Penn Foster Career School

First of all, this school is only for people with willpower, independent learners, and organization. If you are struggling with mental health, finances, or family issues this school is not for you. They treat you better if you pay in full, the material is mostly read online and it is not updated. I do not like reading online, and recently, the e-book of the program is not available anymore for download. The exams were confusing, I am doing my Externship writing skills before applying to the externship... Read More which makes no sense. They send it back saying it was lacking information while in fact, I wrote what was in their material. I personally felt that this is a school for students that are heroes, not the average person that needs a boost for entering a marketplace like me (after staying 10 years as a stay-at-home mother). I would recommend it only if I know the person is very smart, organized, and have strong willpower.

I chose Penn Foster because it seemed affordable and listed everything I needed to know on site, so I wasn't bombarded by phone calls and emails from recruiters. I knew how much it would cost upfront and that I could pay in monthly installments was another deciding factor. I chose medical billing and coding and at first it seemed that I was going to learn specifically about this career path, until I passed the intro and went on to the next course. It's just fluff, basic math(fractions, addition,... Read More multiplication, division, subtraction, etc) and then there's grammar. I just wanted to learn medical billing and coding, not do everything I did in elementary and high school. I just want a course that's to the point and teaches me what I need to know for the career path I'm choosing, not fluff. I'm highly considering stopping this and cutting my losses. This course is set for two years but I just read that you can get your certification within 9 months, so maybe if Penn Foster cut the fluff, I wouldn't be wasting my time. This doesn't pay my present bills, so the sooner I have a certification, the better, and two years for a certification is just excessive. The courses and reviews are unorganized as well. In the intro section, the key take away notes and definitions were easy to find, record, and follow in each section. Now, they're all listed at the end of the lesson in one jumbled mess instead of the section they're supposed to be in. The flashcards they have are copy and pasted with the word of what you're trying to memorize stated plainly in the definition, so what's the point in trying to memorize it if it's already there?

I took the Microsoft office training and was very satisfied with the course as some of the other reviewers here have said you're not going to get your hand held you're not going to get spoon fed I had no issues with helper support and the training did help me in my career I would say if you want to go to a trade school like plumbing electrician or something like that you may get more hands on at an actual technical center however for office like work the school met my needs and did what they said... Read More they were going to do just make sure that you are disciplined and can dedicate the time it is not a nursery school it is a training environment from my money Penn Foster did fine

Hey Guys, I’m a graduate of Penn Foster High School (2014) and plan on taking a college course in engineering here very soon. All I can say is this school forged in me the drive for self improvement and education. Being a SELF PACED curriculum you HAVE TO BE DISCIPLINED, that has always been they’re claim to fame and it works IF you stick to it, it puts YOU in control of your future. I wonder sometimes where I would be without this school, being ADD I struggle with focus, discipline and concentration... Read More daily which makes me living proof that this school teaches you more then just what’s needed to pass….it also teaches you discipline, perseverance and an almost “unhealthy” drive to excel😉 traits that help you throughout your whole life. Trust me I would be in a bad place and probably never have reached where I am today without Penn Foster. Thank you.

I took the computer programming languages course in the java section i kept getting a plagiarism message on one of my quizzes. I tried to call the intructors and no response. The person that said its easier to communicate with the president over the instructors is true. When i called to withdraw from the course customer service picked up the my call quick. I payed the remaining balance so it wont affect my credit and quit the class. Two things i realized on this school make sure the course is uptodate... Read More what they taught me were teaching me was java, visual basic, and database the class included two books and an online printout. If i knew this is what i was getting and the headache with support i would of bought the books online at cheaper rate and done them on the side. My best recomendation is do your own investigation look at their curriculum of the class interested and look at the books they supply with each class. In their website Under the course u can see which text books they offer in curriculum. 2 if the books are not the latest or few years off you will be learning old things but not uptodate. 3 see if you can sit for licensure it will say within the class section. Accreditation and licensure is very important for lots of jobs in the real world. Do your homework before going with penn foster. Your local community college or training center might be best deal. I ended up learning the language i needed by buying coding books on amazon updated my resume got a job offer on what i learned with the coding book. If you are self taught and disciplined u can learn by yourself. Managers i spoke with with some many people graduating with not experience they look for licensure taken after college through national licensing centers to know they are prepared for the career of their choice. Not all courses offer licensures at the end of their corresponding class but usually those are easier to get entry level jobs without. For my programming job all i need was to prove the interviewing i understood the code what was wrong or missing and also i made a porfolio or the different codes i worked on my own time.

I learn best through hands on work and visuals like pictures and videos. This course offered little of those. For example, they'd talk about certain cuts but then not even have a picture of what they're talking about or how it's suppose to look. How is that helpful in anyway? They expect you to understand it just from a description? So now I have to pretty much learn through various youtube videos what I'm suppose to be learning in this class, taking up even more of my time. I don't recommend this... Read More course at all. Such a waste of money and time. It's so stupid.