Asoumita A.
Frustrated …
I would strongly recommend that students think carefully before spending money on StraighterLine, especially for courses requiring laboratory kits. I enrolled in Anatomy & Physiology and Microbiology and purchased the required lab kits. I spent approximately $750 on the lab kits, in addition to the course fees and monthly subscription. Altogether, I spent more than $1,000. The biggest problem happened when I was ready to complete my labs. The codes for the lab kits I had already purchased were not working. I was then told that StraighterLine had updated its courses in and for that I needed to purchase new lab kits. This was extremely frustrating because I had already paid a significant amount of money and had made progress in my courses. Because of the course update, I lost the progress I had made and was being asked to spend even more money on replacement kits. At that point, I decided to cancel the lab courses. I contacted StraighterLine and requested reimbursement for the current month because I was no longer able to use the courses as expected. My monthly payment had gone through only two days before I attempted to cancel. Unfortunately, I did not receive a satisfactory response. I also tried to speak directly with the billing department, but I was told that they could not transfer my call. That made the situation even more frustrating because I simply wanted to speak with someone who could review the charges and help resolve the issue. After this experience, I decided to try Sophia Learning, and the difference has been incredible. I paid $99 for the month, and the courses were included without the expensive additional lab-kit costs I experienced with StraighterLine. The virtual labs are especially convenient because I can complete the experiments online without purchasing expensive physical kits. I understand that courses can be updated, but students should not feel like they are being forced to spend hundreds of additional dollars because of an update after they have already purchased the required materials. I am sharing my experience so other students can carefully compare the total cost, lab requirements, refund policies, and what happens when courses are updated before committing to StraighterLine. For me, the experience was simply too expensive, frustrating, and difficult to resolve, and I would not choose StraighterLine again.