I was a Financial Aid Officer at Kaplan University which is owned by the Washington Post (1). My employment was for over a year and I quit to work at a new job. I am not angry at Kaplan yet I am disappointed. The school offers a very expensive education, aggressive enrollment process and a questionable quality of education. They don't seem motivated to educate. They are motivated to make money.
The cost of tuition goes up every year. The price hike usually takes place toward the middle of the year. I believe it is currently 305 a credit hour. This means a 90 credit associate degree costs 27,450 plus fees. A 180 credit bachelors degree costs 54,900. The equivalent ONLINE bachelors degree at the University of Florida is 18,240 plus fees. (1) There are more reputable sources of education available at a much lower cost.
P.S. You will not be eligible for any state scholarships at Kaplan unless you live in Iowa.
The Kaplan admissions telephone sales force is staffed is extremely aggressive. They sit in cubicles and try call 150 people a day or 750 calls a week. They try to get more than 3 students to enroll every month. Once they get a possible student on the line, they will do everything they can to get you to enroll. The telemarketing techniques they use can be very convincing. For example, I have seen people enroll who do not have computer access, don't know how to read or have a mental handicap. Reputable colleges have students calling them not the other way around.
By the way, once you enroll the admissions officers won't talk to you. So don't think they are your friends. You are their paycheck.
Will 55,000 buy you a quality education? Maybe. First, you have to graduate. When I left, the school was running into trouble with retention rates. This may explain why some of their staff are reporting a delay in paycheck payments. I can find graduation rates for other Universities on the web but Kaplan's is mysteriously missing. Perhaps this is a by product of enrolling anyone who will answer the telephone. As for the quality of education, a quick Kaplan search on complaint will show an extensive list of past Kaplan University students and they are not happy. Receiving a 55,000 education should make them happy.
You can find a better education than Kaplan University. The cost of the school is extremely high. You can buy three to four degrees at state Universities for the price of one degree at Kaplan. Admissions officers are at normal universities. Kaplan has a telephone sales staff. Finally, the statements of past students on this web site should show you that Kaplan students can be very unhappy. Please ignore the Kaplan sales guy for a few days and check your local Universities for online programs. It will save you a lot of money.
(1) http://www.washpostco.com/business-education.htm
(2) University of Florida online tuition determined by multiplying hourly online credit cost of $152.00 X 120 hours. Note: the first two years of college need to take at a different school. The college offers the 3rd and 4th year of instruction. Several other 1st and 2nd year online schools exist.
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