Capella University Reviews

As a student maintaining a flawless A academic standing at Capella University, it is unacceptable that backend database failures are actively threatening my housing security. Despite an early April 2026 application and a maximum-need -1500 SAI score, Capella's software has generated a corrupted ledgerflagging my July 29 funding as 'Canceled', routing my institutional scholarship to the year 2099, and completely omitting my eligible Federal FSEOG grant allocation.

Internal specialists have refused an emergency manual override. Formal expedited files are now active with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General (Case #EF2C8F1BC2) and the FSA Ombudsman (Case #3600****).

I demand that leadership authorize an emergency institutional check today to secure my shelter. Prospective students should be aware that this institution's administrative capability failures can directly compromise your livelihood and housing stability.

My experience with Capella University was extremely disappointing. I enrolled in the FlexPath program because it was presented as a flexible, self-paced learning option that would allow me to balance school with my personal responsibilities.

Unfortunately, when unexpected life circumstances affected my ability to complete coursework, I felt that the program did not provide the support or flexibility that was advertised.

I was enrolled in a course where I did not submit assignments, yet I was still charged approximately $2,900 for the class. I was later held responsible for the balance, and my attempts to dispute the charge were not resolved in a way that addressed my concerns.

I felt that the communication and resolution process did not adequately consider the circumstances or the expectations that were set when I enrolled.

My biggest concern is the lack of transparency around course participation, charges, and how non-completion is handled. Students considering Capella should carefully review the financial policies, withdrawal procedures, and consequences of not completing coursework before enrolling.

I hope Capella improves its communication with students and creates a process that better supports students when unexpected situations arise.

Don't attend this University. I was a PhD.

Student in the PhD. Program in Psychology. I completed all course work in 4.5 years. In the last course I was falsely accused of Plagiarism by a faulty Safe Assign software report.

I fought the allegation internally for an entire year and lost. I was then immediately expelled. Certain faculty members and administrative faculty in the Learner Affairs department will railroad you and get rid of you if they so desire.

They are a private for profit online University and evil. The legal avenues available to fight false allegations and unethical practices is also very limited because of their private university status.

They know exactly what they are doing every step of the way if they want to get rid of you as a student.

I started my doctoral degree in 2018, focusing on human services with a capstone project. My work was a monograph literature reviewa systematic, critical analysis of existing research on legal immigrants facing challenges in accessing accurate healthcare benefit information and integrating into their communitys social service systems.

The previous Dean initially approved my project, but the committee later said it didnt qualify as research. I made corrections, but the staff were unhelpful; one adjunct mentor questioned my topic and showed bias against immigrants. They repeatedly told me only one percent of learners graduates and sometimes asked what I would do with a doctoral degree. After reporting such comments, I was reassigned to a new mentor who had me work on unrelated tasks for three quarters.

When I complained, I was told my project was tentatively approved with minor corrections before final approval. My second mentor congratulated me, only to admit the committee had made a mistake, sending me someone elses project and saying my approval was in error. After another complaint, I was assigned a third mentor who confirmed Id spent three quarters working on unrelated tasks. I had completed 98% of my capstone with a 3.72 GPA, but during a departmental transition from one of Capellas colleges to another with the doctoral program, I was given a Notice of Administrative Withdrawal Not Satisfied grade despite submitting my Capstone project, and other required materials.

My mentor mentioned having 32 students not affiliated with the university, plus five from our own. In the end, I was hit with an administrative withdrawal for not completingor rather, not meeting their expectations forthe project. It was a nightmare. (a) the demonstration that you experienced extenuating circumstances that prevented your academic progress,

(b) those extenuating circumstances have remedied, improved, or stabilized, and

(c) that you have identified a realistic and feasible plan for regaining satisfactory Progress requires a realistic plan that focuses on the courses, milestones, and program requirements necessary to demonstrate satisfactory advancement.

I appealed to my situation, but it fell on deaf ears. Can I transfer my credits elsewhere? My advisor spoke to me only twice for 6.5 years, and during that time, I was asked to destroy a female students Capstone project, after which I assume she went on to receive her doctorate in Human Services.

Their mistake, as they called it, was met with me being told congratulations. What a waste of time, money, and energy.

I'm writing this review as a former Capella FlexPath student who was administratively withdrawn under circumstances that I believe were unfair, unclear, and handled without proper support or transparency.

After being placed on academic warning, I followed every step advised by my academic coach including retaking and passing the required courses and switching instructors. I was actively working to improve and making real progress.

However, I was withdrawn based on a billing session deadline that was not clearly communicated. I had been led to believe my session extended through June 10, and I acted in good faith based on that understanding. The policy (3.01.04) does not clearly explain that billing deadlines override the academic calendar.

What's worse is that I was never given a proper chance to respond or explain my side before being removed from the program. While some staff did eventually speak with me, the damage had already been done, and my formal appeal and grievance were denied without explanation.

Despite Capella receiving financial aid funds for the term, I never received any disbursement due to the administrative withdrawal, leaving me with both emotional and financial stress.

As a student who was committed to learning and followed guidance at every step, I feel deeply disappointed and let down. Capella's processes lack clarity, their support systems fail students who are trying to succeed, and their policies seem designed to protect the institution, not the learner.

Capella is a for-profit university, and I expected more transparency, empathy, and fairness. Sadly, my experience showed otherwise.

If you're considering Capella, ask a lot of questions upfront and be prepared to advocate for yourself every step of the way.

I am a current student at Capella University and am interested in proceeding with a class action lawsuit. I am a senior within my undergraduate class of General Psychology. I have been on the Dean's list at least ten times (I am not bragging, just giving context that I am not looking to sue because I was not doing what I was supposed to do). The entire time I have been part of Capella University, my financial aid has covered me up until the point they have shown why they are considered a for-profit school. Before my last spring semester started, I always checked my financial aid to ensure I had enough to cover what was supposed to be my last and final semester. So before my spring semester started, I noticed I was a bit short in my financial aid due to being under the recommended plan. Then, from my dashboard, I tried to accept the maximum amount, which was an estimate of $8,000 and some change. I noticed I was unable to do so, so then I requested Capella FAST (financial aid team) to assist with this matter. I was then told to write a letter in my handwriting to accept the amount I had left to use for my spring classes. I did this, and they emailed me back, stating they would accept the amount I was offered in aid.

The beginning of my spring semester started, and in the week I was supposed to receive my financial aid disbursement, I did not get it. The following week I got a notification that I was missing some documents. I was unsure about what I could have possibly missed because I stay on top of my financial aid. I saw an overpayment notice. I called Capella Financial aid team, and I was explained that I was overpaid in tuition for the previous fall semester. I asked how this happened when I was under a recommended plan, and I took the classes according to my planner. They said not to worry, everyone is dealing with overpayment at this time. I asked why, but got no real explanation for that, but I digress. So being confused, I started to investigate and found that according to the NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System), which generates SSCRs at the beginning of each month.

Reporting Overpayments to NSLDS: If a grant overpayment is the result of the student's withdrawal and a return of Title IV funds calculation, you must contact the student within 30 days of determining that the student withdrew (see Volume 5). You only report unresolved overpayments if they're due to student error.

Now, as I have stated, I have been under a recommended plan, so I did not accept more than what I am granted, so there is no way the error is on me unless, precisely if there was a failure of the financial aid team reporting to me from over 90 days. What I found interesting within the Capella policy is that your student account must be in good standing in order to receive your financial aid. So, do I find it a coincidence that the week I am supposed to receive my financial aid disbursement is when I get an overpayment notification?

To give context, I couldn't start my winter semester because I still owed from the summer, which I have been working to pay down my student balance (although, as I have stated, I have been getting financial aid the entire time, right?). Do I also find it interesting that no one from the financial aid team from December to March notified me about an overpayment in tuition until April? So fast-forward after begging and pleading to get my reaffirmation letter in a timely manner so I can get my disbursement while I am in almost the final weeks of my spring semester, which according to Capella financial aid, I was supposed to receive my reaffirmation letter three days from 4-24-24 only to get them to email me finally on 5-8-2024 with my affirmation letter attached.

I then sent it to my lender; it took three weeks. Even after some weeks, I was still not given an answer or my spring disbursement. Would you believe I called the FAST team only to be told I did not have a FAFSA on file, so therefore I did not have any financial aid available for my spring semester? To my surprise, shocked and confused, I logged into my FAFSA account, only to see that oh wait, I do have one since I reapplied for my FAFSA since November for my spring 2024-****. I called back and let them know this, and they then told me they would call me back about the issue. No call, no email, or smoke signal, bird, nothing from that. I was then, a week later, sent an email response that I was given an amount (estimated to $4,000 and change).

Again, livid, why? Well, according to my FAFSA report, I still had $8,000 available. Keep in mind I previously mentioned that is what I tried to request for that amount to which only to be told in another phone call no, that number is not right. The amount I am requesting for is not the correct number showing on my dashboard; there must be a 'system glitch'. So, I have money left in my unsubsidized loans, not just that, ohhh okay. Well, what do I have? Oh, you have really $6,000. That's not what I am seeing nor am I seeking, but hey, I just want to get done with this spring course to lead into my Capstone.

So I reluctantly agreed because I knew I would have to revisit that and get loan forbearance and possibly sue, but the objective was always to just finish. So I said I would go ahead and accept this underpayment as a means to get done with my degree. They emailed me back and said they would accept the $6,000 and some change on my behalf since I could not from my dashboard. Here's where things got from bad to worse. I received my disbursement late, and it wasn't what they agreed to accept. I was then given $4,000 in change. Notice how I stated before I was granted $8,000 in available funds, only to be told you have $6,000, only to be given $4,000 as a disbursement. Now with that being said, after 4 1/2 years of hard work, sacrifice, blood, sweat, and tears. After almost losing my life with my last baby boy during Covid. After fighting for my life from the ventilator, to being diagnosed with cancer and beating it. I stuck it through it all, only to be left currently in debt after finding out they overcharged in financial aid, after finding out they have been stealing my financial aid and now after all of that, still not being able to proceed into my Capstone because they have manipulated the system and penalized me for their mismanagement of funds; I am stuck fighting back tears and depression when all I wanted to do was be a proud college graduate.

Capella University is a proud schemer, thimblerig, thrives off swindling students into debt by any means. This school has no interest in helping students to go to the next level of their professional lives; this school is meant to take from you and leave you with nothing to show for. I will pursue a class action lawsuit, and I will win in the end. If anyone is interested or in the process, please email me at Ashums31@***.com.

My experience with Capella University was incredibly stressful and disappointing. When I enrolled, I was told that I was eligible for financial aid and that it would fully cover my tuition, meaning I wouldn't have to pay out of pocket.

However, when I had questions about my aid, I struggled to get a quick response from their unhelpful financial aid department. Because of the lack of communication, I made the responsible decision to withdraw from a class to avoid financial liability. Despite this, Capella failed to properly process my withdrawal, later claiming that I had never attended the class and was not eligible for financial aid, now billing me for a class I never took! Their lack of transparency, poor communication, and refusal to take responsibility make this institution a nightmare for students.

Instead of helping, they blame students for their own administrative failures. I ultimately chose to withdraw from the university entirely because I could not trust them. They should not be allowed to operate like this.

If you're considering Capella University, think twice; they are misleading, unhelpful, and only seem to care about money, not students. Avoid this school at all costs.

This university is a scam and should be reported every chance they get. I was enrolled in the MSN Education program in 2020.

Due to being pulled to work frontline in the hospital during COVID, I asked to be removed from classes. This was 2.5 weeks AFTER the start. I spoke with someone multiples times over the phone and they assured me this was resolved. When I realized I was still getting notifications that I was enrolled in classes, it was 2 months post.

I expected to pay for the two months of classes I was unaware I was in, but then I received a bill of $2,555 for the entire semester of classes. They have designed a system where you are required to pay for the entire semester of classes, regardless of if you took any of them. Mind you, I called multiple times to unenroll and was told they would do that. Surprisingly, they have no record of those conversations.

I have now been sent to collections for a semester of classes I never took.

Please, do not go here. The education is terrible on top of the scam they have created to take your money for no service provided.

I signed up for the PhD in advanced human behavior under the promise of a 5k scholarship. I'm halfway through my degree and still have not received a dime of it.

I was also approved for another 5k scholarship and was told it would be provided in October 2024, but this turned out to be untrue; the correct date is October 2025. Recently, I went on vacation intending to work in the evenings from my room. However, they decided to create a new log-in process that only allows me to log in from my desktop computer. I submitted assignments that were due a few days after I returned, only to be told that I'm receiving a zero for them.

Every single class I've taken has been in reference to marriage and family therapy, nothing to do with the degree title.

I'm going to end my time here and transfer my credit elsewhere. Don't fall for this scam!

I am a disabled person attending Capella University and in the first semester the instructor breached confidentiality by leaking my grades to the class in a group email. In the next class I filed a complaint about a woman instructor grading me unfairly and making us write about a controversial topic.

I asked advisors if it was okay to take off a semester and they said I would experience no issues with financial aid, however, all of the advisors lied to me by not explaining that I needed to be enrolled at least part time to remain eligible for financial aid. When I explained to the advisor that I thought a woman teacher had discriminated against me by grading unfairly, she became upset and wanted to end the call even though I was talking calmly and not being disruptive. Two weeks later the university sent me an email saying I committed disrespectful behavior that warranted my expulsion. At this point in the case my right to free speech is being grossly violated, and this is a negligent and egregious act against a disabled student, a violation of Civil rights.

There was a panel created against me by the school, but I was not provided with dates and times to join the meeting and no offer to meet with the panel to defend myself. I sent emails expressing I wanted to join the panel, but I never received a reply from the school. I feel an academic advisor has not only abused her powers, but she has violated a disabled person's civil rights.

Unjustly expelling me from the school and putting marks on my permanent record is another violation of conduct because I will carry these marks on my permanent record when I feel I have done nothing wrong and did not break any laws. I am being punished for complaining and this is going to ruin my financial aid and credibility with future employers.