Sanford-Brown Institute Reviews

Would not recommend

School not recommended by Davis on February 22, 2010
5/5 people found this review helpful

I received a scholarship right out of HS 2001 and attended the Jacksonville campus for Medical Assisting. I worked as a MA for three years and realized MA was not going to take me where I wanted to go..My ultimate goal was to go for Nursing but counselors in HS nor at Sanford advised appropriately. I feel this was a waste of time. I have attempted several times to have my credits transferred to other universitys/colleges but NO ONE will take them! I am glad I received a scholarship and didnt really have to pay anything out of pocket to this school. I would not recommend.

Waste of time

School not recommended by Sabrina on February 18, 2010
2/2 people found this review helpful

This school is without doubt the most unprofessional school I have attended. My teacher was a great guy and he would always try to make this class fun, but honestly, their program sucks balls. Their director is a snobby son of a bitch who only hires young females because he has a fetish. That school lacks morals and values. they do not have what it takes.

If someone tell u this school is good, its because they don;t teach anything. Do yourself a favor, don't make this mistake of coming to this school. Full of chaos!

i didn't enroll because...

School not recommended by anna on February 06, 2010
12/12 people found this review helpful

i went to the SB location in Landover, MD to see the school for myself. My first impression was that it seemed very unprofessional and lacked academic rigor. This was apparent in the quality of the admission employees as well as the attendees.

I checked out all the little diplomas and accreditations they had framed and hung on the walls.. none seemed to be from any organizations that actually matter in the fields they trains students for.

I wouldn't even consider it a vocational school so it seemed ridiculous when the admission's rep. was trying to convince me that the school was actually a medically accredited school. I later found out they were indeed not accredited by any medical fraternities such as CAAHEP.

The biggest red flag to me was the fact that they had no printed curriculum. I kept asking what subjects will i be studying during the course of my 18 months training in the Medical Diagnostic Imaging program. Each time the rep. would tell me, "oh don't worry, just some math and physics and such." i started "worrying" with that answer. i was expecting to get detailed and defined printed brochures and literature about the program. I am not an 18 year old out of high school .. i have quite a lot of education under my belt. So i know what a real school should be like. Especially one that's charging in the neighborhood of $34,000 for a 18 months training program.

As soon as the admission rep. told me that most other colleges have a waiting list of 2-3 years but they don't i thought to myself that can't be good.. there must be a reason why colleges have that kind of a waiting list! She thought that would be a positive things for their school but all it told me was that we allow anyone in as long as they pay us.

Then they made me take these two tests that they hadn't even told me about!!! they were just putting me through this process where the end would have been ENROLLMENT!

I was given unclear information about the schedule of classes. first they said the classes will meet during day and nigh, but then i found out the next session for the whole year was going to be only during night.

Also i questioned the rep. about the accreditation issue and she was trying to make it sound like accreditation wasn't important and all that was important was to pass the board examination. but she failed to mention that the student wont be able to even sit for the board examination if she/he doesn't have about 1000 hours of clinical externship.. and with this program you wouldn't have been given that many hours for clinicals.

there were many other red flags and unanswered questions. they just weren't professional. they made me wait for 20 minutes while i had an appointment and was at the appointment on time. I was never given a tour of the school... never saw the classes or the labs. the school was set amidst an office building with other offices around.. everything seemed hush hush. Their tests were designed very simple so that anyone would pass.

This seemed like a poorly run assembly not at all a legitimate school of any kind. I am glad that i walked away and didn't budge under the sale's tactics of the admission's rep. I was being pressured to at least pay for admission so they could hold my spot. At the end i was sitting there thinking after two days of coming to this place i still don't know what classes am i going to be taking for the next 18 months! what are the requirements to become a sonographer?!!! none of these questions were answered. all they were doing was to glorify the field of sonography.. and that how well paid sonographers are and how abundant the jobs are for them! SO WHAT!? i needed to know how could they get me from where i am to there.. but the information was just lacking. and i'm sure so will be the education.

Stay Away if you Are Serious About an Education

School not recommended by Renee on February 01, 2010
12/12 people found this review helpful

I am a current instructor at the Pittsburgh school. It is all about the money. Most of our courses are not accredited and we have to beg area hospitals to take our students. Half of the time I go to work and don't even have a classroom to teach in or I switch back and forth between classrooms in the middle of class. It is very expensive; books are way overpriced and outdated. Some of our $200 books can be purchased for $35.00 elsewhere. I have only been here for a year and am currently looking for a job; but Sanford Brown isn't very impressive on a resume. Students beware!

STAY AWAY

School not recommended by Lori on January 16, 2010
12/12 people found this review helpful

I am writting this on behalf of my sister. She attend the SB facility in West Allis, WI. After a ton of hard work and dilligence she graduated. But much to her dismay she CANNOT get state certified because apparently SB is NOT an accredited "college". After spending 20K for 9 months of taking credits that DO NOT apply she does NOT have her degree in Medical Assisting. We have made numerous phone calls and cannot seem to get answers. I'm sure we cannot get these answers because they do not have the proper answers needed, that and are not intelligent enough to answer them. I am apauled at how this facility portrays themselves as a COLLEGE when in fact they are nothing but a certification program that cannot back up accrediation. Please to all who read this DO YOUR HOMEWORK! I just wish everyone who has had issues with this facilty could get together and file a class action lawsuit for how they portray this facility and the price "students" pay for NOTHING.

please do not attend-former student

School not recommended by tg on January 12, 2010
17/18 people found this review helpful

i attended this school in 2005 with the intentions on becoming a sonographer (Trevose, PA). while at the meeting with an admissions rep she told me you have to become a MA first before you take the sonography course. i didnt even know what a MA was and what they did. i was fresh out of high school and had no real desire to attend college and wanted to find a "job" fast without doing any hard work. well, 5 years later and fully mature i realize now that the decision i made then would haunt me now. i didnt do my research because if i did i definitely would have realized how horrible this school really was. their reputation was so bad that no one wanted to hire any students from their(of course i found this out mid-year when there was no turning back). my extern experience was the absolute worst. they guarentee that they will find each student an extern based on our schedules and one close to where we live.Not to mention they actually had a woman whose job was to find us INTERSHIPS! PLEASE! this was the biggest lie, and with limited time left i had to scramble to find my own externship. At this time i realized the mess that i had gotten myself into. and with no one to help me i had to figure it out all on my own and fast. i literally went through the phone book and called each medical center in phila and surrounding facilities in delaware county also. i left tons of messages and spoke with plenty of supervisors and still was turned down numerous times. finally, i found a health clinic in center city that let me complete my extern. unfortunately, they didnt have any openings and i wasnt hired. also, because of my horrible experience there i did not attend my graduation, but received my certificate still. because i didnt get certified i couldnt find a job and had little time to look because of financial responsibilities. after completign the program i had no desire to become a MA, and dont forget i now have a student loan that i will repay for the rest of my life that was not worth it. now at 25 yrs old im trying to redo what i should have done years ago and that was to go to college for something that you will love and to complete the hard work in order to gain rewards. the only positive thing i can say about the school was i had the best classmates and a great teacher Mr. Cade. best of luck to any potential students, but take my advice and do your research first and attend a community college or a least a school with a good reputation.

School is what you make of it!

School recommended by DL on January 12, 2010
9/12 people found this review helpful

I am a SBC graduate and can only say that school is what you make of it. If you worry about yourself and apply yourself then you will be fine. I have a great career because of the education I received and my fiance has recently enrolled in the school as well. You know if you look at the blogs for Wal-Mart or restaurant chains then you will see positive and negative feedback for them to. I guess you just can't make everyone happy. If you go to Community colleges then you find the same thing. The only difference is that the CC's don't care if you pass or fail and they don't care if people show up to their classes. SBC does and they stay on your attendence because they want you to succeed.

Red Flags Everywhere!!!!

School not recommended by Jennie on January 11, 2010
15/15 people found this review helpful

A few days ago, I was in the process of filling out a mini questionnaire for Sanford-Brown Institute’s Medical Sonography Program. Everything seemed okay until I got to the question, ” What is your primary reason for going to school”? That's a normal question, but some of their selections of possible answers were completely ridiculous. And, it was then I realized something wasn’t right with this school.

I completed the application and the following day received a call from Mr. Clifford. In his, "trying to sound oh so important voice"... Mr. Clifford talked my ears off, but wouldn't give me basic information about the program. He's great at avoiding answering questions, not giving straight answers, and listening to himself speak. And unfortunately, those are the only good things I can say about Mr. Clifford.

Mr. Clifford had the nerve to tell me that he is not allowed to discuss the price of tuition over the phone. That lie rolled off his tongue so smoothly, he believed it himself. Who doesn’t ask for the price of tuition? The entire conversation was geared towards having me waste my time in traffic… just so he could tell me in person, that tuition was going to be somewhere in the ballpark of $34K (2-5 times the amount of an accredited College/University Certificate Program).

Fortunately, after I saw all those red flags and realized that too much general information was missing from SBI's website, I googled “Sanford-Brown Institute reviews scam report” the same day I filled out their lil’ questionnaire (Sales Lead) and found all your reports about how bad this school is. Thanks for the heads-up. He didn't have to tell me the tuition was approximately $34K. I already knew.

When I went to the website of other programs available in Maryland… tuition and other important program information was readily available. That’s because reputable schools have nothing to hide. My recommendation: if you live in the Baltimore-Washington area, you will be much better off attending John's Hopkins (http://radiologycareers.rad.jhmi.edu), UMBC (www.umbc.edu/trainctr/sonography/index.html), or Prince George’s Community College (http://academic.pgcc.edu/alliedhealth/NucMed.html). Choose a school with an accredited program. You don’t have to be licensed or certified to be employed in this field, but you’ll have an extremely difficult time getting hired without the mandatory credentials (certification or licensure)... and a college degree doesn’t hurt either. Good luck in your search. See you in class.

just trying to get in

School not recommended by lisa finlay on December 22, 2009
10/14 people found this review helpful

My problem with the school was the rep who called me and acted as if she had so much experience and I was wrong for asking questions. She told me that I couldn't ask questions until I was enrolled, so I paid the money and took the test. I passed just fine but never got a call about whether I was accepted until two weeks prior to the course start date. I told her that I had already found a different school, but she told me to go to the mandatory orientation anyhow. Which I dismissed saying I had found a different school and was already ACTUALLY accepted. Then the day of her orientation she called me and left a message saying I wasn't doing the right thing, I needed to pick up the phone and call her and go to her school and hope I got in since I was on the wait list. COME ON!!! I told her I wasn't interested. Get off your high horse SBC, you're not better than everyone else.

STAY AWAY

School not recommended by X on December 22, 2009
18/19 people found this review helpful

As a former instructor of this would-be school, the best advice I can give anyone considering attending here is to LOOK ELSEWHERE, say a community college, university, or even a different vocational school altogether.

Speaking as one who has been there as a teacher, this place is about as academically sound as a daycare center. The real employers here are the students, since they are flipping the bill (through an obscenely high tuition fees) for this place to be in existence.

While most of the students are somewhat reasonable, the students who are troublemakers are NOT reprimanded, since the instituion operates out of fear of lawsuits from those students whose whims are not catered to on a daily basis. While the curriculum might be ok, you (as a teacher) must approach this place knowing that you will need to have a prior knowledge of the inner workings of politics within the educational system, and be able to play accordingly.

As a student here, you pretty much have nothing to worry about - as long as you still have a pulse, you'll be just fine. I hope this little bit of inside information helps, good luck.

uuummmmmmmm

School recommended by shakana on December 10, 2009
4/18 people found this review helpful

wow yal must didn't put into yal work good enough. i'm about to graduate and i've toured that school it semmed good and i saw the achievements of others that graduated from that school. i heard it's going to be a little tough but not too bad. well it's a good thing i'm hard headed cause i dont care what yal say i'm still going to go there and get my degree and be SUCCESFUL. look out for me here i come CLASS OF 2010

Better off going to c.c. or uni ...

School not recommended by R on October 26, 2009
30/32 people found this review helpful

Like some of the other reviews I will echo the same some of the students are not serious about receiving an education, act like juveniles or just plain "ghetto" but I didn't let that distract me from what I set out to accomplished. I had to stay focus! My advice if anyone plan of going to SB or any other school like it stay focus, do your assignments and when you go out on extern prove yourself to be better than the next because I'm learning that a lot of companies do not recognize schools such as these. Most of all do your research first..like reading reviews and visit the schools. I think I probably would have never enrolled to SB if I had read the reviews there are soooooo many negative ones. Oh and a couple of the reviews(the positive ones) sounds as though written by faculty lol funny! Never will I go to another private college again.. Most just want your monies and don't care who they accept. Think long and hard before you decide on where you want to recieve your education.

Waste of Time

School not recommended by Giovanna Rivera on September 22, 2009
25/26 people found this review helpful

I attend the philly campus and in the begining it was good i had some of the best teachers there which weren't many. As i started getting more into the program it got worse n worse. this school is a waste of money and time i am a student who works hard.its the instructors its like they hire people only off field experience vs. people with teaching digrees. I am a MA student i want to go for ultrasound i heard the ultrasound program wasnt as bad i'm debating if i want to persue ultrasound there or somewhere else. there is too much bs at sanford brown. oh and when they get you in they dont tell u everything. they are constantly changing things and never inform the students. i can go on n on. Good luck to those who give it the benefit of the doubt.

A bad Rap:(

School not recommended by Hrtseeker1991 on July 25, 2009
47/52 people found this review helpful

Being from a Cardiac Ultrasound background of 20 years, everything that I have heard associated with Sanford-Brown is negative. In fact, as a clinicial instructor, the lab that I was previously employed at would NOT take Sanford Brown Students. Way too much money and not enough one on one from the instructors. How can there be when the classes are so large? Unless you are at a clinical site where the preceptors are willing to take you under their wing and TOTALLY teach you everything, your out of luck. 36,000 for an education and you don't walk out with a degree? I would definitely think twice about this one.

School recommended by tmh on July 18, 2009
34/39 people found this review helpful

I graduated from Sanford-Brown when it was UDS. I took the CVT course, I must say in defense of the school if you wanted to learn you will. The MA classes were just plain GHETTO!!! it's like they steered them to that course,my class was very professional, no one failed the course. I will say it WAS very expensive but i think worth it. Think real hard before you apply though it's a big decision to make.

The Truth

School recommended by RB on June 22, 2009
27/49 people found this review helpful

Stanford Brown is a GREAT school! The professors truly care and work extremely hard to help us succeed, but YOU have to apply yourself. Our success in learning and in the medical work place is on us. The truth is the professors are doing their job but ask yourself are you doing you're part to succeed?

honesty

School recommended by aristotle on June 19, 2009
40/48 people found this review helpful

There are a lot of negative reviews on Sanford Brown. Being a former student, I can agree with most of them. But what people have to understand is if you want to be successful in the Ultrasound field, you are going to have to work hard to get what you want & you will have to be aggressive about it. We can blame others for our predicaments but you have to look at yourself & be honest and say, "did I do my best to get what I want"? I read all these negative comments & I laugh it off. I am close to my class & I know others from the next class that came in. People have graduated & found jobs. Now they are registered in their respective specialties. You have to work hard. When there is a setback, you can't blame others but you have to keep pressing on.

The school has many flaws. But it is what you put into it that will make you successful.

medical billing and coding!!

School not recommended by ms ruiz on May 11, 2009
53/61 people found this review helpful

well i just want to say i wish i check this web site before i actually thought about register at this school!! is so bad is not even worth it!!i been attending to this school for one year and is just a joke and i know I'm not the only one that think like this! i wish i can actually complaint to somebody big about this is such a scam!! like one of the other people said I'm not even know if that person went to the same campus which is iselin new jersey!!!

they should close this institution they just want your money teachers are not even real teachers they are ex-students that they couldn't get a job on what they studied that sanford brown call them to teach and I'm talking about a 23 year old student that doesn't have any experience whatsoever about teaching!!! management and career services are the worst!! they hired people out of the street people with no background on education!! people that just got jobs from bartenders or receptionist to be in career services!!! what a joke!!

believe me is not worth it and is 14,000 dollars that you paying for nothing cause is better if you are home and take an on-line course i think it worth more than the big certificate that sanford brown give you!! hospital don't even take a certificate from this school!! i learn my lesson!!!! search first before you register to any school!!!

What you put in to it.

School recommended by LD on April 26, 2009
35/38 people found this review helpful

It doesn't surprise me that most comments are coming from MA students. It also seems as if no matter what state you are in, we have the same issues. I am a student in Atlanta and I do see some of the students not handeling themselves as ADULTS. The DMS and CVT programs you HAVE to be mature. College degree or prev. college credits is required. With anything it is what you put in to it.

MA

School not recommended by Ms M on April 21, 2009
35/42 people found this review helpful

The staff and financial office is all about them. Just Finish the MA program in Trevose PA. This is so True, what you put in is what you get. I put in and still has not received my CPR certificate nor my Diploma. Found my own extern site found my own job. They have a career center no help from them. I have a GPA 3.92 and applied myself very well. But the school don't do thier part.

i like it

School recommended by Kellie Z. on April 06, 2009
39/50 people found this review helpful

I attend the Trevose campus in PA. I don't know about the other campuses people reviewed for but our books are all the newest editions, and we got them on time, the first day of class actually. All of our equipment is fairly new, and we have a variety of each type. The computer labs are up to date with the newest software. We have access to an online library (from any pc), which is fantastic.

Our programs are accredited and the price for the ARMDS exam is included in tuition (along with tutoring courses if needed.)

I've had teachers bust people for cheating, and not pass students for going a half hour over the 10 hours allowed to miss for each class. Maybe other campuses aren't as strict?

also nowhere guarantees you a job. my boyfriend graduated from a top college with a 4.0 gpa and still took him over a year to find a job. blame the economy not the school.

Review

School not recommended by Maria McClain on March 07, 2009
56/66 people found this review helpful

My experience as a Medical Assistant Student

I must say that I did learn a lot, but is was only because I applied myself. Of all the instructors I had, I can only say that 2 were very good and these were Doctors. The majority of students in the Tampa, FL. campus, with the exception of a few, were all disruptive, rude and plain "ghetto". Even though we would complain to the faculty, they would not take out the students that were always talking, joking and laughing while some of us were trying to learn. Only the experienced teachers were the ones that could take control of their classes. The others were intimidated or were told by management to endure this rudeness because these student were paying. My recommendation is DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL unless you feel comfortable being in a "ghetto" atmosphere.

Thank You

School recommended by KM on February 10, 2009
58/70 people found this review helpful

I just wanted to say thank you to the reviewers. I have been on several different websites that reviewed this school and have found an OVERWHELMING amount of negative feedback. For the amount of money that they're asking I would expect nothing but STELLAR reviews and feedback! True, school and education is what you make of it but some responsibility has to lie on the school.Why pay that kind of money and put in the hard work if employers are not willing to hire anyone from this establishment!?? I have only seen about 3 positive feedbacks out of the 20 or more reviews I have read and if I had to guess I'd say those reviewers were employed by the school in some way.

...is bliss

School recommended by darlene on January 05, 2009
39/69 people found this review helpful

None of you that are tearing apart this school have half an education to begin with. One of the options is true... you either have terrible typing skills, poor grammar, or bad spelling. Education doesn't BEGIN in college... so perhaps it's back to the basics for you! (no wonder you had so much trouble in college. Hard to do well when you struggle with English, huh?)

wow

School recommended by robyn bassani on January 05, 2009
53/73 people found this review helpful

All i see on here is "boo hoo hoo poor me, Sanford Brown didn't hand me what I wanted for free". I'd be willing to bet that any former students who have posted on here, hate any school they've attended. Unfortunately the news is being broken to you far too late, but here it is for you anyway... you actually have to stop whining long enough to succeed. I've been at this school for a year and a half and have worked tirelessly to fullfill MY responsibilities as a student. Furthermore, I work in the CVT department on this campus so I can tell you that they are switching over to an associates degree program. There's a great program director and staff. If none of you got your way in this atmosphere, it's because you weren't willing to actually work for it. Success isn't handed to you, so let's not blame the school.