American Intercontinental University — Attraction in Chandler

When I was in the Air Force, there wasn't really a lot of time to go to school in person. I took a few in-person classes as time permitted but not enough to complete my degree. I also took some CLEP and DANTES tests after high school. When I left Active Duty I took one semester in person at a state college but moved within the year. I wanted to continue my education but I needed flexibility.

At the time, early 2000s, online school wasn't popular. I was skeptical but I wanted to complete my degree and have the flexibility I needed. I found AIU-Online and decided to try their associate's degree program. The program was pretty straight forward and considering my previous college education and CLEP/DANTES credit, I was able to get my Associate's degree pretty quick.

I wanted to continue on to a Bachelor's degree. The Bachelor's program was more challenging but since I enjoy writing and research, I didn't have a problem with it. I struggled with Statistics because I couldn't really understand it fully. I couldn't grasp it the way I needed to. My undergrad GPA suffered because of that course. I could have retaken it but after that course I was pretty discouraged and just wanted to finish my Bachelor's. So I completed the program with my lower than normal GPA.

I applied for the Master's program and was accepted. It was very challenging but the professors were available by office hours for help. The students in the classes were very active which led to great interaction and discussions. I learned a lot from the professors I encountered during the grad program. Working with groups was challenging since we were all over the world and had to coordinate by time zones whenever we needed to meet online.

All in all, as a military veteran, the admissions process was smooth. I provided the paperwork (DD-214, etc...) the school needed and was able to get in fairly quickly to the upcoming program. If I had questions I could speak with my Admissions Advisor.

It looks like the Hoffman Estates location has since closed but that is the location I contacted during my higher education.

I graduated with my Bachelor's in 2008 and my MBA in 2011, so I don't know how things changed after those years. I recently connected with the school's alumni organization but it's not very active. As an alumni I am able to use the online library for research and there's a small alumni store online. During my time at AIU-Online, the professors were educated (most held doctorate degrees or at least masters), professional and helpful. I'm grateful to have had this non-traditional college experience. It worked well since I needed flexibility and being around too many people can make me feel anxious and uncomfortable.

There's a common misconception that online school is easier than attending in person. Since I've attended multiple in-person universities and online colleges I can confidently say that the college experience might be different online but you still have to work hard to achieve success. Good grades are not just given and being online you have to be more self-motivated. Online school is not for everyone and one school might not be the same as another (I tried University of Phoenix before AIU). I had a positive experience so I'm glad AIU-Online was there when I needed it.

Edit: Recently found out that as of April 2022 library access is no longer...

If you're looking for a true education and really intend on getting a lot out of it skip over this university. It is very expensive because they are a FOR profit institution and seem more interested in getting paid than educating their students. It's pretty effortless to pass the classes and they do not require you to pass any tests. They use a bookwork program called intellipath which has about 10 to 12 questions at the end of each lesson that is considered a gauge of your level of understanding in each lesson. However you can repeat the "quiz" as much as you'd like, ultimately memorizing the answers, and get your score up to 100% proficiency. Once you are enrolled your "student advisor" becomes just a person in the background and won't bother to make contact any more unless you aren't participating in class and their main concern is making sure you log in at least once every 14 days to stay enrolled. Don't expect to get much reprieve by doing this college remotely because once tuition is paid theres not enough left over to pay your room and board. You'd think that by comparison to other colleges for the same degree plan their cost would include SOME living expenses but it does NOT. Also don't hope to find a variety of in house scholarships or grants because there's only literally a couple. Your financial aid advisor will gladly send you a list of fu gazie places to apply for scholarships but none that are likely to choose you.... most are just advertising for somewhere and are "no essay" entries.... basically a contest or drawing but nothing... not ONE.. that actually is a REAL scholarship that is an award for your excellence or for a special condition. I am still with this crackerjack box school because I honestly am discouraged to even care to try anywhere else now. Overall this is the biggest disappointment of my 43 years, that in our country we can be given such a rubbish opportunity and that the Federal government allows schools like these to receive federal money to keep them going. This place should be shut down. They have a few decent professors that actually do want to educate you and I'm thankful to those couple. If I could give this school a real rating it would be MINUS five stars. American intercontinental University you should be embarrassed to offer the low quality education you have for the extremely high...

I feel like I have to defend my school on here after reading some of these reviews. I don't want someone to miss out on something that is worth it and will change your life.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from AIU in 2010. The degree I EARNED there has changed my life immensely. I was in the Air Force and had attended college before and during my service. I was accepted into multiple schools when I got out of the Air Force but not one of them would accept a majority of my credits. They would only accept a small number of hours from certain schools. I decided to go anyway, and quickly realized I was basically starting over even though I had enough hours of required classes to be in my junior year. It felt like a waste of time and GI Bill, so I quit and joined the workforce. Fast forward 8 years and I'm stuck at a level due to no degree. I find AIU through a veterans program and learned they would consider all of my hours for credit. They ended up accepting most of them and gave me a path to get my bachelors degree.

I noticed that these reviews mostly fit 3 categories:

People who are mad that AIU is soliciting to them after signing up for something at some point and they won't stop. I think it's ok to be upset about that, but you are rating your annoyance, not the education the school provides.

5 stars from people who said it was hard work, you get out of it what you put in, and who seem like it's made a very positive impact in their lives and their families.

or 3. The person complaining it was too hard, they didn't like the professor, they quit and now have debt (that's not unique to this school, btw), they weren't allowed extra time because of their circumstances (again, this is not unique to this school, and is actually not common in college) or some other grievance.

I didn't, and I could be wrong, see anyone that had put in work, gotten their degree and graduated who had anything but a super positive experience. If you're self-motivated and the circumstances require online learning, AIU is a great place to finish your education, especially while...