Stellar Career College Chicago — Local services in Chicago

If you’re interested in the Radiologic Technologist program LOOK ELSEWHERE. THIS SCHOOL IS A SCAM LOOKING TO JUST GET MONEY. First off they’re unprofessional. When you’re looking to inquire about the school the email isn’t the admissions office, it’s the receptionist email saying she’s office support, red flag number one. When you call to inquire and ask to speak to admissions the receptionist doesn’t want to transfer you and says she can answer your questions, red flag number two. This school accepts WIOA & FAFSA but telling people they still have to pay out of pocket until the end of the program because that’s when WIOA pays the funds is at the end, red flag number three. Also they’re telling you that you require a diploma in RAD when the minimum credential you need is an associates degree, in fact this school is the only one that says they require you to get a diploma in rad. Stating that if you already have a degree (associates, bachelors etc) the total cost of the is $30,950!!!!. $30,950 for a diploma and not a degree is insane. Then they said if you only have a high school diploma you need a diploma and a degree & the cost is $37,795 😒. You cannot work as an X-ray tech with a diploma the minimum you need is an associates. This is a two year program and they won’t tell you how much each semester is, NOTHING!. I really wanted to attend this school because it’s close by my house and the schedule is doable. It’s just too many red flags to ignore I already work in healthcare I’m just looking to go further than PCT & I’ve been looking for a while. & the things they’re saying are adding up. We all know FAFSA doesn’t cover everything but WIOA usually does, then they said students have to pursue WIOA independently because it’s processed through a different agency. When WIOA works with the program itself and the school should be working with WIOA and processing everything. Sounds to me like Stellar is getting these classes funded through the government but telling students otherwise still making them pay out of pocket and keeping the money for themselves!!!!. I’m very thorough with my research and information. If I’m going to school for 2 years I should be finishing with a degree and everything I need to be taught to start my new career in that field will be taught I don’t need an diploma if I already have a degree, if I have a degree that means I’m licensed already as an xray tech so why would you need a diploma? that makes absolutely no sense. They also wanted to get funds from my Fafsa for the year 24-25 for year 25-26 when the program doesn’t start until May 2025. This school needs to be investigated...

I am a former student who just dropped my program & transferred to another school. My experience was pretty disappointing. This school has a problem with keeping stable & specialized instructors. My class has been through TWO instructors for ONE course because both instructors resigned out of nowhere. This put huge gaps & challenges in our learning. Also, the school was charging us for books BUT WE DID NOT RECEIVE EVERY book we needed. Therefore, the proper information was not being taught or understood. This put a lot of stress on me & my former classmates to the point where we had to file reports against the school. Another class from a different program also voiced that they wanted to write statements for similar problems. Stay with me now!

This school IS NOT, I repeat…IS NOT accredited by CAAHEP & does not qualify students to sit for the NBSTSA board exam (the golden standard accreditation for surgical techs & many other fields) students here can only sit for the NCCT, which is a certification that holds lesser quality with a lot of employers because they prefer techs with high standard & thorough education. I’m not saying you won’t get a job…I’m saying that someone with CAAHEP accreditation will most likely get the job over you. I rather an employer see me as a necessity than a last resort to hire. Ppl will lie & say “there’s no difference” but I encourage you to do research on NCCT vs NBSTSA instead of listening to ppl blindly.

This school does not have up to date equipment, instructors will make constant errors on online tests, you won’t necessarily feel like you’re learning just more so retaining enough info to pass a test/demonstration & students have to come outta pocket for CPR class, drug tests etc for externalship. The scenery is depressing. Either that or I hate burgundy. And to top it off, some clinical sites won’t even accept Stellar students due to lack of basic knowledge OR bad behavior. Yes, people talk. Just like ppl will judge you off what they heard about you, employers will TOO!

Lastly, shoutout to my instructor Ms Kierra who was an educated, caring & enthusiastic instructor despite the school not providing her with all the resources she needed. She is definitely the strength that we needed to carry on & I wish nothing but the best for my classmates!!

Would I recommend this school? Hell no. Never. But the people I met...

I completed the MRI program at Stellar end of Aug. 2024, graduation in Sep., and passed the ARRT MR board exam in Oct! In the last semester of the program, Stellar had a speaker come in for career recruitment and through this I was able to secure an MRI Technologist job at Mayo Clinic before graduation!

The road here had its struggles and in the beginning of the program I was frustrated and a bit disheartened with the way Stellar communicated the program outline and financials. I had a bit of difficulty getting ahold of people to ask questions regarding course load and the financial breakdown. One of the biggest issues I had was the short amount of time they had us complete the health requirements for clinical externship - they emailed us the packet with instructions to complete it within 2 weeks from that date. Fortunately, I had the majority done and was able to go to Rush Univ. Med Center for my externship (which was an amazing opportunity). Although they held an orientation prior to starting the program and briefly went over what health requirements were needed to be at clinical, they did not give us the details until after the first term in the program. It would have been helpful if they gave us the packet on the first day of class (or even prior to starting) so that we could have started working on it ahead of time.

As my time in the program progressed, things got a lot better and they improved on their communication with students. Staff became more supportive and helpful. A few things that were consistently great were the faculty and AK! The faculty were very knowledgeable, supportive, and encouraging. Ms. Michelle and Dr. Martinez are awesome instructors and with their background in MR and healthcare, they helped us tackle concepts in MR physics and anatomy that were difficult. From day 1, AK has been the steady rock of Stellar! He is always smiling and willing to help. Even if he may not know the answer, he would find the individuals who would. Thanks for everything, AK!

All in all, Stellar Career in Chicago has been great! It may not be for everyone, but if you're dedicated and able to adjust to unforeseen scenarios - you'll thrive. Hope this was helpful to the reader! Cheers and...