Capella University

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: School of Information (This Major's Salary over time)
I primarily selected this institution because of the numerous ads you can find online while searching for online schools. A school that is that pervasive online can?t be all that bad can it? I also chose the school because I wanted something that would fit well with my current employment and my two year old son. A situation that many working professionals find themselves in, and a situation that they fully explain as being one that they can accommodate for you. My perception was very wrong. Honestly, I wish I hadn?t chosen to go to this school. In short, the school has cost me an enormous amount of money and left me without the option for a PhD because of the enormous costs associated with their program. Going to Capella has essentially drained all of my financial aid.

When I completed all of my course work with a 3.8 GPA, I was unable to complete the comprehensive exam successfully. I spoke with other individuals that experienced similar problems. One individual I met through the same program actually had a 4.0 GPA, and he also couldn?t successfully complete his comp exam. My particular case might be a little different than some of the others. For me, I had a number of stressful things going on in my life at the time. Some of which were rather emotionally painful and something that I really didn?t want to share with anyone. Unfortunately, when I went into details about my situation with the faculty and staff at Capella could care less about my situation.

During the comp exam, the feedback you receive from the comp exam faculty is less than helpful. In my situation, the exam reviewers pointed out some problems that they had discovered. I went back and fixed these issues only to discover that the faculty had all new issues that they deemed unacceptable. All the while, these ?issues? were there from the beginning in my original submission. When I questioned the results of their review, they refused to give me any additional clarification as to what they had found unacceptable. From my experience and from the experience of others that I spoke to, the institution doesn?t adequately prepare you for the final steps of their doctoral program. The school essentially pushes you through all of their courses (that?s where they make all of their money anyway). True to form, they run their operations like a for profit institution. I do think it is possible to complete the exam to the exam reviewers? standards, but I feel it would be next to impossible to complete it while you are working a full time job with any other types of obligations in your life.

My suggestion would be to look at a non-profit institution to complete your PhD with and to steer clear of Capella. I think you would have a much better chance of successfully completing a program at a public institution, and I would consider it to be more reputable as well. In addition, I think other employers and universities would treat it as a more respected degree.