"I am extremely fed up with this school. First of all, they do not give you an accurate idea of what the program will look like or the associated fees. Secondly, in this program you are required to attend two 4-day residencies, which are not included in tuition and make very little if any contribution to one's knowledge. Third, you are required to participate in two 6-month internships (2 quarters each), and the school does nothing to help you find a place to do your internship. The internships are also worth fewer credits than any other class, even though you have to put in at least 21 hours a week, before doing your homework. Fourth, they try to trip you up and mess you up at every step. I applied for additional financial aid for the Fall 2015 quarter, but was told I wouldn't be receiving it for that term because Fall 2015 isn't within the 2015-2016 school period. After that, they told me they would transfer the loan to the current quarter; the quarter is now over and I start Winter quarter in about a week and my loan appears to have vanished. In addition, I have had some really callous teachers who won't give you any extensions without deducting points, even with major life-changing events. Fifth, I was told that I was in a part-time program and would be taking 2 classes; however, when I contacted the school and said I wanted to go full-time, they told me that 2 classes is full-time. Sixth, the teachers don't teach. They expect you to do readings and watch videos, then do assignments based off of those. All the teachers do is respond to your discussion posts (sometimes) and grade your assignments. In conclusion, everything people at this school tell you is either a lie or misinformation and you shouldn't trust them. You can probably get a good degree from them, but it will still cost a lot of money and you will have a lot of frustrations along the way."

Poor education at walden university

Reviewed: 7/28/2015
Degree: Social Work
Graduation Year: 2025

"This is a college that has lack of instruction. They do not use the textbooks and there is lack of support with instructors. The financial aid office lacks knowledge and does not communicate with students about the aid. Filing appeals is a waste of time and will only be denied"

lovely

Reviewed: 5/14/2014
Degree: Social Work
Graduation Year: 2014

"I'm so tired of reading the positive reviews that say "apply yourself", basically saying that if you hate this school, then you didn't. So wrong. I attended another online university for my undergraduate. I know how a good school program is run. I graduated with a 3.90 GPA. I am a strong, independent learner with reasonable intelligence. That's how I know that this program is really, really poor. Someone mentioned in a review that "Walden was the only school that required citations for discussion posts" as if A) that somehow makes the school more academically challenging and B) that this is rare. My previous undergrad was exactly like this; my husband is in an MBA program in another online university and his is like that too. This is not a sign of quality. What IS a sign of quality is: Professors who participate, collaborate, and don't disappear in Week 3 of an 11 week class Challenging, thought provoking discussion questions that can't be answered by scanning a single paragraph in the textbook Use of multi-media rather than just posts on a page Grades that are legitimate rather than boilerplate an IT environment that is modern rather than a very tired version of Blackboard Academic Advisers who are reachable, interested in your success, and accurate in their information rather than graduate students who are simply working for tuition discounts (Yes, I'm serious). And let's get to the social work program. It's a joke. No, really. It is. Admittedly, as of this writing it is not yet accredited. Sadly, with CSWE's lax standards, they may get accreditation. While it is a new program, it is so flawed that it's really not salvageable. Where to start? The extended delays in getting out important paperwork, the field manual, field agreements? They had months to prepare to roll out the MSW program - yet students waited? The complete change in position from assisting students in finding field placements to basically saying "let us know when you find one?" under the guise of "You know your community best"? Do you know the number of potential placements I've contacted who have LAUGHED when I say where I attend? They want to know why I'm calling them (why hasn't your university?) and what support I'll have in the field (answer....very little). It's honestly embarrassing to say where I attend and hear people's reactions. You will see a common theme in the reviews you find. There will be a few who like the program. These are likely people who went to substandard online universities prior to coming to Walden, or never attended online college before and are ignorant as to how it "should be". For a few majors that are merely book learning, or for people that want this degree for enrichment, fine. But when you are connected to a program that is supposed to lead to a profession (Social Work, BSN, etc) forget it. This education will not prepare you. You will learn from many professors who are adjuncts, substandard, and work for several online universities and dedicate little time to your education. You will very often teach yourself. You will get a lot of A's and feel good about yourself, until you realize how low the academic standards are. You will read posts in discussion forums from other students and see how unsuited so many of them are for graduate level work. There are no real admission requirements. Just about anyone can get in. The idea is that "the curriculum will weed out those who can't keep up". Maybe that happens, but before it does, you'll see an awful lot that will cause your head to scratch. Fundamentally, the MSW program is flawed because it appears to be run by people who really don't know how to get this program off the ground. There is no support for students. There is no help securing field placements that are relevant and very little real field supervision. Walden in general lacks depth in their IT, has poor academics, and simply doesn't provide a graduate level education. I know others will argue differently but trust your gut. I wish I had."