FMU - (International) students, beware!
Attending FMU (Florida Metropolitan University) has been the biggest mistake of my life and I don't want anyone else to repeat it. This "college" preys on international students who don't know much about accreditation. FMU appeals to many international students because the programs are comparatively inexpensive. Mind you, $235/credit is not cheap but it is a lot less than the $500 or more international students have to pay at state funded colleges like USF.
I wasted over $25,000 in tuition and $20000 in living expenses for a worthless degree. Of course it's my own damn fault, after all, I should have properly researched the school before enrolling. Now let's look at some of the problems with FMU so you can come to your own conclusions:
=Accreditation=
Admission representatives will tell you that the school is fully accredited. That's misleading to say the least; the school is accredited by ACICS, an ersatz accreditation agency for schools that do NOT meet the standards required for RA (regional accreditation). Don't be fooled by FMU telling you that ACICS is just as good or better, there are very few colleges that are going to accept ACICS credits and you will not be able to transfer to a real university without losing all your work. Yes, there have been a few students who were able to transfer their credits, but they're the exception, don't count on it!
Of course FMU found a legal loophole, their copout is that they do not guarantee that the credits will be accepted by other institutions. Again, this is misleading because every school will tell you that but there is a big difference between "cannot guarantee that other institutions will accept our credits" and "NO schools outside the Corinthian College system will accept them." Some FMU advocates will try to convince you that RA schools are elitist and that they engage in anti-competitive practices This may be partially true but anti-competitive practices have very little to do with RA schools not accepting ACICS credits. As a FMU student who has attended RA colleges I can tell you that the level of work at FMU is on a high-school level at best and that is the real reason why credits aren't transferable.
=Academics=
Ah yes, the joy of learning NOT here! Countless instructors will give away A's regardless of your work because they are worried about students complaining to the dean if they don't get an A. This is a very interesting concept FMU students have, I pay an X amount of money so I'm entitled to an A Used to be that students have to EARN grades. I have seen students hand in essays that are on a 7th grade level at best. Some students will submit copy-paste papers without quoting or citing their sources and they still get A's! Plagiarism is accepted and common regardless of what instructors and FMU policies try to make you believe.
Students who are not fluent in English can write essays (assuming they did not plagiarize) with countless grammar and spelling errors and they too get A's. Attendance? Showing up is optional Yes, they will call you at home if you fail to show up but the good part is even if you miss most classes you'll still pass. See a pattern here? Testing is just as bad, many instructors give open-book and/or take-home tests. I suppose they want to make sure that students can read After all, knowing the material is not THAT important.
Well, for international students it's also nice to know that English is not really a requirement. A TOEFL score of 450 will get you in (other schools require a score of 500 - 550). There's even an intensive-English course for those who don't do well enough. It's amazing just how many students there are who are less than fluent
FMU also makes it difficult not to violate your visa status. Taking the number of classes required by the INS can be difficult if your school does not offer the classes you need! Americans on financial aid will run into the same problem!
=OPT (Optional Practical Training)=
Most international students hope to get some work experience after they graduate. The OPT program allows F1 students to seek employment in the US for up to 12 months and many employers will sponsor you for a work visa after the OPT period expires. Think again, you are deluding yourself if you believe that you'll be able to get a work visa. The problem is that employers in the area know that FMU is not a reputable school so even if you do find a job it will be an entry position and it is extremely unlikely that any employer will be willing to sponsor you—the undereducated FMU graduate—for a work visa.By enrolling at FMU you are basically throwing away your once-in-a-lifetime chance of getting a H2b visa (which many consider to be the ticket to a green card).
=Job Placement=
FMU advocates are quick to point out that most FMU graduates have jobs waiting for them. Of course they do! Almost all FMU students are working at least part-time Also, they don't tell you what kind of jobs FMU students are likely to get: what good is a Bachelor degree if you will have to accept a job that you could have gotten with just a HS diploma or an Associate degree?
Hope this information helped STAY AWAY from FMU!
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