American Public University System American Public University, American Military University Perpetual Financial Aid Misery Internet

I have and am attending APU for the last 2 years. Of which the last 8 months have had a turbulent time dealing with the APU financial aid department. Every single, literally, every single time i have called, i have received different answers to what my financial aid will be. Not one single person from a financial aid representative to a financial aid specialist knows what there doing. The department is in complete shambles. 

Right now, they are refusing to package me up to my cost of attendance, but are packaging me up to the year in which i am in school. Meaning i will be getting substantially less financial aid. I am taking 22 credit hours in one semester so that i graduate sooner and not incur a massive amount of debt. What APU is trying to do is make my degree take longer so they can milk MY financial aid loans. 

The program itself is not bad. They are accredited regionally, which is by far better then nationally like most online schools. And since i am a business student, there business program is accredited as well. 

But, again their financial aid departments is horrible and have done nothing but cause problems for me and a ton of stress. You have to micromanage your own financial aid and call every 2-3 days to make sure they are doing their jobs. They screwed up my financial aid for the last 8 months now and im sick and tired of it to the point that i will start looking for a new online school to attend and if i cant find one i will attend UWM (University of Milwaukee) which i was already accepted into. 

I cannot stress this enough. APU financial aid department does not care about YOU or your academic goals or needs. I don’t know what there doing to tell you the truth. Whether it is stealing your loans, watching their bottom dollar and trying to make profits, or that they just don’t care. Who ever is in charge needs to be removed immediately and then fire everyone in the financial aid department. 

I literally hate the people at the APU financial aid department and every time i have to call them it makes my stomach cringe. I’m going to write a rip off report myself entailing my last 8 months at APU very soon. 

They withhold release of loan funds for two reasons:

(1)  when they are holding onto thousands of dollars each for +50,000 students that adds up to a very significant amount of interest earned after 30 to 45 days.

(2) More importantly, students are less inclined to drop a course and take revenue out of their pockets when they are desperately waiting for the much needed loan chack to arrive.  If the student gets frustrated wairing after 2 or 3 weeks and drops out, they will return the loan and STILL charge the student for up to half of the tuition.

Another thing that killed me about APU/AMU was that it's like 80 percent military/veteran students and many (not all) really act like they own the place.  Some can be very rude to non-military students, particularly if you don't agree with their ultra-conservative opinions.

In the end, it's a wothless degree unless you are career military, where any sort of accredited degree passes for education.

Isn't it funny how all of these happy APU srudents show defending their awesome university?  How did they find this thread without Googling something like "APU rip off"?  Is that something a satisfied student normally does with his/her free time??  Clearly, they are worried about what the rest of the world thinks of their diplomas because they sense it is probably a worhtless endeavor.

 I spent over two years at this so called school. When I finally graduated and went to use my degree I was informed that I was not taught one required class for my degree. So people beware! this school will not only take your money but put you in debt and give you a degree that is worthless. Save your time and money and stay away from this school!!!!!!!

Make sure you check the requirements before you graduate because in my situation they gave me a worthless degree. I did not ahve one required class for my associates degree that was required by my state. The situation with the financial aid will only get worse as they keep the money as long as they can before releasing it to the student. This is one school I am sorry I did not avoid as they will take your money and give you debt in return so BEWARE!!!

I agree that this school is very suspicious. I attended 3 semesters here until recently where I was forced to withdraw. I had an UEH come up on my fafsa. 1 was for a school that I did not attend and I sent proof of that to APU and another was a school that I didn't earn a credit at. My mother was ill during my time attending there and I showed a valid doctors note and a hand signed note from my mother to back up this reasoning. My financial aid was still denied by the school. The person reviewing didn't think the doctors note was fake just thought the doctor was lying for me and my mother. What kind of doctor would risk their career to write a faulty doctors note? That's insane! I was told the only way to continue attending the school was to pay out of pocket. Mind you through my semesters here I had already earned 15 credits while being on financial aid. I was told different things from everyone I talked to. If you attend here beware of that. UEH is for people that withdraw from a school after receiving finanial aid. Any person in the financial aid department could have easily looked at my student record and seen that is not what I was doing. Would I have earned those credits and fought so hard to continue to go to school if I only wanted the refund check? I just think it's messed up how I was denied especially when countless people in the financial aid department told me that they would my clear my UEH since I had earned credit and then months later deny me financial aid help altogether. I put in time, effort, money going to this school just to have to turn around and have to find another online university.

Being that I am a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Accounting at American Public University System (APUS), an accredited university, I feel the need to protect and justify the good reputation of APUS.  I am NOT their representative.  I can see the frustration you have with APUS financial aid processing protocols.  But I can understand why the college (and possibly the federal education department) mandate students to first complete the required Week 1 assignments prior to having Federal Student Aid (either federal direct loans or other institutional loans/grants) refunds disbursed.  Some students, due to their ignorance just drops the course and run with the refund money, and are not aware that if they do not complete at least 60% of the course-length, they would need to repay the college/federal education department for those early refund disbursements.  Therefore, to protect the student from owing a debt (and the school does not want to deal with being a debt collector or harassing them for the money back), the college would implement the one or two week freeze in disbursing those refunds.

So please don’t degrade the school’s academic quality based on financial aid or money matters.  I could understand the financial stress that it’s causing you though; especially when you have to sacrifice two years of your life and income opportunities towards full-time graduate studies.  I graduated from a top local brick and mortar university over a decade ago, and I find that the academic qualities of APUS is comparable to, if not, even better than brick and mortar universities.  The idea of sitting with 30 or 40 other students in a classroom so that they can distract me is an outdated educational system.  Anyways, I am 90% through my graduate online studies at APUS; and I totally recommend APUS to others interested in pursuing a college degree online.

You don't begin to realize APUS is a massive SCAM until you are well in their web and dealing with their horrendously powerful financial aid policies. Once you file the complaint, you will learn that they are within their rights to hold your loan money for interest until the end of the fiscal year. I encourage everyone to file a complaint with the Washington, DC Attorney General's Office. There is not a West Virginia AG office, but APUS is covered under the DC jurisdiction. Only a loud collection of complaints will reach the ears of someone who might remotely care. Otherwise, APUS has the best SCAM going and you, my dear friend are completely at their mercy. Good Luck. WRITE!!

 First, I want to say. I am a new student at APU. I haven't even finished my first semester. I do so far love my classes. I love the way the classes are set-up as opposed to Kaplan, Everest,or Post Universities Online. I clearly have been trying online college for quite some time. I actually feel challenged. I have papers due and lots of expectations that you just dont get at other online schools.

Before signing up with APU, I did do a heavy amount of research. American Public University is very much accredited. They hold the same accredidation as Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University according to the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. And I doubt they would lie. I'm from Cleveland so I compared it to the amazing schools in my area. But Case is intensively hard to get into so, I'm just saying.

I also enjoy the almost military feeling of the school. I have a lot of currently enlisted people and also veterans in my classes and I love that because my husband is enlisted and I am a child of two Army Vets so it made me feel at home.

At the end of the day. As long as the school has an accredidation with the Dept. of Ed. and you are comfortable there, that's all that matters in a school. You should be able to thrive and learn in a place where you feel safe. If you are apprehensive then don't do it. You can't make decisions based on a blog on RIPOFFREPORT.com. BE your own person.

Also, all school make you wait to get a financial aid refund check. If they did then people would sign up for school and then do nothing and wait on a check. It's not welfare and if you are that thirsty for a refund check you should have gotten your affairs in order financially before thinking of furthering your education. This isn't elementary school, no one is going to hold you hand.

 I just wanted to state that I am a current student at APU, and was a little offended when one poster said "I understand why current students defend this school, though; I would't want to admit I wasted my time and money either" or something along those lines. I have just finished my first semester at APU and found the classes to be stimulating; I had to put time and effort into the work I was doing, and if it wasnt up to par or incomplete I definitely did not earn an A, despite many comments that A's are awarded with any caliber of work. As for financial aid, why would they release the money to you if they werent sure you were actually going to participate in the classes? I dont see any issue in waiting until after the first week of classes to confirm a student's participation and then releasing financial aid money, which by the way is actually the government's money and not "yours", as it has to be paid back and is only supposed to be used for school related expenses. Finally, I have only experienced two professors so far, both of which were super helpful throughout the 8 week classes. Both encouraged us to ask any questions if we had any, gave input on our forum posts and adequate feedback on any assignments submitted. Oh, and they both lived in the United States, not overseas, and had the proper credentials.

APUS is not a degree mill people....they are regionally accredited!! Which is THE SAME accredidation major "brick-and-mortar" colleges around the country have...why is APUS viewed as any less due to its online format? This college provides quality education at affordable rates...$250 per credit hour is way lower than any other online college I researched. So, to the person I quoted earlier in my summary, I just wanted to make it clear that the reason I stand up and support my college is because they provide me with a quality education at an affordable price with stimulating work and instructors; I'm not some back-water hick shouting praises about a school because I'm "ashamed that I wasted time and money", because I certainly didnt.

I couldn't agree with you more. AMU/APU is a joke, and as you pointed out, there are many of these instructors that are not qualified to do the job and most certainly do not have the credentials to teach. And as for asking questions, you couldn't be more correct. My Web Fundamentals instructor was rude when asked questions. I was flabergasted. Folks don't waste your time with an oline college such as this. Check into your local State Universities or Universities, most have online programs of some kind today, I know OSU in OKC, OK does now, yet some on campus activity is required. Personally, most of these For Profit Colleges are a big rip off, nothing more than coporate greed at work.  Check pbs.com and look up for profit colleges, this was a well investigated issue and this is very informative.

Honestly mam, this online college is a rip off. I am transferring out of here now. I have been attending this substandard college for about a year and a half, and the instructors are substandard, the feed back is substandard, and I have purposely turned in substandard mistake filled class work on occasion to see and test grading on class work, gradesare most definitely being handed out to favor the school in general. The place is a joke. Free admission should have been my first clue.

I understand that it may be frustrating for some to have to wait for their refund checks to come, however I fail to see it as a legitimate reason to totally put the school down.  I have been at APU as an undergraduate for two semesters now and it is not a diploma mill or shady place.  It is one of the most affordable online schooling options that has regional accredidation.  Classes are writing intensive and it is not an easy "A" place.  By utilizing the miracle that is ratemyprofessor.com I have had nothing but excellent teachers.  I have learned more during my time here than I ever did in a physical classroom.  I feel that the claims here are unfounded and I don't appreciate others trying to lessen the legitimacy of my education because of a crappy financial aid process that the school is currently taking steps to fix.

Thus far, all complaints yet registered regarding APUS, APU, or AMU are the only real scams. APUS is fully accredited complete with elaborate professor profiles, all of which can be verified for credibility. They are listed on the department of education website, which immediately refutes any possibility of APUS being a scam. The financial aid complaints currently listed are entirely personal error. The financial aid applications allow you to choose to have extra funds sent to you, but defaults remainders to be returned to the lender unless otherwise specified by the student. They also allow you to apply for a specific amount of funds just like any normal loan application. The biggest difference from this process is that as it is an online university, students must be competent and pay attention to what they are doing. Although you CAN call and have the FinAid Staff walk you through it (or use email, or the live chat option), if you dont and arent familiar with the process you are likely to make an error if you are looking for some sort of specific option. This university is for a select group that is capable of working on their own, and requires intense self discipline to excel. Your professors cant do the work for you.

I have been both an undergrad student and a graduate student at AMU, as well as an undergrad student at OSU and Columbus State. I was nothing at OSU or Columbus State, my instructors never knew me, never recognized how much effort went into my work, and never got over their own egos. I passed my classes with ease and didnt show up most of the time. APUS' programs allow professors to know their students, with regular communication daily through a variety of avenues. They provide a far greater education as the highly credible expert professors require extensive reading, weekly essays (up to 6 per week per course not including research papers or exams). If you dont do the work, you simply cannot do well. My best advice is to recognize the change in the times, as most universities have adopted a similar format to the one used at APUS. Therefore, if you enroll at any other university and take an online option, you are essentially experiencing what you might experience at APUS (only likely with less formalities or strict professors - most professors at APUS are experts in the field or published doctors). Any rebuttal to this fact only adds further blasphemy to practically every complaint listed thus far. APUS is not a diploma mill any more than OSU, LSU,or Harvard. As a matter of fact, Harvard has an online program now similar to APUS. Youll find that most people that complain about APUS do so from significantly biased roots, as traditional learners are often not suited for the advances in distance education.

Thus far, all complaints yet registered regarding APUS, APU, or AMU are the only real scams. APUS is fully accredited complete with elaborate professor profiles, all of which can be verified for credibility. They are listed on the department of education website, which immediately refutes any possibility of APUS being a scam. The financial aid complaints currently listed are entirely personal error. The financial aid applications allow you to choose to have extra funds sent to you, but defaults remainders to be returned to the lender unless otherwise specified by the student. They also allow you to apply for a specific amount of funds just like any normal loan application. The biggest difference from this process is that as it is an online university, students must be competent and pay attention to what they are doing. Although you CAN call and have the FinAid Staff walk you through it (or use email, or the live chat option), if you dont and arent familiar with the process you are likely to make an error if you are looking for some sort of specific option. This university is for a select group that is capable of working on their own, and requires intense self discipline to excel. Your professors cant do the work for you.

I have been both an undergrad student and a graduate student at AMU, as well as an undergrad student at OSU and Columbus State. I was nothing at OSU or Columbus State, my instructors never knew me, never recognized how much effort went into my work, and never got over their own egos. I passed my classes with ease and didnt show up most of the time. APUS' programs allow professors to know their students, with regular communication daily through a variety of avenues. They provide a far greater education as the highly credible expert professors require extensive reading, weekly essays (up to 6 per week per course not including research papers or exams). If you dont do the work, you simply cannot do well. My best advice is to recognize the change in the times, as most universities have adopted a similar format to the one used at APUS. Therefore, if you enroll at any other university and take an online option, you are essentially experiencing what you might experience at APUS (only likely with less formalities or strict professors - most professors at APUS are experts in the field or published doctors). Any rebuttal to this fact only adds further blasphemy to practically every complaint listed thus far. APUS is not a diploma mill any more than OSU, LSU,or Harvard. As a matter of fact, Harvard has an online program now similar to APUS. Youll find that most people that complain about APUS do so from significantly biased roots, as traditional learners are often not suited for the advances in distance education.

http://www.ncahlc.org/Information-for-the-Public/complaints.html

  I was taking classes at AMU a few years back due to a difficult financial situation.  Unfortunately, the school ended up being nothing but a scam. Instructors were poorly supervised, so they had a full freedom of doing whatever they wanted in class. The majority of them lacked proper credentials and knowledge needed to be educators(A lot of them did not even live in the States). One of my instructors kept telling students that her job responsibilities did not include explaining the subject she was teaching; the other kept bragging about writing a children's book, yet had no understanding of the basic literary terms. Lack of consistency and direction from instructors  was stressful and confusing. Asking questions was strictly prohibited or treated as criticism that would reflect poorly on the students' grades. Needless to say, I dropped out after taking the initial set of classes. I understand why current students defend the school though. I wouldn't want to admit I have wasted my time and money getting a degree from a diploma mill. 

To be fair,  I am now a senior at reputable Chicago school. My experience at the current institution has been extremely positive. I haven't had a single instructor that wouldn't be a professor( i.e. have a PHD).  All of them made themselves available to students 24/7. You could talk to them in person, call their cell or home phone, e-mail them, etc (Despite all of them being busy professionals : lawyers, judges, authors, etc). They had no issues explaining the basics and never deviated from the syllabus. 

That is the difference between a cheap diploma mill and a reputable college. You can be taught by a house wife, living in Uganda, who got her master's from University of Phoenix at AMU...or you can get a student loan and go to a real school and get your knowledge from professionals. 

It is par for the course, if you have to wait until after the first week or even two, to receive your student aid. That is perfectly reasonable. Try waiting, as I did, until a full month after the end of your first semester at American Public University, before you get a financial aid check! Talk about an undue hardship.
 And once APU has your money, you are no longer treated like a customer (which we students are, since theirs is a for-profit university,) you are treated like someone they owe money to (because they do!) and they are deadbeats, ditching your calls.
Go ahead... enroll at APU/AMU, and you can find out for yourself when they rip you off.  APU was a terrible experience for me, and I wish I'd never heard their name.

I though waiting till after the first week has always been correct: They need to make sure that your actually going to go to school first. I know alot of schools that don't release it until you have been verified as attending: It is no longer up to the school anymore but the federal government.

I had the same thing happen to me at MTSU. Once it's reported in the system that you have attended all of your classes, I recieved my money. I also didn't have anything and I let my teachers know that i was waiting on my financial aid and they were fine with it.

I am a student in APU. I have applied for financial aid through fafsa 2 months prior to the intended semester, and was qualified for financial aid and student loans with in few days after.

Inspite of that, I wasnt able to attend the school in that semester because APU decided on last minute, 2 days prior to the beginning of the semester to inform me that they needed me to fill out more forms from the school to qualify!!..which i did immidiately..and it took them a week to process it and i wasnt able to attend as a result of this mismanagment and then for the delay of proccessing my documents.

First, my name, since that seems to be an area of contention, is Brian Prince. I am a graduate student in the counseling M.Ed. at APU. I have completed 42 of the 48 hours required for my degree, and have already completed two others... An associate of applied science in paralegal studies from Columbus State and a Bachelor of Science in sociology, anthropology, and health from Eastern Oregon University... So to the most recent respondent who suggested.that maybe I had not done my research before enrolling, I would suggest that my experience in researching educational institutions likely surpasses that of most students at APUS... Particularly in light of my degree program and field experience.

While it is absolutely true that undergraduates do not pay for textbooks, it is also entirely true that most universities.allocate a certai .amount of funding for those students expected to.receive.excess financial aid.so they can purchase textbooks. This is not the case, as I indicated in my original statement, with APUS. Neither of the respondents have addressed, either, the manner in which APU processes disbursements of financial aid and one even proposed that I may be a student who takes the money and runs. Having already copleted two degrees and nearly the third, I find that a very unlikely supposition.

As undergraduates at APU, it is unlikely the respondents have any appreciable experience with financial aid from public institutions, and so instead of addressing the allegations.made in my primary statement, have resorted to calling my character and identity into question. Now that your curiosity is satisfied and your assertions addressed, will you respond to the actual issue in my original post, or find other ways.gov circumvent the assertions I've made?

Usually, I do not get involved with these type of websites.  However, I think it is only fair that the people who visit this site "hear" both sides of the story.  I am a graduate student at American Military University/American Public University Systems and I have used the financial aid that is offered through the university.  The staff was extremely helpful and there was no issues with the loan process. 

My professors have been outstanding and are extremely qualified in their various specialities, which allows us, the students, to learn from their vast experiences.  This is the only university(that I am aware) that the textbooks are free while you are finishing your Bachelor's Degree.  You do have to pay for your textbooks for graduate school but name one university where that does not occur.  Also, some of the textbooks come in the format of ebooks or have had no textbook requirements and have not cost me any money. 

Also, you can rent various textbooks through websites such as Chegg.com  The unnamed author mentions about all academic theory and no practice.  I can not speak for all degree concentrations but that is accurate for my particular degree.  However, I already have the practical experience I am just missing the academic degree that my profession requires.  My recommendation to the unnamed author is investigate your colleges before you make a decision.  Just because you do not agree with the system at APUS does not make it a bad university.