Reviews

This profile includes reviews for Penn Foster's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Penn Foster

  200 Hickory St Scranton, PA 18505-1135

  
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  Penn Foster College

  14300 N Northsight Blvd Ste 125 Scottsdale, AZ 85260-3674

Review Details

• Review fromJeremy M

  Date: 04/19/2024

  1 star
  Please avoid Penn Foster. I've recently finished a program and Paid in full and they have not issued my certificate. The chat system is horribly slow responding. It's almost as if they want you to give up trying to get what you paid for. In the past they were better but now it's clear that they do not value the customer.

  Penn Foster

  Date: 05/01/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to review Penn Foster. Your feedback is valuable, and we use each suggestion to improve our students' experiences.

  Congratulations on completing your program! The team worked diligently to ensure your certificate was processed and sent to you! Please review your emails for your Digital Copy!

  We apologize for the delay and inconvenience. We are honored to have you as a graduate!
  Best regards,
  ******** S

• Review fromJean S

  Date: 04/12/2024

  1 star
  Penn Foster can not be cancelled. Don't do it. If your student decides to go the ****** route, they will not cancel. My daughter signed the grandchild up for the program. My daughter can't pay. The minor child got the ****** instead. Now they are trying to **** the money out of a teenager. Terrible company. I do NOT recommend. If your child goes another route, You owe the money.

  Penn Foster

  Date: 04/15/2024

  Dear ***********************,Thank you for taking the time to provide a review about Penn Foster. We welcome all feedback and use each and every suggestion to improve our students experience. We would like to add that each and every student situation is different, and we would like to treat them independently as Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. I was unable to locate the account you are referring to with the limited information provided. All students can withdraw from their program. The account would be closed out according to the terms of the signed enrollment agreement. All terms are located directly on the enrollment agreement and can be located on our website at the following link ************************************************************************. Thank You ******************************** Escalation Specialist

• Review fromDarren C

  Date: 03/07/2024

  5 stars
  Penn Foster was a good program for our children. While not the most advanced academic program, it is above mainstream education, and is very flexible! Worked perfect for our military homeschool family. Our children have all done very well post -secondary education, largely from the encouragement and support that they received with Penn Foster.

  Penn Foster

  Date: 03/19/2024

  Dear Darren C******,
  
  Thank
  you for taking the time to provide a review about Penn Foster.  We welcome all feedback and use each and
  every suggestion to improve our student’s experience. We thank you and your family
  for your kind words. Please keep us in mind for all of your future academic
  needs.  
  
  
  
  Thank You
  
  Andrew
  K*******

• Review fromMontse A

  Date: 02/09/2024

  1 star
  Would give a 0 if I could. Continued to withdraw money from my paychecks after sending me an email months after that they were stopping. Just to withdraw $600. And now it’s been 10 weeks since they said I’d receive my money and they’ve been giving me the run around saying now it will be in my work paycheck. After making me wait 10 weeks to never receive anything. I just want my money back just as fast as you withdrew it

  Penn Foster

  Date: 02/12/2024

  Dear Montse A******,
  Thank you for taking the time to provide a review about Penn Foster. We welcome all feedback and use each and every suggestion to improve our student’s experience. We would like to add that each and every student situation is different, and we would like to treat them independently as Penn foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. After reviewing your account, we see you were enrolled though our Business-to-Business division. If a refund is going back to a student’s paycheck, it will take some time. Penn Foster would need to refund the business who then would have their payroll team add the credit to the student’s paycheck. We will contact you directly with more specific information.
  Thank You
  Andrew K*******
  Sr Escalation Specialist

• Review fromJeferson D

  Date: 02/06/2024

  1 star
  literal bs. Tried to cancel and they will not pick up the phone. Just say no to this sh!t program and choose james m******.

  Penn Foster

  Date: 02/08/2024

  Dear Jeferson D********,
  Thank you for taking the time to provide a review about Penn Foster. We welcome all feedback and use each and every suggestion to improve our student’s experience. We would like to add that each and every student situation is different, and we would like to treat them independently as Penn foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. Please call us during normal operating hours at 888.427.1000. You can also send over your request by emailing **********************.
  Thank You
  Andrew ******** Sr Escalation Specialist

• Review fromMelissa P

  Date: 01/22/2024

  1 star
  
  Signing the Penn Foster Enrollment Agreement means that if you opt for “monthly automatic withdrawal” it will include “… $20 as your initial payment by card and $55 each month for 20 months plus a final payment of $19 towards your total price of $1139”. But, it also means, your child cannot have proof of high school graduation without “…fulfillment of your financial obligations.” I strongly question the legality of the conflicting provisions that allow Penn Foster to hold an earned high school diploma hostage until the pre-established 20-month payment plan is paid in full.
  
  In Layman’s terms, aside from a transcript that does not include a date of completion, there may be a significant gap in higher education, trade school, or employment eligibility for up to 20 months (nearly 2 years) until the stipulated 20-month financial obligation has been met.
  
  Like many past and present parents, I enrolled my child at Penn Foster with blissful ignorance that will put a halt to his post-graduation opportunities and expectations. If nothing else, Penn Foster’s ambiguously written “legally binding contact” lacks the ethical fidelity of the school’s mission to democratize education by impeding a student’s positive contribution to society unless a parent, like myself on a fix income, can expedite the contractual 20-month financial agreement; the complete antithesis of "reaching to underserved populations".
  

• Review fromLynn M

  Date: 12/17/2023

  1 star
  Penn Foster helpline is staffed with people who have no training and they cannot help you. All they will do is forward you to a vm that will take 24 hours to return your call. It may actually take several days. This is after they ask you, for verification purposes, 1.) your mailing address 2.) your physical address 3.) your phone number 4.) your email address 5.) your full legal name 6.) your student ID number. The how-to videos are so unprofessional with such poor audio, and out of focus, they are no help. The quality of the course material is a joke. I am currently a successful student, my instructors are happy to make a note of errors in the course material so that it can be fixed. Penn Foster is not interested in this. In fact, they lied to me directly, saying that the sponsor of the program( General Motors) provided the course material, not Penn Foster ( so please stop bringing these errors to our attention because we don’t want to know and we don’t care ). Not only do they not train their support staff, other than mandating an overreach in requiring inappropriate and excessive information to verify you, they also hire overseas, dollar-a-day type technical support that are also untrained and unable to help you; this is after you are required to allow them to remotely access your computer and all your personal information is compromised again. I called my local to complain along with the Detroit offices of UAW, in retaliation Penn Foster found that I violated their policies and terminated my enrollment, complete with a fancy letter from their legal team. Do not do business with this school. They are all about making profits. Spare yourself the frustration. It is a waste of your time and money. What I have noticed on this site is Penn Foster answers submissions, sounding all reasonable and giving excuses for low rating. I urge students to seek a different path from Penn Foster. There are so many schools going under yet this school remains?

  Penn Foster

  Date: 01/12/2024

  Dear Lynn M***, 
  
  Thank you for taking the time to provide a review about Penn Foster. Privacy is important to everyone. At Penn Foster, we care about your privacy as well and want you to feel comfortable and secure when speaking with the school. There will always be a verification process prior to releasing any account information. As we welcome all feedback on our content, we make best effort to correct any errors that may have been originally missed.  As you have mentioned General Motors and our Penn Foster for Organizations division, this does include reaching out to any third-party if the content is not ours. Penn Foster students, faculty and staff are held to the highest standards of academic integrity. When there is a violation of school policies, proper steps are followed. Penn Foster may take disciplinary action that ranges from a warning to academic probation to dismissal from the school. 
  
  Thank You 
  
  Andrew K******* 
  
  Sr Escalation Specialist 

• Review fromronicka b

  Date: 12/15/2023

  1 star
  false advertisement and a scam, the moment you sign up for a dollar you automatically owe them the full amount doesn't matter if you never log in again after that doesn't matter if you send a written statement in saying you want it canceled doesn't matter if they ask you to settle for a lesser amount they will take that settled amount say they never got it and still send all of it to collections you are locked into a contract that says this when you sign up but they dont make it seem like that when talking to you on the phone. The material is outdated , there's an inappropriate amount of spelling errors and grammar mistakes, the material does not actually prepare you for the test or what you'll be doing in the field, customer service is very rude and disrespectful, there are projects and links that are giving error messages yes the page where you have to do you project is no longer in service and you cannot complete your course without it and it also wont let you continue when you reach out to customer service it takes weeks and months for them to respond, if you have a copy of you request to cancel letter and they didnt you have a good case for a lawsuit but unfortunately i did not make a copy of mine and really wish i kept track of everything they did to me because i would be suing for sure and worst of all they wait as long as they can before telling you that you owe them for previous programs so by the time you find out you've already switched multiple programs and you've got about $3000 plus in collections , i do not understand for the life of me how they are still in business they are very predatory on people in desperate situations and i want them shut down!

  Penn Foster

  Date: 12/18/2023

  Dear Ronicka B*****
  Thank you for taking the time to provide a review about Penn Foster. We welcome all feedback and use each and every suggestion to improve our student’s experience. We would like to add that each and every student situation is different and we would like to treat them independently as Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our students. At Penn Foster, we continue to develop new ways to expand and improve student satisfaction. However, if you are not satisfied or can no longer continue your studies, we offer a generous refund policy. If you cancel within the first 5 days of enrollment (for Penn Foster High School or Penn Foster Career School students) or first 6 days of enrollment (for Penn Foster College students) you will receive a full refund. After the first 5 or 6 days your refund amount will be based on:
  • Lessons completed
  • Tuition collected
  • Enrollment date
  Penn Foster College students must notify us in writing.
  All cancellation terms are outlined on the enrollment agreement and at the following link https://www.pennfoster.edu/admissions/policies/refund-policy. Penn Foster College has earned national accreditation. Accreditation is a public notification that an institution and a program meet the quality standards set forth by the accreditor. It means that Penn Foster schools and programs have been evaluated against a pre-determined set of criteria set forth by the accrediting body.
  Thank You
  Andrew K*******
  Sr Escalation Specialist

• Review fromShaston C

  Date: 12/13/2023

  1 star
  Do not give them your information until you are ready to move forward. They called me every day until i called them back, i told them i would contact them when I was ready to move forward. They called more the following 2 days until I reiterated that i didnt want to be contacted.
  
  To no avail, i was receiving texts every day - which i replied STOP.
  
  they sent me emails-i unsubscribed, i still got more emails. Thinking its something i did on my end, i checked again, and it said i hadnt unsubscribed.... Okay. I unsubscribe and make sure there are no more buttons to press. I get another email from them the next day.
  
  Even for the price, this makes me no want to move forward with this institution. They seem extremely desperate for students. So much so they will harass anyone that shows a slight interest.

  Penn Foster

  Date: 12/19/2023

  Dear
  Shaston C****
  
  Thank
  you for taking the time to provide a review about Penn Foster.  We welcome all feedback and use each and
  every suggestion to improve our student’s experience.  We would like to add that each and every
  student situation is different, and we would like to treat them independently as
  Penn Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all
  our students. We ran a search for the email that you provided; however we could
  not locate you in our database. I will send you an email to connect with me as
  we would like to make sure all your contacts are removed from our system.  
  
  Thank
  You
  
  Andrew
  K*******
  
  Sr
  Escalation Specialist

• Review fromJack S

  Date: 11/09/2023

  1 star
  The only thing Penn Foster can accomplish is processing a payment and giving a refund. It's really a terrible program and I wouldn't hire anyone that attends Penn Foster. Also, I wouldn't hang out with, or want to be related to anyone that attends Penn Foster.

  Penn Foster

  Date: 11/13/2023

  Dear Jack S., thank you for taking the time to provide a
  review about Penn Foster. We welcome all feedback and use each suggestion to
  improve our student’s experience. We would like to add that every student
  situation is different, and we would like to treat them independently as Penn
  Foster is devoted to the educational advancement and satisfaction of all our
  students. Any additional concerns you may have, you can reach out to me
  directly at [email protected].
  Thank you, Laura C.