I think Walden is great for educational "late bloomers" with extensive professional experience who want to shake that "no college degree" monkey off their back. Yes, it takes an investment of your time and money; but well worth it. I find that for the most part, the reality in today's job market is this:

a) Even if you have extensive experience, you need the degree to get your foot in the door

b) Even if you have a degree, you need extensive job experience to get your foot in the door

When I was in my late teens and 20's, my focus was not on school. However, I wasn’t a total slacker. I was very blessed to be bilingual and I used that unique skill to obtain work and gain business experience. I was able to coast on that for a decade, and then realized that not having a degree kept me from some many other opportunities.

So at 34, I went back. I didn't have to quit my full-time job, although I did give up most of my social life for a couple years, but those years just flew by as I was busy anyway. I just focused on my work, studies, and in my free time I spend most of it on my hobbies.

Now, I not only have my full-time job, but also started my own side-business. Social life is going well. The degree adds some credibility to my work experience and language skills. I plan to make my side-business a full-time venture.

Hey, everyone, so here is my down-to-earth, honest take on Walden. If you are not a self-starter or able to motivate yourself, don't even attempt going here. A high level of independence is needed. The instrucors are qualified; all professors I have had are at the PhD level. Yes, there are issues with the advising team and approahability of many of the faculty: the idea is: people who are independent and strong-willed will succeed; the rest will fall to the side with the chaff. A former grad student at Cornell and Georgia State, I expected nothing less. And I will also say that my GPA and courseload and work is similar to that which I had experienced at those universities....pulling a 4.0 while reading in excess of 200pgs of manuscript weekly and turning in multiple assignments weekly. So, if you need advisors and professors to hold your hand and guide you, you're not going to get that here.

As for the the accreditation, Walden is accredited. However, they are not recognized by multiple certifying boards for professional practice. I would expect this to change sometime in the near future, because the level of the work is very real... and that is coming from someone who maintained a 3.9 at an Ivy League university for 3 years in a graduate program. They are beginning to gain some recognition from professional boards, but it will take time. Imagine what people thought of Harvard circa 1640-1650... I'm sure this was no picnic, having to substantiate one's accomplishments.

And to everyone (including educators) posting regarding Walden being 'for profit'. Have you ever seen a non-for-profit university? Professors that teach for free? I know I didn't when I was at Cornell as a graduate TA, lecturing and grading exams in exchange for a miniscule chunk off my tuition. Institutes of higher learning (thus, post-secondary education altogether) is a business. My undergraduate tuition, annually was $22K. Just the tuition. And that was ten years ago. Grad school at Cornell was ~$60K/yr for total expenses....tuition/rent/food/etc..

Nothing is free, not much is fair, and everything is misunderstood, to some degree, from afar. When this method of education is more wide-spread, it will gain further acceptance in academia and professionally. Acceptance, generally speaking, is gained over time and Walden will be among the rest, give it time.

I am currently enrolled at Walden in the MS in MCFC program. I'm more than a year in and I feel like I have completely wasted this year. The assignments are nothing more than read and regurgitate, and when you do dare to think outside the box, you get blasted by professors who states that you didn't follow the assignment.

Yes, I have a 4.0, but what is that worth if I feel I'm not learning or retaining anything? And Academic Advising is a joke. Beginning last quarter, I had some very serious concerns about the way faculty managed the classroom protocol. I was told to address those concerns to Advising and received no feedback or response, and nothing changed. Fast forward to the current quarter, where I am in a class where the professor refuses to answer simple questions or give adequate feedback. After attempting several times to get answers from this professor and finally being told to stop asking questions, I again turned to Advising. 3 emails and 5 phone calls later, I still have no results. No change, no assistance, nothing.

I recognize that Walden is a for-profit school, but they lure you in with pretty words about social change and making a difference, then dismiss you as unimportant when you challenge the status quo. I plan to complete this quarter as best I can and then leave Walden for another program. I'm paying for my education and therefore paying the salaries of all those who have let me down, and I know I deserve better treatment than this.

I have found it to be both challenging and also very interesting as I near the end of my Master's program. I feel I have obtained a great deal of knowledge and enlightenment within my career. There is a significant amount of reading and scholarly writing involved and you will need to spend adequate time and effort. The university has a high level of integrity and ethics and also takes plagiarism very seriously. I have not had any issues and would recommend this university, especially to those are already employed with a Bachelor's and would like to advance their career.

Plain and simple, if you are looking for an easy ride, do not attend this school. If you are not above average in intelligence, do not attend this school. You will put more into this school than you can imagine. It will be worth it in the end. I am having a blast, learning quickly and keeping my 4.0 and this is hard to do, but I put all I can into this, and this is what I get back.

I too agree most of the bad reviews are from lazy students that have no desire to strive to be the best. You have to have the time to invest or you will get behind, something you can not afford to do with semesters being 6-12 weeks long, depending on your degree. Dedication and discipline are a must. I did read someone saying this was not accredited? Well it is, and to boot the Chancellor of W.U is former President Bill Clinton, if that does not speak volumes in itself. I give this school a 10 out of 10.