Penn Foster High School Reviews

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.