StraighterLine Reviews
StraighterLine Customer Reviews
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Total Scam!!!
Stay far away from this company!!! They lie to your face and then after they have your money, they screw you over. They told me that the majority of the content was in video format (Lie #1). They told me that I would get 100% tutoring and accommodations with my learning disability (Lie #2). They told me that the course and membership were fully refundable within 30 days (Lie #3).
Due to the fact that I was required to upload a photo of my lab kit serial number and my order form, they called that "doing work" in the course. The reality is that they do not "unlock" the course until you do this step. Only after that, do you actually see the material. So they found a way to say that they offer a refund and then installed a catch that keeps you from seeing the material until you "do some work" (that work being not the course itself, but only verifying the kit you had purchased).
They told me, a visual learner, that "most of our courses are 50-60% in video format". This is a flat out lie!! 100% of the course was in text that was poorly written and poorly formatted. It looked like they scraped the internet for various texts that do not flow together. The only videos I saw were advertisements for the lab company. Yes, Ads inside the course!
They are required to make a reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities by federal law, but this is another scam. They did not provide the accommodation that I required and that was provided at every other school I had attended. Their excuse is "This is a self-study course". Well, that is the same as telling a person in a wheelchair that "sorry our building has stairs, deal with it". That is illegal and unethical.
They are only out for one thing, ripping you off! Stay far away from this loser of a company!!!
Review of straighterline.com
This is my review of straighterline.com
At first I was excited to hear about Straighterline.com. Cheap online classes is exactly what I was looking for. Seven hundred dollars later, I've finally completed my first class and my opinion of the company has deeply soured due to the following issues....
One dimensional:
I took their Economics course (ECON 101 - Macroeconomics). Here's what the course entailed. 1) Read 19 chapters. 2) Take 21 multiple choice tests. I could have received the same education by simply purchasing the textbook for $5 off ebay and answering the multiple choice questions at the end of each chapter.
Easy to cheat:
Eventually I got curious and, after I was finished with a test, I googled some of the questions and nearly every one of the searches ended with a link to the exact question coinciding with the correct answer. And because all you need to do to get an A in a class is to correctly answer multiple choice questions from the comfort of your couch; it's insanely easy to cheat and not get caught.
(For the record: I was taking the class to learn and not for the grade, so I didn't actually cheat.) But I doubt it will take long for people to start taking advantage of this system and straighterline classes will soon be discredited nation wide.
28 day billing cycle:
I found this to be very tricky. The average month has 30.4 days. That's about 2 and a half days every month they jip you of. 2.4 x 12 months = 28.8 days. So over a year, they sneak an extra monthly charge out of you.
If you do decide to take a class...
Prepare to
1) be completely on your own,
2) spend A LOT of time reading. I mean A LOT.
3) pay much more than you expected
4) live with the serious possibility that their classes will be discredited eventually.
It took you several months to complete one course? An Economics course could be knocked out in 1 - 1.5 months if you're saying all you need to do is read 19 chapters and take 21 multiple choice tests.
I agree. I look at Straighterline as an efficient CLEP/DSST alternative. I actually completed this same course as well as ECON102-Microeconomics within less than two months without "cheating." So I paid considerably less for two classes than I would have paid for just one in an online format. Bottom line is that you get out what you put in. Straighterline is approved by ACE, so they must be doing something right. I'm serving in the military overseas, with limited college resources other than attending costly online schools, so this really was a blessing for me. If it's not for you, then simply stay away from it. Otherwise, please do not post bad reviews like this that can potentially affect the view of others. Thanks.
He Speaks The Truth
The history course took me two weeks of actual work, but I paid for 6 because I procrastinated. If it took you that long to do, that's your fault - not SL. As a side note, I wasn't a huge fan because all the online activities won't give you the info you need for the tests.
He Speaks the Truth, is not cheap.
shut me out but never read their emails first.......
I was hit in the head with a fan yes a fan but my eyes are so swollen I can not see a thing I had just signed up for two classes with straighterline before this happened... I paid and when I explained my eye sight was messed up they offered a refund for the classes but not the monthly fee...
I figured I will just hang in and do the best I can...I emailed them this but I have been locked out of all my classes so I lost big time and am disabled.....so it really hurts...So unfair...
Overcharged with no refund
Straighterline doesn't offer degrees.
You are confused. Degree mills offer (1) fake degrees in exchange for money (2) without requiring the student learn anything.
(1) Straighterline doesn't offer degrees at all, but has articulation agreements to transfer ACE credit to their partner colleges. It's a cheap way to knock out core courses fast if you can handle the work. If you didn't check the very clear terms of which schools partner with Straighterline, that's on you.
(2) It takes real work to pass these courses. If you don't learn the material you won't pass. Final exams are proctored using a webcam. When you pass a Straighterline course you can be sure you know the subject and have earned the credit. Think of Straighterline as a guided method of CLEP, with study resources like videos and etextbooks.
Again, you are very confused about the definition of a "degree mill".
I love Straighterline as it is being used to opt out of my elective courses so that I can graduate faster at Purdue. It is not a class so to speak, it is self paced learning and without motivation and the desire to read a lot and work, you will not achieve what it is meant for. There is a reason it is low cost. It is not meant to replace general education but to get out of required courses. Thank you Straighterline, because of this option I will be shaving off the time it would take to do 7 classes (at least 30 weeks!)
Booo
A pain in the butt - Yes
Awful - Yes
Cheap - Yes
Gives College Credits - Yes
All you need to know
Oh thank God I thought I was becoming prematurely senile! I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person (the Mensa plaque on my wall attests to this) but after squeaking by the first test in Western Civilization with a 72....well, let's just say life at my house was uncomfortable for a bit! The Learning Presentation for each chapter is trivial at best and the online Study Aids are a waste of time in prepping for the test. The textbook is very well written, and the textbook's (ungraded) online quiz is somewhat helpful. However ALMOST NONE OF IT aligns with the actual test! It's like three completely different -- and strictly incommunicado -- groups of people were involved: one wrote the straighterline lesson presentation and study aids aimed at an audience of 6th graders, the second group wrote the textbook aimed at college freshmen, and the last wrote the graded test, aimed at making you question your sanity and ability to perform the simplest tasks. Aaargh!!!!!
Okay, now that i have gotten the hang of studying for their exams, I wanted to give an update. I still find their tests enough of a challenge to make me feel the need to study, but not so much that I feel overwhelmed, and certainly not enough to cheat; speaking with the perspective of nearly half a century of living, there ain't enough challenge anywhere to make me take that Loser route. One thing to keep in mind is the proctored Final. Their set-up on this alone is good -- and maybe even more strict than those taken in a classroom setting. You are watched closely. Your computer is watched closely (they remote view your desktop). Your visual and auditory surroundings are watched closely. If you can still find a way to cheat your way past this, then congratulations for being a Loser with a few college credits. I still think the "study aids" provided by SL are a bit of a joke, and stopped wasting my time even looking at them after the first couple of lessons. To summarize: at my own pace and inexpensively, I learned. I passed. I got credits. Yay!
How long does a typical three credit class take to complete?
Very Disapointed/Frustrated
I'm currently taking there intro to algebra course. I watch the lessons several times each and read and study all reading assignments several times. When I go to take there test there's about 5 questions out of 12 on material that wasn't covered anywhere in the lesson.
So I'm very frustrated I do very well on the material that's covered but it's a guessing game on the other questions, and half the time I can't find any reference about the question in the index of the book to look up the information on how to figure out the problem.
Thanks,
Craig
Straighterline did the same thing to me. Straighterline is a fraud company.
Straighterline classes do not transfer. They are a fraud company.
Courses that involve lots of math should state that math is a prerequesite.
I started the chemistry course. I got through the first few chapters @ attempted the first graded test. None of the test questions seemed to be based on ANYTHING I read in those first few chapters and more than half of the questions seemed to involved complicated math equations.
As a returning adult student who has not done ANY math in years, I was not prepared to take this course. The course advertised that there are no prerequisites. It should state that a minimum knowledge of college algebra is a necessary requirement to pass this course.
Needles to say, I called my advisor this morning and asked to withdraw from the course. It was too late to get my money back, but I am allowed to switch to a different course. Any advise out there? Perhaps business or something, nothing that comes with math. Something based on terminology.
I read the reviews on microbiology, and was smart enough to withdraw from that one too. Perhaps I'll take my sciences at the local community college, I have friends in nursing programs that passed their chemistry that did very little math and could still pass the course if they got all the math questions wrong.
This might be a great course for a pre-med student, or somebody studying to become an engineer, a high school or college teacher or for some other career that involves the need to actually be good at math. But, for someone who wants to be a nurse, a therapist, or an elementary teacher does not need courses that are this involved. Most community colleges gear their students towards courses that more accurately fit there career needs.
Straighterline is a scam. They've scammed many people out of lots of money.
They did the same thing to me. Look at all the BBB complaints. Do an internet search for Better Business Bureau Straighterline.
NOT CHEAP, NOT HONEST! DO NOT TAKE
i would not take a class with this low budget (not literally), unknown school. i was told this course was $99 a course. i was not told it was $99 a month. i took one course (college algebra) and it took longer than a month. i ended up paying $200 for the course and when it was time to request an official transcript, i was charged 40 additional dollars to receive my transcript. i have completed a degree at a 4 year university and also taken classes at a junior college and have never been charged for a transcript. i spent a total of $240 for a course with this unheard of school, when it would have cost $139 at a community college.
*************do not put yourself through the headace of dealing with these people**************
oh, and the most important occurance is when i put in a request for my transcript through straighterline, they failed to mention that it was not an official transcript and i would have to go through "ace" to receive an official transcript. i just so happen to received a call (the following semester) from my university stating that i had not graudated because they did not receive an official transcript from ace. so my graduation was postpond the following semester. after calling straighterline, i was told by a supervisor that they have no way of knowing which school requires an official transcript and which schools does not.
*************do not put yourself through the headace of dealing with these people**************
Their website pretty clearly states that their courses are $99 per month and that you should check with the school that you want to attend. Also, they don't charge anything for transcripts. The $40 is charged by the American Council on Education, not StraighterLine. Apparently, you didn't actually pay $40 because your school didn't receive your ACE transcript. Frankly, the inconsistencies in this review make it more than a little suspicious.
agreed....he obviously did not read the details
The whole point of you not taking the course at the community college was because of what? usually its because you need the flexibility of online. So quit crying about how you paid $200 to take it. They are very up front and visible about it being $99/month, not per course..and they do not make any promise that it will only take you a month to complete the course..it will take lazy people like you much longer, although, Im not sure why, because you obviously dont take the time to read things through before you sing the dotted line. You are doing yourself a huge disservice. And I hate to break it to you, but every college and university charges you for official transcripts...EVERY COLLEGE...and if they dont charge it separate from the tuition, then it is charged in the increased graduation fee. Stop complaining and be thankful that such an option exists for your convenience.
In addition to Melissa's comment, I highly doubt you paid 139 per course through a community college. You probably paid 139 per credit hour. That would equal 417 for one course. So you paid half and you are whining? It's hard for me to believe that if you did indeed go to college you didn't know the difference. Also, the 40 they charged is to open an account with ACE - which is actually paid to ACE - Straighterline has nothing to do with that - so that you could have your credits transfer. It's a one-time charge so that if you took another course you wouldn't had to pay again. Or if you went to one of their partner schools the credits would have gone straight to the college and you wouldn't have had to pay for the credits to transfer. This information is all on their website. Perhaps a refresher of English 101 would help you.
Even if you paid $139 at a community college for the class, think about the gas that it will cost to drive to the college and the time that you have to spend to drive to the college, walk to the classroom, back to your car and then drive home. Straighterline is an accredited college and has flexibility that can save you time and money. When I went through college I had to arrange my job schedule many times to be flecible to the classes that I needed to graduate. Spending the extra money and to be able to stay home to complete the course would have been a great plan for me. Also, when I went to Grad school, I had to pay for my transcripts, so for you to get your transcripts for free is a true blessing. Hopefully people will see your complaints a minor and take advantage of a good program.
What college are you going to and why are they so cheap, now you stop all that nonsense and check your college and read the information on the site as you should have in the first place!!
I agree, you should have read all the information before you pay for something. If the company is new to you, you should have asked all the information before, including about the transcripts.
Judging by your post: the university you recieved a four year degree from has failed you miserably.
Hey you always get charged for your transcripts if it is over so many. Also CC is $75 $80 an hour so it would have cost you more than $300 plus your book at your CC
Every community college has different tuition. Some charge much more than others.
How did you get a four year degree from a university without algebra in the first place? After reading your rant I think you missed English too.
That is the whole reason I was taking the English composition class in this site. But they sell themselves as cheap, they are not, to start you pay 329$ and keep paying 99$ monthly until you finish. Working people can afford to finish in a month, so yes they are lying when they say they are cheap. don't Get trick into this unless you are ready to pay the tag prices.
I was looking into taking some classes with Straighteline. On the first page in the first sentence it states "Enroll for just $99 a month, with courses starting as low as $49. '
Seems clear to me.
I just transferred credits from 3 traditional universities, the cost was $15, $7, and $5.
And I transferred credit from the Army, cost free.
Some institutions charge to transfer credit, some don't.
very disappointed
I am currently taking the Microbiology with lab through Straighterline.
I can honestly say this is my first and last class through this school. The structure of the course is very misleading and I have wasted a lot of hours and money because of the lack of direction and structure of their courses. I have complained multiple times and have called in and multiple emails to try and get some direction on how to better take this course and have not gotten any help.
Their tests and quizzes are the biggest joke by far. After nearly failing the first quiz I started taking very detailed notes and still have an extremely hard time with the exams. They ask the most random and small print questions that I don't even remember reading anywhere in the whole reading assignments. Even when I try and go back to the assignments to find this information that I got wrong on the test, I can't find it anywhere!!! Or I do find it on some really random side note or it’s the most complicated random small printed word. The questions they choose to ask on their quizzes are written poorly, misspelled, super complicated or misleading, and have almost nothing to do with the reading assignments.
I have actually found wrong answers on their course study questions. I got the answer wrong but I knew it was right and was able to prove it. I called the school, yet again, to tell them of this mistake and the best thing they could do for me was to tell me to put in a support ticket. Yeah that was helpful. NOT!!!
Their labs are not up to date on their website either. I did a lab wrong because of how it was written. I finally called the lab company that told me I was not using an updated version of the lab and they sent it over to straighterline 8 months ago. Straighterline denied that their lab was wrong and said that I wouldn't be penalized for incorrectly written labs.
I do not trust this school at all and have proven them wrong several times. I would never recommend this school to anyone!!
Hi Nicole,
I just started Microbiolgy with Lab, and hardly know where to begin, the structure of this course is horrible. I have not taken a test yet, just curious are they out of the book, or those online readings? I too emailed and asked for a better idea of what to study seeing as the syllabus is the entire text book, very unrealisic.
Thanks!
Lisa
Straighterline is a scam. They have many Better Business Bureau complaints. They scam students out of their money.
I don't recommend them either. They scammed me out of $500.
Straighterline is Horrible
I took Straighterline because i was told it was "a good alternative for my situation." I am deployed, and didn't want to have the schedule of a class. So I started with their self paced history class. No one told me there was a proctored exam at the end, that REQUIRED a web cam. Mind you I am forward deployed and, did not get this information until the day I wanted to take my final. Now I am 8 weeks into the course, at 99/month, plus the initial set up fee, plus the book, plus the time vested in taking the BS class, and now have to set on it until I can get a web cam to take a BS test.
The questions on the test are vague, and misleading, causing major confusion. I understand them wanting to prevent cheating, but some form of direction would be nice.
I have called in many times to get support, but every time I call its like I am calling for the first time. Mind you, I am under the assumption that I am a paying customer, and I would like my records on file so I don't have to answer the same questions over and over again, such as a class schedule.
I am not recommending this to ANYONE. It is a waste of time and money. I might come out a bit better financially on the back side of things, but only by a few hundred dollars. Not worth it.
It says all over their website that a webcam is required for proctored final exams... maybe you should read more thoroughly before you spend your hard earned money.
Go with AMU or APU, they are affordable and target to you as a military.
You are right. Straighterline is horrible.
Straighterline is a degree mill. They're being investigated by the Department of Justice.
SCAM!!
Exactly 99 monthly, they know already you are going to spend three months as a minimum to finish. And they sell themselves as cheaper than the rest, that's the scam. I requested for them to removed my membership, and neither that I can do.
100% SCAM!
I HATE STRAIGHTERLINE!! They stole my money!