Anthem Institute Reviews

"I regret ever even considering this school; they have no one that is qualified for staff or teaching.There is no structure in this school it looks af if the students run the school and not the staff. Even thought this school has been rcently takenover I don't forsee any good coming from this place. The teachers are absolutly UNQUALIFIED This is a jole of a school and I WOULD NEVER EVER RECOMMEND ANYONE TO THIS PLACE.VERY VERY unstable all over the olace. And I think the dean is the biggest joke of all. She has no clue as to how things should be run and put under control. This school is OUT of CONTROL espicially whre the instructors and staff are concerned Students have the upper hand bottom line very dosorganized and the educationlevel is not what we pay for. BIGG RIP OFF. I feel as if I wasted all this time and money for NOTHING."

"Anthem Institute is the worst example of a "college" I've ever seen. The entire staff is incompitent they tell you they're going to do something & they never do. No one has comminication with each other. I had no teacher by the third day of class & that went on for 2 months. Then they threw this girl in that obviously never taught before that was a medical assistant.. we were in the billing & coding class. She had no idea anything we were doing she couldn't even answer our questions & they let her stay for a month then we got fed up & complained enough they took her out & we had no teacher for another month. Then they got someone who I couldn't even understand but she left cause she saw how shady this school was. Finally my last month of classes they hired someone who was qualified for the job & she was very good at it but it didn't help me much because of the ridiculous ciriculum she was teaching things I already learned. I would never recemend this school to anyone even my worst enemy! Safe yourself tens of thousands of dollars & 8 months of aggrivation"

"Please heed my advice and keep your distance from this "college". I attended Anthem college for Medical Assisting from 2008-2009. The supplies, instructors, lesson plans including lab work were inadequate for optimal learning to say the least. I maintained a 4.0 the entire program. My externship finally came to be, and let me tell you I was totally unprepared. With help and further education from the staff at my externship, I successfully completed my externship & graduated at the top of my class. The doctor I worked with told me of the horrible lack of knowledge associated with graduates from Anthem were the worst she has ever seen. The career placement they deviously promised was not there for me or my fellow classmates when we graduated...I imagine it's hard to place students when the college has such a terrible reputation..after all, I believe that's why their name was changed..Sorry guys but you're not fooling anyone with your new name! They're liars. Medical assisting is not as in demand as they professed it to be, and most settings want at least 1-2 years prior experience in the field and be bilingual speaking Spanish and English(I was denied a job for not speaking Spanish). I wanted to further my education to better provide for my special needs son, but now I feel with all the debt I've accrued from this SCAM of a college, I've let him down.So here I am, 3 years since graduation..no job, and thousands in debt.Thanks Anthem, for absolutely NOTHING but debt and immense frustration!"

"I absolutely hate this school with every bone in my body. Within the first 6 months, of my 9 month program, we have received 7 teachers. Surprisingly everyone is less qualified than the last. The worst part about this school is that the staff is just as bad! None of them are qualified and should not run a school. Our dean to the school has a medical assistant certificate. Can someone please explain to me why and how she was put into such a high position? It would be one thing if she had the personality or the intelligence to be a dean but instead we have students that are more qualified than she is. Every day we go to class and expect chaos. The structure of the programs are not ideal and cause the students to fall behind. Our tests are from 4-5 years ago and have very little relevance to our careers. Rather than having our teachers (whom have worked in the field of interest) make the test and curriculum, our brainless dean keeps us doing the same work from previous years. This school is a complete waste of 15,000 and should be shut down for the money scam it is apart of. Any one reading this should go else where. Honestly, I would trust a shady online certificate more than this mess of the "school"."

"I am currently a student at Anthem in Parsippany and I am loving it. My instructor is great, school staff are so nice and helpful! There is always snacks for the students and events. They are helping me write my resume. I am getting great grades because class is interesting!I have no idea why people complain about this school. I wouldn't want to go anywhere else!"

"I went to high tech institute. Which is now these schools. Let me start off by saying everything I have seen about these schools are true. They just renamed them to anthem institute. Same problems I had back in 2004 they are still having. So anything bad you read about this school is true. One more they If they tell you that you can come back anytime to help you learn more about your field for free is a lie. At one time they did IT class when they don't give them anymore so i can't go back."

"I started Anthem Institute right after having a baby. I'm so glad I went back to school for Medical Assisting but if I could go back I would have chosen a different school. Anthem Institute does not certify you you just graduate with a "diploma". In the time that I was in Anthem Institute I had FOUR different teachers. They would hire somebody and fire them a month later. The other staff was CONSTANTLY changing also. Because of this we didn't get the full education that we shoud have. We were promised they would go over resumes and job interviews but they were so caught up in the "Anthem drama" of hiring and firing people that half the time we didn't even have a teacher to do this stuff and we never did. I graduated with a 4.0 and I worked very hard while I was there. When I took my certification test I studied my notes front to back and the books they gave us. I also googled multiple things on my own and I also reviewed the certification books. I would say only 15 percent of the test were what we went over in class and in our notes. I passed it but because I worked hard to study by myself. Anthem did not prepare us AT ALL. Other schools prep you for the certification test and offer it. Go to one of these schools. Anthem does not prepare you at all. You are completely on your own to take the certification test and it does cost 100 dollars. (Which wouldn't have been so bad if they prepared us for ANYTHING on it) And as much as they tell you there are jobs open in this career, there isn't. Without your certification you have no chance of finding a job. They also promised they'd set you up with an interview after you were done with school for the rest of your career. This is a blantant lie. People told me this that had graduated from Anthem and it is true. I've been job hunting on my own (to no luck) but I've been emailing the school for MONTHS and they haven't found me ONE job interview. I'm glad I went to school because I'm hoping something will come up and I'm glad I accomplished something for myself. At the end of the day though I am just stuck with a huge student loan right now and NOTHING to show for it."

"My first impressions of this school were very good. However, my first class was taught by someone very knowledgeable in his field but virtually had no teaching skills. Rumor had it that he was let go because he drank on campus during his break. The remainder of my experience has gone down further still. Yet another instructor with very little teaching experience who has no control over herself or her students. Overall, this school needs an overhaul in Medical Assisting personnel right down to the Dean of the school who doesn't think she has to justify her actions to the individuals that are paying her salary. This school is a hot mess!! There are two instructors that are excellent in this school and they are both medical professionals out in the field as well. They should be the only instructors teaching Medical Assisting at this location."

"I had recently moved accross the U.S. to get away from Family problems. I had started applying for a CNA program at a Community College back in my Home State (WA), and the program seemed quite rediculous for being only a 3 month program. It did not seem like it would be a serious program to learn what I needed in the 3 months it takes to be a CNA. So I decided I would not go to that Community College after all When I got offered by a friend to help me pay to move, (when he heard how harsh my Family was being, and how hard I was working to get into College, and how I just couldnt find one that had what was needed to become a CNA) We talked about the pros and cons of moving accross the Country on such short notice. We decided I would do it. So I went ahead and moved. From the day after I arrived here I had been searching for a CNA program by requesting information online. The first College to contact me was Anthem Institute. They were very polite and offered me an interview the same week to talk about their Medical Assistant Program. I agreed that after discussing with them what a MA does it would definitely be a better career for me to take on. So the Advisor gave me a tour of the Campus. I really liked the look of the Campus. So I agreed that after finishing the interview, the assesment test to get accepted, and getting the results on the test (which was really easy), I would come back and pay the application fee the next week. My advisor was very on top of making sure everything was getting done correctly and that I was being seen about everything I needed in a timely manner. I am currently waiting on my Family or Foster Care Program I was in for seven years before I turned 18 to fax me the paperwork I need to complete my Federal Aid. I will start in May if I have this paperwork. But so far it is failing, but that is not the reason I am writing this Review. I need to know if anyone has any Opinions or Comments about Anthem Institute before I do start that may help me to be fully successful in my Education to become a Medical Assistant. Thank You. (and I dont mean to bother any one by what I am reporting, if it does, that was not my intention, I am just being honest about my story, no harm intended. I do apologize if it does bother you.)"

"I can not believe some of these negative reviews I am reading as I look through this. From the admissions process all the way to the placement and graduation I had a great experience with Anthem. Trust me, I could probably pick out the classmates writing some of these bad reviews because they want everything handed to them. I am a single mom and was able to go to school on a flexible schedule and now I am working as a Certified Medical Assistant and loving it. They even offer the certification test at the Cherry Hill campus. To anyone reading through this website please remember that with a career training school you have to put your own effort into it as well. If you take this on with the right mind set there is no reason why you can not be successful. I know several other graduate from the Cherry Hill campus that are doing well in their career in the different programs they trained in. We still keep in touch and I found life time friends at school. Thank you to the Cherry Hill campus for helping me achieve what I have been wanting to do for a while!"

"I was desperate to start a career that would be fullfilling to myself. I chose Anthem because it was close to my home and a friend of mine went there and she finished so quickly.If i had to do it all over again, i would not go to Anthem. I took the program seariously, i was a 4.0 student, but the school was a joke. It was like enrolling into a high school. The students definetly rule the school, its hard to get the proper training you need to assist you in your future career. I am a recent graduate,looking for a job, i don't feel like my schooling prepared me at all for my career. Everything i learned i learned on my externship that the school set up for me. In reality you could volunteer at a Doctors office, ask them to train you to be a Medical Assistant, and take the CMA exam on your own. It will save you a lot of money."

"They did what they said they would. they trained me ,helped with my resume ,my interviewing skills ,got me the info onwho was hiring and send my resume out .im 25 and im a profesional medical biller. sooo i would recomend this school to anybody."

"I'm currently enrolled in the Medical Billing and Coding Program at the Springfield, PA campus. I am very satisfied with the school, academic program and instructors. I would definitely recommend this particular program over many of the other career schools in the area. They have a very good success rate for placing students for externships on time and at reputable sites. All of these negative complaints are coming from the students who obviously don't apply themselves and expect everything to be handed over to them. I've personally witnessed this in my own classes, so please do not let them fool you."

"reasons why not to go to Anthem Parsippany:1.the school curiculum is all messed up! The way they teach you all this program, s=and so much to learn, they try to squeeze it in 8months, so when you get out of school you forget most of the things cause u only spent such a little time on it.2.staff members are very unprofessional, firing people every day and all these new members come in and say while u r in class "oh hiiiii, Im your new career services member; please visit me..." When I finished school, I had to get my resume and went to a girl who takes care of it, she told me to show her how I wanted my resume to be changed and she would type it for me. She wanted me to make my own resume.3.This is gonna be funny, cause right now Im doing my externship and u can tell how well Im getting trained :)) They sent me to a place where they dont do any medicall billing and coding (I took MBC class) They started to call for externships 2days before I finished school, so of course nobody responded and I sat 1week at home, I missed 40hours from my 160hours externship. I found a place myself where Im moving on Monday cause Im working w/engeneers :)"

"Just went in yesterday to look into the Surg. Tech. program. This was after receiving two call within 4 hours of each other following an on-line request for more information.You cannot receive a school catalog unless you pay a $50.00 "admissions fee". I did so and when I got home, I found that the instructors (only 2,one only part-time) for my field of interest, had less education and experience than I did. As I toured the facility, I saw few students and the few I saw, seemed to be walking around aimlessly. I also, upon more research, found a $26000 program with little to no accreditation, nor did I find a program that would allow me to receive accreditation upon graduation. Therefore, beware, and do you research first. Luckily I'm only out $50.00."

"I attended this school back in 2003-2005 when I started I was so excited I had no idea about financial aid or what accreditation was about. All I knew was that I wanted to go to school,I was told the school had housing arraignments which was a lie I had 5 different teachers for the program in 2 years some better than others.When I finally graduated I looked for a job for months the placement coordinators were horrible they too were replaced every few months. When I came in to get the documentation I needed to sit for certification I was told that it was "misplaced" so after 2 years and over 20k I ended up with a piece of paper with my name on it,no job and no certification. The school is NOT CAAHEP accredited so you are NOT eligible to sit for the CST certification which is what most hospitals are requiring for employment as a result I am currently attending another surgical technology program that is CAAHEP accredited. Take the time to get into a good school the program I am in now is costing me 3k for a year I could have saved myself so much time and money if I would have just waited for an acceptance into a good program instead of jumping into this one because they would take me right away. I kick myself every time I get the statements from financial aid. On another note the federal government only allows you 47k LIFETIME borrowing for an undergraduate degree so going to a school like this will almost destroy your chances of getting a real degree in the future without paying down the debt from your first worthless degree. Thanks I hope this helps someone in their decision to attend this school or any like them."

"There might have been some problems with the teachers before I started this summer but our teacher now knows what she's talking about,she actually explains it better than the book.we have NO shortage of books,which we have 6 total,that EVERYONE has.You get out of learning what you put into it!!"

"I don't understand some of these post .I had a great expirience,yeah i took loans because i think i'm worth it.I did their Massage Therapy program and im doing good (well at least better than before i went to school for career training ) i work full-time and on the weekend i see my personal clients .Im paying back the loans .They were honest from begining to End .sorry to see it didn't work out well for everybody ."

"I made the mistake of asking for information as I wanted to learn something new. They call me EVERY day...I asked them not to. They refuse to send literature (big red flag here for SCAM) but want you to come into the office to "discuss" it. That way they can pressure you into signing papers. I didn't go and am not interested but they refuse to stop calling me. Stay away from this place...they are only out to get your money..."

"Anthem is it the business only to make money. I know a couple people who went to the school when it was Chubb and it was very respected for teaching programming.OK, let's be real honest. The school is bad. But why? The first thing that you need to do is to read the postings on this page. Your fellow students are morons. They can't read well enough to understand the material, and they can't write or spell. I already had a college degree and was going there to make a career change. I would have been better attending a community college because then I would actually have credits that transferred and had gone to a real school.Anthem is probably no worse that DeVry, which is the national joke of schools. And you won't get stabbed by your fellow students like some of the inner-city schools that are there again only to make money. Bottom line: Anthem doesn't pay their instructors much, so they don't attract good teachers. The administration is not interested in education, only in the school as a business."