the time for any refund or drop dates, ensuring that they can bill me for tution! This school is loaded with scammers that work for the financial aid department! My advice... stay far away unless you wanna pay dearly!

So I guess it is true, the financial aid department said I owed three different amounts at three different times. They have no idea what they are doing... The lady wouldn't even explain to me what they did, she had to have someone else explain it to me. It was so wrong. Went the whole year without issues, but then boom they went psycho. Then they tried to give me a refund, but then I noticed I owed the same amount they were trying to get back. So I just don't know what to say about this place. I will continue for one more year, but after that I am done with this school! Gonna transfer to somewhere else.

You couldn't believe what I saw. Rampant plagiarism without any penalty--all they want is the money. Students coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq who weren't able to concentrate, yet the school kept them "on the hook" by allowing them to withdraw term after term, while charging them each new class. This is truly a horrible university. They don't update classes and don't provide textbooks (or ones that aren't 10 years old). I have never been more embarrassed to work for a university. The only good thing were the students, whom I loved--and who I feel so sorry for because they'll never get a job from this crap-show of a university. Total diploma mill.

Apus is definitely not a scam but the quality of courses is very erratic. I first enrolled in the MPH program and was shocked to see that several courses such as Public Health Ethics had nothing to do with population-based health but were obviously re-purposed from the Nursing program because they addressed individual patient care situations. You are left on your own to find a practicum - good luck with that if you live in small cities or rural areas. I then transferred to another degree program and teacher involvement is very erratic. Most will respond reactively, a few get very involved - and a minority not at all. I had one instructor who made not one comment and on the final 15 page paper, wrote "Looks great! You had a bibliography" and then attached the name of a different course. I personally found the Forums to be unhelpful - most students just regurgitate what the text said with no insights. But if you are self-motivated and aggressively seek out resources, you can turn it to your advantage.