Capella University

From the beginning of my Master's level school search, Capella stood out. I had a great recommendation from a friend already, but in researching complete online programs to work with my schedule, Capella checked all of the boxes I needed. I had a wonderful experience with my admissions counselor and continue to have great interactions with all communication. I am happy with all faculty thus far and feel that I am learning exactly what I need for my future as a school counselor. The course load is what I expected it to be and the time I spend on classwork is time well spent. I feel very confident that I will be prepared to enter the field of school counseling when I graduate. The very first thing Capella does once you are enrolled is to start you in a class to help navigate your program and get you familiar with the online format. This helped immensely and calmed my nerves for entering into a graduate program online. I feel very well cared for and have not had a negative experience yet! I am 1 year into my program.

Be careful with financial aid department! They let you start the program, and then, they send you messages that you have to pay out of your pocket because of documents needed. That happened to me 2 months after I started. They said I owe $ 4885.00. I have a masters and they were asking for high school diploma which I told them, I don't have it. I lost it in one of the previous universities. I came to Capella to have an ABA Certificate after my Masters degree. They could have told me that I can not have the program at Capella because of the document that I d have told them I don't have. But instead, they let me start the program and now they didn't approve my financial aid, (which FAFSA approved) and I have a balance of almost %5000.00. Financial aid office is very hard, almost impossible for someone to answer you. And if you talked to them through a third party, they are mad. Anyways, I do not recommend this school to any student. Out of all the schools that I have been to, this is a nightmare and the worst experience ever. They didn't care about me or my concerns, just about money

There’s a clear reason less than 1% of Capella students are Native, we are treated awfully. Don’t expect any meaningful responses from your program head; they look down on you. The president is quick to put their name on your accomplishments but won’t give you the time of day when you have complaints. They won’t hesitate to gaslight or bully you, and their claims about caring for your schedule are completely false. This school has a long history of mistreating students, just look up their many lawsuits.They have a habit of screwing students over when they are close to finishing their program. And don't expect any outside agency to do anything, that's why Capella can get away with this.

Capella University has been one of the most frustrating experiences of my academic career. Every single term, I’m forced to fight with their financial aid department just to receive the aid I qualify for. I’ve submitted FAFSA corrections over five times this term alone, and FAFSA confirmed the issue is on Capella’s end—not mine. Yet Capella has offered no real support or solution. Attempts to contact them go nowhere. Phone lines route to a bizarre message about renting a storage container. Live chat is never available. I’ve emailed them three times in the last three weeks and still have not received a single reply. Meanwhile, I’m showing a balance due instead of receiving the aid disbursement I rely on to pay my bills. To make matters worse, the required virtual check-in calls have an incredibly confusing platform, causing both myself and my professor to miss calls. My professor has missed several calls with no prior notice and no follow-up. I have also missed one this term due to confusing rescheduling issues. This adds to the overwhelming stress and makes it incredibly difficult to succeed in their program. If you're considering Capella—think twice. The systems are broken, the support is nonexistent, and students are left to fend for themselves.

I finished my BBA and MBA at Capella. I enjoyed my experience. The coaches are learner centric and patient, also very knowledgeable. I love how they genuinely look out for the learners. I also liked the instructors that I’ve met through out the years. Some instructors made class very enjoyable with the contents. They also challenged me with their feedbacks in a positive and good way that help me grow as an individual. I believe that for someone to succeed at Capella, they would need read syllabus, course materials and scoring guides so they understand expectations and content to write papers and pass exams. It is also important to pay attention to dates and email communications to avoid financial and academic impacts. The only issue I had was 2 tech errors but the tech support and instructors were helpful. Also Capella is updating its systems to create a better experience for learners. One thing I would like is for Capella to Offer internships/partnerships for the business programs to help us get expose to the real world experience. Offer internships for HR, operations, marketing, supply chain, business analytics would be cool.

Title: Unprofessional and Disorganized – No Real Support After Enrollment I’m sharing this review to strongly urge anyone considering this school to look elsewhere. While the school comes off as helpful and responsive during enrollment—calling and emailing you constantly—that support disappears the moment you start classes. My advisor has been unresponsive and offers no real guidance. It takes days to get a reply, and when I do, it’s either vague or not helpful at all. Once you’re in, you’re pretty much on your own. The instructors are even worse. Any time you ask a question or need clarity, they immediately refer you to “Academic Writing” resources, rather than directly answering the question or taking the time to guide you. It feels like a scripted response to avoid being held accountable. You can ask something simple and get nothing more than, “Please refer to Academic Writing.” It’s dismissive and unprofessional, especially when you’re making an effort to understand and improve. I followed all the formatting guidelines, used APA correctly (as I have in other classes), and even revised my work based on the instructor’s feedback. Still, I was graded unfairly, with no justification. It’s as if instructors are allowed to make up their own rules and no one oversees them. There is zero structure or consistency. If expectations weren’t stated on day one, they shouldn’t be enforced halfway through the course. Yet this school allows it to happen. This program is very expensive, but once they have your money, the support stops. They don’t care about student success—they care about enrollment numbers and financial aid. I will be withdrawing and reporting the school to the appropriate board. Do not waste your time or money here. This is not a school that supports students—it’s a business that leaves you to struggle while they cash in.

I applied for Capella in February, completed the application and all supporting documents and they have been having "technical" issues processing my application since then. I was supposed to start on 4/7/25 and obviously that did not happen. As a busy mom, wife, and nurse I do not have the time or patients to wait 3 months just for an application to be submitted. An established institution always has a back door to technical systems and the fact that this simple issue cannot be solved leaves several doubts about the capability and legitimacy of this institution.

This has truly been one of the worst experiences, and I would never recommend this school or program to anyone. I am currently in my PhD program for I/O psychology. I am so upset by the lack of support and communication at this school. For the amount that I am paying to go here, I am pretty much figuring everything out on my own. I am at the mercy of the staff, who almost never respond in a timely manner. I thought I would be done with the entire program in a few weeks, but I've just found out that I have to go another quarter. I cannot wait to be done with this school.

Every negative response you read is the truth. Between refusing to offering assistance on the supervisor level, bullying students, threatening, refusing to grade assigments, being racist, being unprofessional in classes, reporting to other outside agencies. No student should feel they are not valued. No student should be told there other degrees are hindering their performance. All students should feel they are cared about and teachers and advisors are there for them to succed. I gave 1 star for the very few teachers who care, actually teach classes and do it with respect.

Not gonna lie, I've been to 3 different universities, got my first 5-year bachelor's degree from a traditional campus, and Capella has still been the best fit for me. I see people constantly ranting and blaming Capella for not finishing their degree, and I just can't relate. I've earned 2 degrees here and my experience has been nothing but positive. No major issues, plenty of support, and a system that worked for me. Huge thank you to all my professors who were always willing to help, answer questions, and support my success. Y'all deserve your flowers. 🙌