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Business Profile

Correspondence Schools

Penn Foster

Reviews

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

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Penn Foster has 2 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Review Ratings

    1.75/5 stars

    Average of 65 Customer Reviews

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    Review Details

    • Review fromJoyce W

      Date: 08/08/2023

      2 stars
      I paid &1100.00 to Penn Forster for my online high school diploma ,Mississippi do not except it and Chicago do not I call the main Office to speak with someone and this man told me both states do, no he was telling a lie they got my money and want refund me. Please check ur state education system before u spend ur money.

      Penn Foster

      Date: 08/09/2023

      Dear Joyce W*****
      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. Penn Foster High School is regionally and nationally accredited. All accreditation/licensing information can be located at **********************************************. We provide disclaimer to all students and guarantors, prior to enrolling, stating no form of accreditation guarantees tant any learning institution will accept credits from a school as transfer credits. We provide the following disclaimers on our Marketing site.
      “The Penn Foster High School Diploma is a proprietary program. You are solely responsible for ensuring that the program and program award satisfy the education requirements of potential employers, desired postsecondary institutions, and all other relevant agencies. Neither job placement nor postsecondary admission are guaranteed to graduates upon program completion. Students who attend and complete the program as an adult, age 18 years or older, who wish to further verify their earned award may request a Certificate of Preliminary Education according the process outlined in the student catalog. The program name on file with the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed schools is High School 9-12.”
      “If you are interested in pursuing post-secondary education within your state you should check with your state to understand the requirements. States may impose requirements for receiving state financial aid. For example, an online High School diploma may not be recognized by some colleges and universities within your state to receive financial aid. We recommend you check with the institution for any specific restrictions - this is particularly important for residents of New York.”
      Per the signed enrollment agreement that all students must have on file, it is the student or legal guardians’ responsibility to ensure the program satisfies the state and locate educational requirements of your local district. Penn Foster will not provide a refund or be liable for any losses that may incur as a result of the inability to gain employment or admission to any institution.
      We provide a sampling of some of the colleges who have accepted the Penn Foster High School diploma within the last 3 years. This can be located at ****************************************************************** Thank You
      Andrew Kachurak
      Sr Escalation Specialist
    • Review fromMichaela W

      Date: 07/01/2023

      2 stars
      lost all my info, including student id. I only have emails of my diploma order. I am trying to regain access or atleast have my diploma resent to my home. I don’t want all my money to go to waste
    • Review fromTara L.

      Date: 06/28/2023

      1 star
      My daughter completed high school through Penn Foster. When trying to apply to trade schools, we were told over and over that they don't accept a degree from Penn Foster because the school is not based in NY state, where we live. Penn Foster says that they are accredited nationwide and has not responded to my requests for clarification. My daughter is now left with a useless diploma and will likely have to get a GED anyway.

      Penn Foster

      Date: 06/30/2023

      Dear Tara L****
      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. Penn foster High School is regionally and nationally accredited. All accreditation/licensing information can be located at **********************************************. We provide disclaimer to all students and guarantors, prior to enrolling, stating no form of accreditation guarantees tant any learning institution will accept credits from a school as transfer credits. We provide the following disclaimers on our Marketing site.
      “The Penn Foster High School Diploma is a proprietary program. You are solely responsible for ensuring that the program and program award satisfy the education requirements of potential employers, desired postsecondary institutions, and all other relevant agencies. Neither job placement nor postsecondary admission are guaranteed to graduates upon program completion. Students who attend and complete the program as an adult, age 18 years or older, who wish to further verify their earned award may request a Certificate of Preliminary Education according the process outlined in the student catalog. The program name on file with the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed schools is High School 9-12.”
      “If you are interested in pursuing post-secondary education within your state you should check with your state to understand the requirements. States may impose requirements for receiving state financial aid. For example, an online High School diploma may not be recognized by some colleges and universities within your state to receive financial aid. We recommend you check with the institution for any specific restrictions - this is particularly important for residents of New York.”
      Per the signed enrollment agreement that all students must have on file, it is the student or legal guardians’ responsibility to ensure the program satisfies the state and locate educational requirements of your local district. Penn Foster will not provide a refund or be liable for any losses that may incur as a result of the inability to gain employment or admission to any institution.
      Thank You
      Andrew Kachurak
      Sr Escalation Specialist
    • Review fromApril J

      Date: 06/24/2023

      1 star
      They are reporting that I owe them $759 when we never utilized their services. I paid the initial start up fee however my son never attended the program. We called and canceled so how do they figure I owe them?

      Penn Foster

      Date: 06/26/2023

      Dear April J*****
      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. All cancellation terms are outlined on our website prior to enrollment and also included on the enrollment agreement that needs to be signed to enroll into the program.
      If you cancel within 6 calendar days of signing the enrollment agreement you will owe: $0 (100% refund)
      If you withdraw after 6 calendar days:
      • Before submitting a completed program assignment you will owe: registration fee + administrative fee + shipping and handling fees (if applicable)
      • Up to and including 10% of the program assignments completed you will owe: registration fee + administrative fee + shipping and handling fees (if applicable) + 10% of refundable tuition
      • After 10% and up to and including 25% of the program assignments completed you will owe: registration fee + administrative fee + shipping and handling fees (if applicable) + 25% of refundable tuition
      • After 25% and up to and including 50% of the program assignments completed you will owe: registration fee + administrative fee + shipping and handling fees (if applicable) + 50% of refundable tuition
      • After 50% of the program assignments completed you will owe: full program tuition and any applicable fees
      The percentage of the program completed shall be determined by comparing the number of completed lessons received for services by the school to the total number of lessons in the program.
      All terms can be located at ************************************************************.
      Thank You
      Andrew K*******
      Sr Escalation Specialist
    • Review fromRay D

      Date: 06/21/2023

      5 stars
      I have took their course, they are great , I just got certified in Private detective, Honestly I don't see how they got so many complaints if you under stand how things work on their site . If you don't they give you a instructor to help with your needs . And they are affordable unlike most collages . I highly recommend Penfoster.

      Penn Foster

      Date: 06/22/2023

      Dear Raymond Dye
      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. Congratulations on completing your educational goal. We wanted to thank you for your kindness and want to remind you to keep us in mind for all of your future educational needs.
      Thank You
      Andrew Kachurak
      Sr Escalation Specialist
    • Review fromKirk M

      Date: 06/09/2023

      4 stars
      I've been a student at Penn Foster for a couple years working on my associate degree. Honestly, there have been a few hick-ups but it is only due to somewhat vague instructions and the portal is ok, not great for navigation, but it works. Best part for me is I can study whenever I want. Haven't had issue with professors or replies from PF.
      After reading some reviews, have to say that a lot of the negative reviews are due to the lack of understanding what the student's commitment is and expecting everything to be hand fed to them.
      If you're going to be a student...then be the student, make sure you are responsible for YOUR schooling.

      Penn Foster

      Date: 06/14/2023

      Dear Kirk,
      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 are excited to see that you are close to accomplishing your current educational goal. Keep up the fantastic work! Please keep us in mind for all your future educational needs.
      Thank You
      Andrew K*******
      Sr Escalation Specialist
    • Review fromGraciela G

      Date: 05/24/2023

      5 stars
      I enrolled Penn Foster back on 2020 and i just finished my high school diploma program. I never have any problem with them , even when I lost my job and contact them about it. They work with me and help out to finish my program. I'm seriously thinking on continue my college career with them. I'm really proud to call myself a Penn Foster graduate.
    • Review fromFrank B

      Date: 03/28/2023

      1 star
      I am no longer happy with this school!!! My daughter finally completed her high school diploma program and was awaiting her high school diploma and transcript via mail. Nothing came in! We contacted them via chat and found out that they no send a digital high school diploma instead, plus they now want you to pay for it and for a transcript!!! They are trying to nickle and dime customers at a time that our economy is suffering and people like us work our asses off to find out that they want more money from us! We paid their program in full for our daughter, and we find this out!!! I demand for them to send our daughter's hard copy high school diploma and transcript! If not, I demand a full refund for item not received!!!

      Penn Foster

      Date: 04/04/2023

      Dear Frank B., 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. Upon completion of our program students are emailed a digital copy of their diploma within 24 hours. They will also receive a physical copy in the mail which can take up to 6 weeks to receive. I will email you directly to go over any additional information regarding the student’s account. Thank you, Laura C.
    • Review fromEthan E

      Date: 03/07/2023

      1 star
      I was not made aware that this was a line of credit when signing up for this place, I lost my job and assumed that upon non payment I wouldn’t have access to my classes and that was that, I never finished the courses, never received my diploma from these people and yet now they want over a thousand dollars and have reported this to the credit bureaus, this place is a scam

      Penn Foster

      Date: 03/08/2023

      Dear Ethan E******
      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 were unable to locate an account with the email address you provided. Per each enrollment agreement, students agree to make monthly payments if they choose not to pay in full at the time of enrollment. The enrollment agreement’s Late Payment section states that defaulted payments can result in suspension of the enrollment and require the student to pay the outstanding balance of the program price associated with the payment plan chosen. In addition, the student would be responsible for any collection costs, including legal fees, incurred by Penn Foster to collect amounts owed. Per the enrollment agreement, students need to submit a cancelation request to withdraw from the program. Cancelation terms can be located on the enrollment agreement and at ************************************************************.
      Thank You
      Andrew K*******
      Sr Escalation Specialist
    • Review fromApril N.

      Date: 03/03/2023

      1 star
      Penn Foster is a terrible school. I was working to the best of my ability and despite my best efforts, the teachers weren't satisfied. They constantly sent the work back for me to improve and then resubmit. They did this over and over again. So I dropped the program because I didn't want to constantly be held back. Once I dropped the program they said since I was over 50% done with the semester I owe over $1700. This is ridiculous.

      Penn Foster

      Date: 03/09/2023

      Dear April N*****, 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. When assignments are returned, students can always reach out and schedule a call with an academic advocate or instructor to further assist with any questions. As per your enrollment agreement, all student’s are held to their agreed upon cancellation terms. If you have any additional questions, you can reach out to me directly at **************************. Thank you, Laura C****.

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