Keiser University Lakeland — Attraction in Lakeland

As a current accelerated BSN student, here is my honest review;

I am an LPN with 8 years of prior medical experience. I served active duty and "shopped" nursing schools in Florida for over 2 years before ending my contract and relocating here for nursing school. Out of USF, Univ of Tampa, U of F, UCF, Herzing, and Galen; Keiser is the only school that actually communicated with me and answered my questions, followed up, answered my calls, and always got back to me within 2-3 business days. Anessa is incredible in admissions, and is truly gifted in guiding students through their educational paths. The interview and application process for the accelerated BSN program was incredibly simple and transparent, I knew what was expected of me as far as scheduling, class hours, study requirements, etc. The only thing that caught me off guard was the advertisement of having two programs; an accelerated program for those with prior medical experience and pre-requisites completed, and then a fast track program for those with a prior completed bachelors degree in another field. These are the same program, and I was surprised to be blended in with students with no prior medical training or experience whatsoever, seeing as how these students required a different teaching/learning style then myself. The actual program, now that I am past the first semester, is designed to be difficult. The first semester does indeed weed out those that cannot handle extreme stress, multiple assignments daily, multiple exams/quizzes/homework/busy work/labs/skills etc assigned daily... and that I can get with, weed out some students that may need more time to prepare. As we progress into the program however, you are fully teaching yourself. There are a small handful of gifted teachers that are blessed with the skill of educating students and expressing a topic to where each different learning style can understand; and then there are teachers that I feel are thrown into major courses (Medsurg 2, Pathophysiology, Clinical Decision Making) that are required for the "student to nurse" transformation that is supposed to take place in nursing school, and these teachers are not necessarily prepared or supported by staff. The assignment list will change 2-4x a week. The plan for the week will change every day. The skills labs that are supposed to be hands on training for 3-5 skills and it will take 2-3 weeks to sign off one class on 1 skill resulting in some skills being completely bypassed... During orientation for the program, the school administrators stressed that we as students needed to be prepared, organized, and anticipate expectations throughout the program, and we feel as students we are not being given the same standards. The teachers are sincere in their efforts, but some are overwhelmed and unable to teach a class of 20+ students such a necessary course. For $40,000+ a year, with no housing included, I fully expected at least the assignment list to be clear and finalized so I know what is expected of me. I also somewhat expected support from administration when these concerns are announced from multiple students. It worries me for those that are not able to completely teach themselves such an important subject, and shows why nursing orientations of 6+ months or longer are becoming the norm. Keiser University needs to hire more educators, and provide better support for staff and students who are not on the same page as far as coursework expectations and learning outcome milestones that students are expected to meet. I hope the program improves, however, when prospect nursing students ask me if I recommend Keiser's nursing program, I quickly tell them not at all and highly recommend completing the 2-3 year programs at traditional colleges/universities where they will have time to actually learn the material, and have clear expectations about assignments, learning topics, ACTUAL hands on skills training (despite a beautiful simulation lab available to nursing students and educators) and a much better nursing school...

I was not wanting to leave a review but this school has RUINED my credit and my finances. They lure you in to make you feel they’re the best school and will start promising so many things and then will ghost you. Back in 2020-2021 I was sure I wanted to be a nurse and was promised help, guidance, and assistance to get into the nursing program. I was 19 at the time and communicated for the most part with Carla Kirby and Erin McCauley. How pushy were they for me to co-sign with my parents for private student loans and I’m glad I didn’t co-sign because these loans have ruined my finances, I would’ve been dragging my parents with me. They did not breakdown what I was signing up for & was not explained things so I signed everything to be able to “start school”. At the end of this I had roughly $20k+ in student loan debt. I already had an associates degree but they said I needed more classes to get into the nursing program which I said fine to because I really wanted to get into their nursing program. First semester passed they come back to me and said that I missed the deadline for the TEAS exam which is the required nursing entrance exam and that I couldn’t apply to the program because I missed taking the test. I had a minor surgery and had been communicating with them, I was told I would be accommodated to take it on X date. To be then told I missed it and couldn’t take it on the promised date took me by surprise. I was told I was going to have guidance the entire time, I was not happy about this. To add to the above, I took a microbiology class and it disappeared from my transcripts!! Yes, a class vanished from my transcripts and they were trying to make me take another science class when I had already taken what I needed. No one tells you anything, and when they do MAKE SURE you have it written because if you don’t you will need to have to prove. Unfortunately this happened to me on many occasions, have everything down in writing. They said I needed to wait another year to get into the nursing program and that a spot in the program would not be guaranteed. That’s when I made the decision to finish a random associates with what I had (because I had already spent so much money!!) stayed another semester (another mistake I made, should’ve ran after my first semester), and finished an associates in healthcare administration. That to say, to work in healthcare administration you essentially start from the bottom and work your way up, this degree doesn’t guarantee you a job, it will only help you work as a patient access associate (front desk) which you can already do without a degree. I did work in patient access for a bit to give it a try and it takes a BIT to be promoted to what you went to school for. Do not waste your money and time when you can already work in the field and work your way up.

Once you finish school you have a certain amount of time and your student loans will start charging you monthly payments, you don’t dictate the monthly payment (doesn’t matter how much you make), and they don’t care whether you’re struggling or not. I hit a rough patch financially and was making like 30k a year, I attempted to work with the loan lenders and they legitimately said that I “made too much money” and threw me to collections. My credit is now affected and the private loans are in collections. I make small payments that are only taking care of the interest (13% when I had excellent credit when I applied for these), so my balance isn’t even going down. Please stay away from this school and the loans they offer, if I could go back and not do it I...

Scammed, Lied To, and Abandoned — Keiser University Took Advantage of Me

Keiser replied to this post, but let me just say — when I was crying and begging for help, you were nowhere to be found. I reached out, scared and confused, asking what I should do because I didn’t even know I had taken out a real private loan. Not one person cared enough to guide me through it. And let’s talk about how you conveniently ignored the BBB complaint I submitted. So you can respond here, but not through official complaint channels? That says a lot.

Let me be very clear: Keiser University does not care about you, your education, or your future. They care about money. That’s it.

From the beginning, things felt rushed and confusing. They acted like they were doing me a favor by helping with “financial aid,” but in reality, they had me sign onto a private loan disguised in paperwork I was discouraged from reading in full. They made it seem like everything was normal — like I was receiving federal aid (FAFSA) and grants — but that was a lie.

They took my grant money and locked me into a private loan without thoroughly explaining anything. When they called me in later to “reapply for FAFSA,” I thought that’s what I was doing. But instead, I was told, “Actually, you need to reapply for your loan. Can your dad co-sign?”

Excuse me? Why would FAFSA require a co-signer? It was only then that the truth began to unravel — I hadn’t received FAFSA. I had a private loan I never consented to knowingly.

When I told them my dad wouldn’t co-sign, they just said, “Well, until you find one, you can’t return to school.” So I had wasted six months of my life, thinking I was moving forward, only to find out I had been lied to from the start. And now, I’m being told I owe over $8,000 for something I never understood, never agreed to, and was never properly informed about.

What’s worse is that I have a diagnosed mental disability, and I believe Keiser knew I was vulnerable — and they exploited that. They fast-tracked me through paperwork, discouraged questions, and made sure they got their payday by snatching up my grant money. It’s disgusting.

I’ve tried repeatedly to get this account removed from my credit because it was predatory, misleading, and dishonest. But they don’t care. They got what they wanted — money.

Also, good luck trying to get any proof of the credits you completed. They hold everything hostage unless you pay. So not only did they rob me financially, they robbed me of my time, effort, and dignity.

This so-called “university” is nothing more than a scam operating under the guise of higher education. It’s a for-profit nightmare built to prey on people who just want a better future.

Please, please listen to the reviews. I wish I had. I feel so stupid for trusting my advisor and the system. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

DO NOT GO TO KEISER UNIVERSITY. It’s a scam, a trap, and a complete joke. And once they get what they want from you,...