Penn Foster High School Reviews

My daughter has been enrolled with Penn Foster's James Madison High School for over 2 years. Since 6/18, she has not been able to access some of her classes and assignments. We have made many phone calls in that period of time, trying to get help, but there has not been any movement forward until the last 2 days. That said, they still have not identified all of the problems. We have gotten the run-around, been lied to, and hung up on. You can't directly contact a manager or supervisor or the administration. We were supposed to get calls back them, but never have. This situation has been extremely frustrating, especially since my daughter has signed a cheer scholarship at a college. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I paid off school right away for high school diploma. I have health issues so haven't logged in a year because of Dad passing and health issues. Now I tried to log back in and they said I need to pay $95 for extension. When I first started contract never said I had time to finish my studying. That's how they scam people. I never knew about time limit to study.

I am a new student enrolled in the HS diploma adult program. I was told I was able to upload a copy of my transcripts right away, meaning jumping right in where I left off and starting from where I need to be, that this upload is within minutes, and see right away the courses to take and since in real time in HS my course length is only within 1 month, which in reality, is how much time is left. So I called the agent, and the first agent was completely rude, unhelpful, and hung up in the middle of the call.

I had a frustrating experience with the Penn Foster plumber course. I initially enrolled and paid monthly but had to stop due to financial reasons. When I contacted them to reactivate my account, I paid the remaining balance in full, expecting everything to be settled. However, to my dismay, I was told that I had to restart the course from the beginning. After completing the course and obtaining my degree, I was shocked to receive a notice about an outstanding balance on my old account. They now expect me to pay an additional $600 to close that account! It's disheartening to deal with such poor customer service and unclear billing practices. I wouldn’t recommend this program based on my experience.

I enrolled years ago for a high school diploma and still till this day have not received my diploma. I paid so much money for nothing!

The help desk is not helpful. They have a script and do not deviate. Penn Foster is unprofessional and does not care about your child. My son had a very bad experience with his high school diploma, which, even though he has 5 extra credits, they keep adding in classes for him to complete. Classes he received credit for before enrolling.

I enrolled my daughter in Penn Foster for online high school, and she completed her 11th grade within six months. While the program was straightforward and easy, we found that the educational quality was lacking, and she didn’t gain much knowledge during that time. Additionally, when we decided to transfer her to a different school and canceled her enrollment, we were charged over $1,300 in cancellation fees, which felt unfair. Overall, it was not the best experience.

We used Penn Foster for two of our kids for their high school program. We would not recommend it, unless your student loves hours upon hours of reading, very minimal videos or interactive aspects. We also had a horrible experience with their customer service, around October of 2024 they did an update/revamp of their website, our son had electives added that he didn’t choose as did my daughter with no way to remove or change them. So we called to have that addressed, starting in November of 2024.

My daughter entered Penn Foster n September 1, 2025. We became concerned when she completed all of 9th grade in about 40 hours within the first week. Although she is a good student, I do not think this should be possible. In addition, I contacted Penn Foster to see if they thought this was too fast and did not receive a response. I told my daughter that I didn't think this school was adequate and that we needed to change schools. She continued to work while as I was out of town and completed all of high school within about 230 hours over three weeks. Then I really knew how bad it was. When I tried to withdraw on September 19, 2025, I was told that the enrollment agreement required me to pay the full amount for this terrible product because she had completed all of the courses. I consider this a sham, scam high school.

Penn Foster is an okay school but it better to go to a free school. If you enroll and want to cancel they charge you a 500.00 fee. If you're past due for 4 months they make you pay a 700.00 fee to stay with the school. However you can't log in after your 2 months past due. Pros: Easy to get into and flexible. Cons: Not enough time before your access is suspended and they still charge you even though you're not receiving services.

Penn Foster would be an excellent school to go through, however they have become low quality in the services they provide. NOT the curriculum...But the customer service and policies. They DO NOT have a way a parent can oversee where their child is at, without having to call and have customer service TELL YOU. Which CAN become a problem with the superintendent of the school district your child lives in. Why would an accredited school NOT have something put in place that this can be done? It's NOT complicated to do. Yet, they fail to provide this option for both parent and child, so that children can be monitored properly. They also provide curriculum, as long as payment is current. Which is the way it should be.

First off I get all excited to start up and then I starting thinking about how expensive it really is to get high school diploma. When I can go get my GED for free with classes but I wanted to try. Went online, I felt like it was a therapy session asking weird questions that made zero sense. I thought maybe it was first assignment so I did a couple then was like this isn't even class related. No math, nothing and canceled. Then said I owe for what I did. Oh really therapy questions, tf, don't waste your time!

I enrolled my daughter in Penn Foster High School after thoroughly researching options and speaking at length with an enrollment advisor. I explained that my child was temporarily leaving public school for medical reasons and that she absolutely planned to return to graduate with her class. I was repeatedly reassured that Penn Foster credits were fully transferable to all public schools in all 50 states, and that many students successfully use their program for similar temporary situations. This was a lie.

My Honest Review of Penn Foster High School Diploma Program. I recently graduated from Penn Foster High School with honors, and overall, I’m really proud of my experience. The program gave me the flexibility and tools I needed to succeed on my own time, and I’m now attending a university in my area—something I’m incredibly happy about.

Absolute WORST customer service experience. I paid for my granddaughter's high school course and she’s submitted tests for 2 years and now suddenly they have no record of it. We were told if her previous transcripts were submitted she would get credit for those and I would receive a monetary credit. The transcripts were submitted 4 times and guess what, they can’t find those either. They’re claiming she never took the required CAT test. Which is required in order for them to know where to place you in the high school course. They will email you with their information but will NOT respond back to your email questions. I have gotten the total run around with these people. I have asked 4 times for a contact to their legal department or attorney and no one will provide that information.

I joined in October of 2024. Just logging in was such a struggle. I had to reset my password on a daily cause for some reason the password would only work once then I had to change it. Worst of all my credits aren’t being transferred. I called Pen Fosters they said I’m on my own. I called my old school and they told me pen foster didn’t transfer my credits correctly, so then I try to call pen foster again and the lady on the other side of the phone was so rude and didn’t help at all. I tried to go to pen foster main website and see if there was information that could help me and there was nothing. I tried sending an email to them with student.reviews@pennfoster.edu which I found on this review site and apparently that’s blocked. It’s not worth it. I’m stressed out of my mind and they need to find new workers.

I will not recommend this school to no one. I am thinking to report this school to the education department. Penn Foster is not who they said there are, always changing teachers, I and waiting so long, been months for my externship. How can they not find a placement at CVS. This is ridiculous. I have completed all my requirements. Drug test, criminal background report. 2024 until now. Please don't enroll at this school. Read the reviews. That was my mistake, I should have read it. I might have to redo my pharmacy technician course in NY.

My daughter started Penn Foster online in 2023 with an expectation of graduating in May 2024. It is now February 2025 and she has not received a diploma. We have been calling since May of last year asking why and we were told her advisor left. Then we were told the teacher left. So her last two assignments she turned in. No one had graded. Then we received a response saying that the assignments need to be resubmitted after calling. She resubmitted them At least three times and they keep kicking them back. So we called again in the fall and we demanded a supervisor twice which we still have yet to hear from One. I had to Google the teachers name and search online for an email address at the school.

Third party extremely hard to get a hold of customer service. I will never use this company again. Yes the program is a good program but customer service is crazy to get through to anyone. It should not take days to get a hold of someone to get your transcripts and copies of certificate. Course work was very easy, I'll give them credit for that. A bit pricey but worth it.

It is a total disaster. I regret the day I allowed my son to attend. Stay away! Teachers are low profile and ego-oriented. Student advocates are worse than DA office. We have been struggling to correct several mistakes of the so-called educators more than 3 months and they ran away from their mistakes and responsibilities. We doubt if the educators are certified!!

Yes, they are amazing. Mrs ** from the Academic Team Lead explained everything. They provided me the option for to refund all my money since the program was really not for me since I have some experience in the field already. Also, their program is pretty updated since all are 2022 versions which is pretty update, and the lack of support was for a system was updating and in the transition cause the delay in their responses.

Great school, provided an opportunity after things prevented me from attending regular school. Counselors are friendly and helpful. Submitting transcripts for transfer credits was easy. Can be a tad expensive for what it is though.

My son is attending Penn Foster online to complete his High School education. He currently has a part-time job offer. He needs the job. In Michigan 17 year olds require that a Work Permit be completed and submitted by the employer. The employer cannot legally hire my son because Penn Foster will not complete their portion of the form. They will only send a letter of attendance. I have call the Penn Foster Customer Service Line. I have used the CHAT and cannot get anyone to understand that this is a legal form. I will be consulting with a lawyer, if my son loses this job.

I started Penn Foster High School program through my employer in June 2022. I managed to get more than half way through all my courses averaging A/B grades only to lose my job in Dec of 2022, and not just that Penn Foster did not reach out to me, I have to reach out to them after not being able to log on for class. Telling me I could pay $500.00 to get my transcripts, not even saying I could finish school. I was geared up to finishing school even if I had to pay for it but what I wasn't expecting was for them to say pay this amount to get your transcripts. No encouragement to stay the course and finish but send me that money and we will send your documents.

I enrolled my 9th grade honor student with the fact of being told they would match what he was taking at public school. My kid was in algebra 2 honors and they gave him an elective of just algebra. First of all that is not an elective. Anyways I had noticed after the first week they had actually enrolled him with their sister school James Madison to which I did not want so I called to have him switched to Penn Foster, who I actually called to begin with and have the phone records to prove it. Anyways they tried saying I would have to pay more, mind you I had already paid 2 weeks earlier to enroll. I told them no and I wanted him pulled.

I put my first two kids in Penn Foster. I had my kids in ACE but it was not credited high school. So I put them in Penn foster for high school. But it was a joke. ACE was so much more challenging. They finished Penn foster in no time not learning anything more than what they did with ACE at 8th grade. Put them back in ACE so they could get a education.

I dropped out of high-school 20 yrs ago. I recently completed the high-school diploma program June 19. I started applying for state, county and government jobs immediately. Although I didn't finish paying off my balance, I still was able to get a letter of completion. I just got hired to work as a legal secretary in the prosecutor's office. So the diploma is definitely legit!! Thank you Penn Foster!!!!

Firstly I had a call with Katie mid April, in an attempt to enroll in the program. Due to being burned before with online high schools, I wanted to get things worked out and to make sure everything would fit my needs going forth to college. She advised me I should contact my high school and start getting my transcript processed over to Penn Foster. I called back twice once the first week of May and spoke to another person on the specialized team in charge of handling transcripts, she was very nice but stated Katie wasn’t in and that she would help me, she said they had yet to receive my transcripts but that I could try again and Katie could give me a call back the next day.

BEWARE! This is a complete scam and waste of money. I enrolled in the graphic design course and upon taking two assessments and two lessons I realized the content was incredibly dated and poorly presented. I further reviewed the course curriculum and Penn Foster's reputation and realized that even after spending thousands of dollars and countless hours - this course would not prepare me for a career in this field. So, I cancelled right away. They continued to charge me for 5 months. After 5 months, they said I didn't confirm my cancellation so they didn't push it forward but they are still saying that "assessments" are considered "lessons" or "courses" - even though nothing was taught in them. So now I'm paying college credit prices for useless assessments.

When I enrolled my contract stated a price and said I had 6 years to complete my schooling. I maintained being a Dean's list student. I later lost my job and then covid happened. I called them to let them know, I need to take a break from studying to get back on my feet but at least want to pay them off. I paid them in full. I was told to take as long as I need as long as I complete all my courses by Dec 2022. I called back Jan of 2022 to get back going with my studies and they informed me they unenrolled me for taking a long time period off.

I had to cancel program due to medical issues. This school is trying to make me pay 200 in something dollars for canceling and doing exams. This school is definitely money hungry. I also have known a few who have not received there diploma after finishing the schooling. Customer service had no interest in hearing I'm on ssi and can not afford that, she said I can pay 100 two months, I explained I cannot afford that. I was completely ignored on that. Overall, I believe this school is a scam for money.

Even though I made each payment and took screenshots from my bank to prove it, they kept harassing me about my payment. The tech support was awful (called 4 times to attempt to straighten out the issue). No one seemed to know what they were looking at or doing. It was extremely obvious that the support team was working from home and irritated that I was bothering them with a question. This went on for 3 months. I unenrolled my student.

Honesty, I think it's great to have an opportunity to get a High School diploma through Penn Foster. But I believe they are money motivated and have no real concern for their customers. There is a lot of personality coming from the 'Instructor". This interfere with professional conduct and questions the legitimacy of the entire entity. From different sources of information that I have collected over time, I have learned that in some instances the school is requiring prior education in connection with the very educational program that is being paid for to be learn. Then you would have to ask the question; If I am already educated in this area, then why do I need Penn Foster? For Instance: I want to learn HS Algebra! Well, first you'll need to know HS Algebra because we will not teach you as with other schools. It is the whole reason why people go to school. To learn!

This company will not be recommended by me! They are awful to try and get assistance from. My son signed up for the electrical elective and after months of study and trying to get assistance we had to switch electives so he can get his diploma. When I call asking for assistance the person I FINALLY get to speak to after several emails and messages will just tell me the answers are wrong and not answers that can be googled. We are not trying to Google the answers and he is definitely taking notes and studying. We had a MASTER electrician help him with one of the exams after he failed and the master electrician failed it too. Now I just paid $100 to switch electives so we can be done with this!

As the title states, Penn Foster still has not given me my diploma even though I’ve already completed the program 7 months ago. I’ve contacted Penn foster customer service numerous times via email and number but they are no help whatsoever, they just give me the same robotic response.... It’s infuriating. There is no way that the postal services are delayed by 7 months!. I’ve spoken to three or more different people and each time they said that they’ll order a new diploma for me but it’s funny because I’ve never received a single one. What is happening? I’ll never know because they don’t response to my emails nor will they give me a valid answer when I call them. Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced in my life and I’ve just come to accept that I’ll never receive my physical diploma.

I signed up for Penn Foster in April at the beginning of the pandemic due to my job temporarily closing I was out of work for months. I didn't realize they were charging me regardless even though I never officially started any of their courses due to the stress the pandemic brought on my family. I called today to find out they were charging me even though I never had started any of their programs and informing me I owe them 200.00 for nothing. It was a nightmare. I would advise anyone to research other options just go get a GED study guide from your local bookstore. Go that route. It is widely accepted and you know you can't go wrong. Are do the smart thing. Do your research. If there was a zero they would have achieved that rating. BEWARE please.

This issue is regarding a nsf fee that I was charged for a CLOSED checking account. This account was not a saved payment method on my student portal. The last payment I had made with it was on October 28th, 2019. Since then, I have been using a different account. I have spoken to a supervisor on 7/14 and he said there is nothing he can do about it and that it was probably my fault this happened. How in the world could this closed account be charged When it isn't even a payment method on my student portal? Yes, the fee may only be 35 dollars. But I shouldn't have to pay for something that wasn't even my fault to begin with!

After middle school and beginning high school, I began to suffer from a severe lack of confidence. My grades were bad and I would dread going to school. For a long time I had just given up on life and had counseling and took medication for depression. I was well passed the typical high school age bracket and worried that I would never really make anything of myself. This changed when I was told about Penn Foster High School and learned of its program. After I signed up I was relieved to see how easy it was to understand the curriculum and that I could go at my own pace. With a GPA of 3.58 I became a high school graduate on 5/27/2020. I was so happy that I cried and now I finally feel that I made my parents proud. Now I'm ready to get out there and take on the next challenge. Penn Foster High School gave me my confidence back. My only regret is that I didn't know about it after I finished middle school.

My boyfriend has been submitting his exams. Not helpful/or exams what to do not worded right and not properly explained either comes to exams especially towards the end of the program. Won't get a refund if fully paid but failed when under academic review that doesn't understand at all. He has submitted all of the work. Has an excellent GPA of 3.34. It's only one exam that we have left. We tried to talk to the professors but no luck. It's very annoying the whole process with them.

I canceled on March 23, 2020 because Penn Foster did not accept my official transcript. Another former online school I went to did accept my official transcript. My mother paid $75.00 for enrollment and $49.00 for the monthly payments. They have taken money out of her account and will not give it back. Penn Foster's cancellation policy states “if you cancel more than six days after enrolling but before submitting a completed Program assignment, you will receive a refund of all the monies paid to Penn Foster less the registration fee (the “Non-Refundable Registration Fee”);”.