Porter and Chester Institute computer students hard at work at their
Chicopee Massachusetts campus doing some computer hacking!
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Porter and Chester Student Reviews 
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Porter and Chester Institute-Canton
I was a student in the HVAC class. The teachers are completely unprofessional. Mr Riccio has to be one of the worst instructors I’ve ever had.
He’s both unable to handle the concept of basic human interactions. And will also personally attack anyone the he has an issue with. The training environment is beyond sub par! They never have materials, nor do the instructors really seem to care.
I assure you I’ve been to multiple schools. Graduated from different programs and never had an issue. That is until I went to PCI. I can’t even emphasize enough DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE. These people are crooks and do not have their students best interest in mind.
Wasted time and money on this school. While the teacher was great the rest of it sucked. I wasn’t able to get a job because I didn’t have enough work experiences for all the places I applied for. The internship was suppose to help. The also never had a job placement coach to help ever. Trying to find out if there is a way I can apply for a loan fogiveness program. I refuse to pay on the loans for a program I couldn’t even get a job for. 19,000 dollars later and a shit ton of interest and I am a single mom of 4 who was trying to make it better for me and my family.
Olinda – Porter n Chester sux went there for medical assisting they couldn’t even keep teachers there constant changes then they don’t even help u get placed with a job just about all my classmates aren’t even workin as MA’s!!!! I left early with was a blessing because I would of owed a lot more then da 7000 I owe now dat I’m struggling to pay they t all about $$$$$!!!!
Mickey – Porter & Chester should be closed. This is not the first time they have mislead students…most recently a similar situation happened with their LPN program.
Sami Mami – Oh this is just the half of what these schools do around here…I am waiting for the large lawsuit to come to pass where students start suing these rolling admission colleges that tell them they can be nurses etc., and get free money…once the student starts school, they find they are not prepared to make an “A” each semester which means they will never be competitive enough to enter any nursing program…most drop out owing thousands and thousands of dollars…which of course comes out of taxpayer pockets. But it is NOT the students fault…high pressure admissions officers who are relentless in their false promises drive these students who have never used a computer or know how to write a college level paper to enroll knowing they will fail.
Alex Wyz – All tech schools lie whether it be about accreditation or future job opportunities
Dave Thompson – The sad reality of the situation is that a trade school education will not give you a hands-on education. Lincoln Tech, Porter and Chester, Fox Institute of Business, etc. all cannot compare to a college education. Porter and Chester, above all, are a joke.
Donna LaManna – We had problems with our son in the auto mechanic program and now he has no certificate and were out $28,000. The public could have been made aware of how they operate then.
Robin Skolozdra – This will reflect on ALL courses taught by P&C leaving students who are attending or have attended with a “tarnished” educational value for future employment in their fields of choice. The school’s administration & counselors who clearly lied by matter of choosing buzz words should be brought up on criminal charges and fined!
Mike Box – After spending $28,000 at porter and Chester on graduation day after diplomas we all had stale cookies and watered down coffee to celebrate. Should of had a sit down dinner but there cheap. Always about money.
Christine Jarvis – Went to porter and Chester for dental assisting in enfield ct and they told me that they would help me find a job lie they let me
almost fail radiology and all of us going to take that test we all felt as we were not ready I am pretty sure we all failed the first time!
Me, I have a learning disability and can’t pass a test to save my life I am paying student loans in lieu of 20,000 dollars. And I applied for dental assisting job and finally landed one and I was told we don’t like to hire porter and Chester students now why don’t dental places want to hire porter and Chester students is the question! Why should we pay for a service that we can’t even get a job unbelievable and they are still teaching students!
David Arzuaga-I went to P&C years ago to see about a CAD program, I took home the pamphlets and we did internet research only to realize that the certificate they give you is basically useless. I never bothered going back.
David Lazauskas – Porter and Chester are crooks! I’ve taken their automotive course. I had gotten no support from the staff and ultimately dropped out but, they had no problems taking about 4 grand in loans for the last semester I didn’t take. All they care about is money! Schools for profit should not be allowed to take government money period.
Lois Barcomb – I went to this school back in 2000-2003 for computer repair. I was promised to have a teacher in the room and a hands on experience. It wasn’t until after I went into the office and complained and said that I would contact a lawyer that they decided to get some computers and pull them apart and have us put them together.
Not only that, but I was promised a DEGREE and walked away with a diploma and NO JOB and I was promised a job. When I approached the office on this, they said “We HELP you find a job, it’s not guaranteed” I tried calling a lawyer and the only lawyer in the state of Connecticut for this type of thing, wouldn’t you know..
Porter and Chester has them retained. I’m out 17K. I have a job working at a help desk here in CT and have been there for 5 years.
I don’t know if I can still sue them or not. But if there’s a lawyer on this. I would love a call!!
Gabriele Madigan – Thank you to Eric Parker and the WFSB staff for taking the time to listen to our story and report it as to hopefully spare others of the same nightmare we experienced at Porter and Chester …this is just a shred of the hell we were put through.
I did in fact do my homework…I did ask flat out to the admissions person (Tom Brown) if in fact Porter and Chester was a certified dental assisting program because I had been leaning toward Tunxis college but the program was full….
Tom said and I quote “…ot doesnt matter what school you choose because given that they are CODA accredited the curriculum is
overseen by the ADA and the only reason for the elevated tuition is due to Pirter and Chester being a private school.
I gave Eric (as you could see in the piece) all the info I pulled up in my research…as well as brochures that are still sitting in their lobby claiming they are an accredited program. What was not reported was how when I approached Tom Brown in regards to his lies he got in my face and became extremely threatening.
..or how the director of the school Lindie Couhette forged students signatures onto papers acknowledging the school dropping their accreditation.
…or how they allowed their teacher who came in mid term Miss A to threaten me if I mentioned what was going on to the new incoming students…
well…I told every single one of them….and every single one left! The school LIES…it is defrauding people of their right to make a
concious decision as to the education they want vs the education they recieve. I will continue to fight and make sure innocent people are no longer scammed by these crooks!
Porter n Chester sucks. I went there for medical assisting. They couldn’t even keep teachers and there were constant changes and they don’t even help u get placed with a job. Just about all my classmates aren’t even working as MA’s!!!! I left early with was a blessing because I would of owed a lot more then the 7000 I owe now that I’m struggling to pay they t all about $$$$$!!!!
Porter and Chester sold me a dream of how I would have a job in a year with their 90% employment placement rate and was told this while they were in the process of losing their accreditation so this amounted to meaning squat. They told me it would be fine to take out student loans cause I would have a job as an electrician to repay them.
Well 9 months down the road and one semester away from completion I was forced out by the head of the school because I was taking meds that made me drowsy and would fall asleep in class sometimes. I had discussed this issue with the teacher and they were well aware and OK with my situation.
One day I was forced to leave school by the director for being tired and she knew that by making me leave I would be put over the time I could be absent and thus removed from school which is exactly what happened. She knowingly forced me to leave while present in class. Fast forward a year, against my better judgement I was going to return for the final semester to complete the program. Nope I was told the curriculum had been changed and I would have to restart the entire program and repay.
Even if I had completed the full program I wouldn’t feel confident starting a job in said trade because of how poor the education was, I would not be prepared to step foot on a job site and would end up looking like a fool.
Now I owe 8 grand to creditors and can’t even pick up where I left off at a different school because I used my student loan and the government will not give me another. Not a day goes by where I don’t think of how I was figuratively raped by Porter and Chester, so RUN as fast as you can from this scam. Try and join a union and get free schooling
Educational Funding Specialist in Waterbury, CT
Company Driven By The Bottom Line. Disorganized management and cold culture delivers very apparent feeling that company ownership only cares about profits and not their employees.
THEY DO NOT HELP SUNDTENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITES. THEY SAID THEY WOULD HELP ME BUT DID NOT BUT DID NOT. MR. DEETER THE OIL HEAT TEACHER LIED TO ME SAID HE WOULD HELP BUT DID NOT. I AM PAYING SUNDTEN PAY FOR SOMETHING I NOT GET. BUDLONG WAS NOTHER TEACHER THAT WAS A JERK HE WOULD SAY YOU FIGURE IT OUT. DID NOT NOY HELP. THANK YOU PCI FOR WASTING MY MONEY AND TIME
The worcester pci when i first started was great the instructors were really experienced and knowledge and those instructor left the school do too pci not paying them the electrician rate n cutting benefits so now they hire any wack job who has a licence with lack of experience in most topics we are being trained in. also we are cuurent getting out dated material from Connecticut and off there out dated code book from 2011 if you have no prior electrical experience your going to feel lost i learned mostly what i kno from my experience in the field, my class mates and my instructors mr Murphy and mr pelki great instructors they would take the time to explain the material till you got it not so much with the new instructor no offense to her but if she doesnt have a clue on something then how are we
place sucks, paid 20,000 not including the gas to get there, only not to get help finding a job, every time I called after graduation to get help job seeking even went down there in person and as always to damn busy, this place is one of the biggest rip offs, hope theres a lawsuit soon, I refuse to pay for the education I didnt get cause I already has three years in my field as Tech in high school, and now I work in a damn stop and shop, IM PISSED 2016
This school is definitely a rip off especially Branford location. All programs are a joke except the dental assisting but cmon how hard can passing tools be? The instructors barely teach and expect you to know it all before hand. Even through the inconsideration I maintained grades that were well but no recruitments. I’m still paying off loans when I was promised guidance and instruction. All I received was a pat on the back and a regular job that has nothing to do with the field I studied.
Porter and Chester Institute – Waste of Time and Money
I am currently enrolled in college now. I have been since shortly after leaving PCI.
I was recently looking over all of my student loans which brought me to think back at my dreadful experience at Porter and Chester. It makes me beyond depressed thinking about how I have an extra $20k or so in debt due to attending this school that got me nowhere. They lied through their teeth so they could fill empty seats. They are predators and you are the prey.
I felt like I was just a number the entire time I was there. My instructor, when he did teach, merely read word for word from a Powerpoint. A powerpoint which was word for word from the book. We seldom did “hands on” work.
Hands on was what was advertised to me and promised. I was in the Computer and Networking program. I learned more from Youtube videos and guides online than I did from attending the school. The instructor came in late everyday.
Class was supposed to begin at 7:30, however in reality it began consistently around approximately 9am. Even then he didn’t always start at that time. He was also the schools IT guy so he would often be off doing something else and leave us with a quick and easy assignment and not come back for much longer than it took the class to complete whatever it was. We were allotted a break which always ended up being an hour or more.
I would approximate that on any given day we actually only had maybe 2 hours of actual class time as opposed the 5 that should have occurred. As far as I could tell the instructor gave everyone A’s. In all reality though I don’t think grades at this schooled mattered at all. I earned my certifications with practically no help from any of the class time I was there.
I taught myself via the books and the internet. I scored very well by doing the work myself. So I literally paid for absolutely nothing, except I guess the books. I would do anything to get my money back.
I found this site in my searches to see of others complaints and to see if there was any kind of class action lawsuit against the school from other frustrated past students.
I know at the time of my attendance one of the other students in my program was suing the school.
Thanks to you and everyone who is sharing their experience with PCI. I went thru Financial aid, student ID,” mandatory” orientation etc. Then a week before school starts they call and tell me I’ll be on hold. They over enrolled. Not my problem! Anyway the woman who enrolled me told upper management that I swore at her on the phone!!!! I would never. The school is a scam. Glad I found out now.
I attended this school summer 2012-2013, if it wasn’t for my ability to get lucky, find MYSELF a job in my field of study, WITHOUT THE HELP OF THIS SCHOOL. The curriculum is outdated and way too basic for “post secondary education.” Most of the students are uninterested and disruptive. The instructors are more into disciplining and posturing students.
The instructors also have very little ability to help students hands on. In my opinion most of the instructors are former WARRANTED TECHS that could not hack it in the industry anymore so they decided to yell at lost 20 somethings for not tucking their shirts in.
IVE SEEN STUDENTS IN SOME OF THE MUST UNSAFE CONDITIONS, WORKING ON SYSTEMS THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT. I HAVE LEARNED MORE IN MY ALMOST 2 YEARS AS A FLAT RATE AUTO TECH THEN I DID IN MY MANY WASTED HOURS AT THIS SCHOOL. PLEASE STAY AWAY!
I went to Porter & Chester Institute many years ago and have since found out I could have received a better education and still have come away with the Certificate.
I worked for for less then $2000 whereas here at the time because I was not eligible for any financial aid except for loans which started out at almost $10,000, and now because of many hardships and inability to pay loans, with interest I now owe almost $20,000. All for a Porter & Chester course that had I done more research and attended a different school I could have paid about 90 percent less at a Community College. Make sure you check ALL options, and realize that the Porter & Chester school (if you want to call it that) is NOT the best choice.
Porter and Chester Institute – BE ADVISED: READ THE CHAOS BELOW!
I am a former graduate of the Stratford, CT campus back in 2007.I took their 18 month program for the Residential and Commercial Electrical Certification.
In that span I must have seen at least a few different instructors come and go. Why do you ask? Because none of their instructors have any prior teaching experience, they are simply former tradesmen who obviously couldn’t suffice in their field of study. They cannot effectively put together a lesson plan!
Boy do I wish I had my close to $23,000 back!!! A complete waste of my time! Unless you are currently working or have been working in your trade field for awhile and simply need the piece of paper to be licensed than this institute is not for you. Be sure your field of study is where you truly want to be before enrolling.
It’s not like they set you up with any internship programs to guide you along, they’re completely happy taking your money either way. After I graduated they set me up with a somewhat local company that completely failed to follow any sort of OSHA regulation. The licensed electrician on the job was a complete drunk who took off mid-day to other job sites, leaving all of us apprentices to fend for ourselves. Completely illegal!
Not to mention my completely green, entry level status only netted me $10 an hour and my Porter and Chester education counted for absolutely nothing!!! Not to mention the company required me to commute nearly an hour every morning to the job-site with my own transportation. Take out the cost of gas and I was making next to nothing! Obviously I only stuck around for a couple weeks before checking out.
I wasn’t willing to injure myself for the simple benefit of the company. I learned later that Porter and Chester only set me up with this job because they were hiring one of their employees to work at the school. Beneficial to everyone but me! That $23,000 education wasn’t worth $2,300 if you ask me.
My brief experience in the field left me with such a sour taste in my mouth over the industry in general that I had decided not to possibly return until just recently. I decided to place a phone call to Porter and Chester’s ongoing job placement assistance board. I felt well heck, I spent the money, maybe they’ll at least be able to help find me another job. What do you think their answer was?
“Oh, sorry, but the availability of jobs in the field has been pretty dry, we’re advising students to get out there and network, good luck!” What the ***??? Get out there and network??? What the *** am I calling you for then!!! Please people, this whole experience was something that has continued to haunt me even years later.
I’m advising all parents and prospective students to steer clear of places like this.They’re in the business of making money, not educating you!!!
I worked as an instructor at Porter & Chester in the 90′s. If you are looking at any of these schools the first question you need to ask yourself is, if the school is inferring (never promising) that their program can lead you to a high paying career then why are the instructors paid so poorly? If your instructor can lead you to a high paying Information Technology career than why is he working for peanuts? He/she would be working in the IT industry if it is so lucrative. In the 90′s Most of the instructors were being payed salaries in the mid 30′s while the sales department was implying high paying salaries for IT graduates.
Porter and Chester is a for profit business. They will admit anyone willing to pay the tuition. Many of the students were recent high school graduates who brought with them the same work ethic that they displayed in HS. I felt bad for everyone. The students with a real work ethic never got the education they deserved and the immature students learned nothing except that they were responsible for the student loan money they wasted.
Horrible lack of communication. terrible school. Wish someone had warned me prior to starting. Paying for tools and uniforms that i never even got. Buncha thieves in the auto class in Watertown. Absolute nightmare. Ha ha even better is when they continue to withdraw money from an account that they were told not to. And when you ask to speak to the campus director and never get a call back. Lawsuits are a b****.
The job placement is another joke. A job at Jiffy Lube making minimum wage after a year of classes and $15,000 in loans. Not recommended
Porter & Chester Instutute Enfield – Simple Car Repair turns into Disaster
Well it all started with a phone call to Porter & Chester InstututeIn Enfield, Ct (Auto Service). My 1996 Mercury grand Marquis GS 4.6 engine size had 2 instruments out, Fuel & Volts Regulator. Manager Steven said it would be ok to drop off car, but would need it for a couple of weeks. I said ok.
Well to start off communications were just awful. When i did get hold of Steven, he told me that the cluster needs to be changed out or change the Module in the cluster. I asked him to put it back together because i needed the car because me other car needed to be fixed.He recommended i didn’t take car .
I get to car 1996 Mercury on a Sunday. The car won’t start, then i finally got the car to start and drove it home, but car wasn’t sounding to good. realize no Instrument were working at this time. Speedometer, mileage, temp, oil nothing working Parts lift in Car, Module.Car battery lift loose. alarm to car badly messed up it was a nightmare.
Thats just the beginning, now i try to fix all what thats wrong with car. buy used cluster, No good, buy new Battery seems to be draining to quick.
Reported Consumer Loss = $400.00
Porter and chester institute is not what they portray themselves to be. Yes I did learn a lot from taking the HVAC course but their promise of job placement is a fraud.Finding a job in the HVAC field without prior years of experience is very difficult and you figure the school would know this and try to have connections for their students. They do not help you find a job, they have no connections with any companies. I have yet to get one interview through them. Once you graduate you are basically on your own for a job hunt. The School is suppose have relationships with companies that are willing to give PCI students an opportunity but they do not. Don’t fall for the banana in the tail pipe people.
Hi I went through the same thing, you went through. I know first hand how you feel and I think it’s been 3 years since I graduated, from Porter and Chester in Canton Ma.
If you would like to start a class action act on the school, as a whole I’m on board. And will gladly sign the pention.
Would like to know if there are any lawsuits pending or petitions I could sign regarding PC. Attended LPN program in 2010, was let go after they changed rules about length of semester . Told grades weren’t good enough which was a lie, now I owe 36,000 for an education never received
I had to take an ethics they are trying to teach us about having good ethics ok I passed the class however the school is the one that need to take the class because when I started they said when we leave here we will be certified however 9 mo into the year 2 weeks before I left for extern they tell my class that after we graduate we have to work for 2 year before we can take 1 of the 3 tests to become certified because the school is not accredited . And when I signed up they did not mention anything about having to take online classes and right before 3rd quarter started they tell us by saying hey guess what 3rd quarter you guys only have to come here 3 times a week instead of 4 we all asked why and that say cause we 6 of our classes are online classes. well fuck that I didn’t sign up for online anything like that… this is how well they teach classes my class all went and took a certified test given by the state and my whole class failed no we have to go take it again and pay out of our pockets for it we can’t get jobs with out it. and the best part my class cost over $20,000.00 I could have gone to a community college and only paid $3,000.00 for the same class. the school is a joke
Class action…. please read my post
If you want to learn you will learn this school prepares you for the real world if you are working for a company and the weather is really bad you still need to go or you get fired if someone you work with is a jerk you deal with it if your boss tells you to clean up you clean up and if your boss said you owe him or her money back and you don’t you correct him or her anywhere in this world if you don’t try or you don’t speak up at your school or job your never going to succeed in life so stop hiding behind a screen and complaining about the things you could have changed or studied harder for or took your teacher to the side and said i’am here to Lean it cost me a hell of a lot of money to come here and I want you to teach me it’s not hard to succeed in life you study hard and work harder this school (like every other school is far from perfect but I study very hard and when I don’t understand something I ask for help complaining gets you mad that’s al.l Stand up for your self (face to face) and try your best this school has taught me a lot but I will agree that some of the equipment is out dated and there stock should be replenished more often and the iPad is still a nightmare for some of us and Chris Molnar lied when he said in the business section of porter and chester that the students enjoy the iPad for school work my iPad (that the school supplied) hasn’t work right since I got it (direct digital) but I kept contacting the people I had to and now I have a book to use so when it comes to things you paid for I agree but let’s stop the teenage crap and act like adults here this school could be better but you will get a good education and that’s the truth.
Exactly – act like adults and call for a class action. This is not just teenagers crying and whining.
I don’t know what your problem is but before I spent 27,000 I investigated the school and the field I was going into. This school helped me get certified in Gas heat, Oil heat, and my EPA license, and even before I signed up I knew I would have to work in the field for two more years before I could go for my technicians license. I think you should have paid attention to the ethics class then just maybe you wouldn’t have to swear to get your point across,so to anyone who is thinking of going to porter and chester do your homework before jumping into a career and for the people who think this school sucks ask your self where you really prepared to do actual homework and study hard or did you think 27,000 was going to buy you a passing grade???
You Tube video about 2;06 makes reference to Barbara Anthony Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwTa-A6KGlE
How would you even start to contact the people with complaints? Most are happy to just post a complaint and that’s it.
And just to let you know i’am not even out of school yet and I already have a job waiting for me because of help from this school and my hard work
OK…Ever hear of the carrot or stick approach? The horse walks towards the carrot, but he never gets any closer to it.
We’re not saying EVERYBODY has a bad experience with Porter & Chester. We’re saying WE had a bad experience with Porter & Chester and we have a right to speak out.
Just because a Porter & Chester graduate isn’t working doesn’t mean he/she didn’t do the required work and job searches.
I never said that your not trying just stop crying and do something about it John you have the right to complain its a free country and i’am letting everyone who is thinking about coming here it’s not as bad as everyone on this sight makes it out to be not for me anyways and I go to the same school so I just don’t understand the problem I wish you all the best happy new year
I was in the same program John was in, I’m happy to say that I have a Job placement as well and I am able to start prior to the end of my final term.This was due to the fact that we had a new tenacious and motivated career placement leader that actually cares about helping students and my due diligence. Now, about the School, You need to apply yourself and spend time outside of the course to study and practice your skills when possible because as you know, you are paying for a twenty eight thousand dollar certificate that should get you an entry level position. I agree that the school is FULL of issues and most of the administration just disregards the student once he or she has signed their processing paper and are brought up on their radar only if the tuition payment had ceased. Many unfulfilled promises have been made from this organization, and their reasoning behind it has been funding. The funding has been towards their personalized Porter and Chester mobiles which the admin drive around in, their funds have been towards the purchases of new campuses in lieu of actually fortifying the campuses and courses they already had. This is an all for profit school generating billions with a high turn over in employees (faculty),clearly something is wrong.
Take heed to all that enters, read the complaints on this site and others to get a good to feel to what you will be getting yourself into.
This school is a waste of time.
I’m in auto mechanics and my teacher never lets me bring.in my car to work. on. He has a few select that he hands out work to and then lets the others watch.
My teacher yells at students and says we cant work on cars because we are not professionals. He is denying me education and I am dropping out …by the way Porter & Chester Institute in Woburn is already on their third school director. I wounder why.
So, why doesnt everyone get together for a class action suit. Per all the complaints and reviews that I have read (and I am having the same problem) there is definitely a class action. So, if anyone is interested, please feel free to leave a reply. I will set up an email address explicitly for this. Kaplan is in a class action suit because of fraud, so there should be some recourse. I understand most students have had 3 non-experienced teachers per year and yes, why would anyone pay the money if all you have is a narrator reading from a book. No heat in one of the Woburn campus’ classrooms – two years in a row.
OK john if you are setting up, a class action act, I’m on board.
Hey john my name is mike and I graduated from rocky hill as well and I basically could have taught myself what I know too. Please send email and details of your suit its michaelj2069@aol.com
Thank you all!!!!! Thank you all!!! Went to PCI rocky hill yesterday and signed up and is suppose to go back next week for financial aid but I’m taking your advise and run!!!!!
Big mistake
wow, good for you. missed that bullet.
I have mixed emotions, I’ll be graduating from the Watertown Campus in July – I have all my certs, 4.0 GPA, etc – and yeah, my instructors are pretty neat. However, it simply wasn’t remotely worth the money and other depressing things that came along with it all.
In a nutshell I feel as if I paid 27,000$ for a narrator to the books/power points.
I was shrouded into believing I was going to work with “top of the line technology” and all of our computers in our wing (Computers!) were probably the slowest/oldest in the school. A brand new desktop out of Walmart for 400$ would easily dominate any computer in our lab.
Not cool, not cool.
Their job placement was another trick they pulled me in with, but now after knowing the 3 previous graduating classes, I know that will not happen, regardless of my performance in class.
Recap, you’ll be paying 27,000$ for a few books, maybe a flash drive to wow you, certification vouchers that total to about 6-700$.
Honestly, I’d suggest reading up on the internet and taking the A+ test BEFORE enrolling, then you’ll see how you would’ve wasted your money.
– Sincerely, Someone who doesn’t want the boot.
Every single campus is looking for new teachers, hopefully experienced ones. Please read my post. I believe a class action suit would wake them up to what a crappy job they are doing. Third director at the Woburn Campus. Most teachers do not have experience teaching, so they read out of a book. I’ll go home, save $30,000 and learn it myself.
Honestly now that I’m in my last term you can see all the bs. I;m in my last term at the watertown campus for IT. honestly the instructors are funny and are willing to help you as long as you actually try in class. yes we all like to game and bs but what i don’t understand is most of these people who come in here don’t seem to care about the class at all. The only people who actually pass their certs are the ones that actually tried or have had past experience. Luckily ive had many years of experience fking up all my computers and tinkering since i was a kid. Im only 20 now and i clearly see that if i didnt have the experience i have it would be very hard to actually learn all this material. On another note, the overall school is FOR PROFIT, they dont give two sh*ts about anything, even the instructors are getting fed up and the ones that do speak up are the ones that get fired. The school doesnt want to take the advice from anyone even though they have no clue what they are doing in any of these fields. Now hopefully i can actually get a job even with all my certs and extra certs.
they only way i would recommend this school would be simply the instructors who would be mr. k and mr . whitney who’ve actually had many years of experience and know how to teach you both from the book and what you are expected to know.
My step-daughter is enrolled in the automotive program. There is a snow storm and the only “School” open is Porter & Chester. These kids are driving long distances in terrible weather and they are inexperienced drivers and the administrator said it “Wasn’t a school, it’s a business”. Businesses pay people. You can quit a job. They let her out of class to straighten out financial aide so they get paid, but refused to excuse a few hours due to a snowstorm. It’s a disgraceful place just looking to make money off of our kids with empty promises and their own agenda.
Same here. I was told the same think. Today, most of the surrounding towns are closed, business are closed, schools are closed, but yet there are classes tonight at the Woburn campus. Most of the students travel from Lowell/lawrence area and of course, they made sure to say there would be no delays. You are right – it is not a school, it is a business. Please see my post, looking into a class action suit against Porter and Chester. Students at Kaplan did just that.
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Do not attend this “school” It’s a complete waste of your MONEY/time. The curriculum is outdated, the technology is outdated and the teachers aren’t real teachers. All of this will equate to a huge chunk of student loan debt for an “education” that wont help you get into a career. Test the waters before you dive in; try making up a fake resume with the Porter & Chester certification you’re planning to go for and see if any employers call you back. I bet they wont! Porter & Chester has a terrible reputation and adding that name to your resume will actually decrease your chances of getting a job. You’re much better off attending an accredited school. That means the teachers are held to a higher standard and that even if you have a hard time finding work when you finish, you can put your time towards continuing your education.
Please see my previous post on 12/17/13. I believe a class action suit against Porter and Chester for their fraudulent practices will save other students from falling into their pit of lies.
Porter and Chester sux! After 1 year, I still cannot find work. I am working as a waitress instead. I have called the school in Enfield Ct and never had any of my calls returned. False hope is right, once you are done… so are they. They should be reported to the Better Business Bureau. I am shocked that they have not been investigated yet. If somebody could afford a lawyer than I would def jump on and start a class action law suit!
please see my previous posts on 12/17/13. I do not believe you would have to pay a lawyer if we had enough information documented. I am also shocked that they have not been investigated. To my understanding they have been reported to the Better Business Bureau. We could use the same law firm that sued Kaplan University for the same complaints from students.
Demos
School is a complete fraud. They hire instructors that merely understand the courses. We went thru three 3 “instructors” in 13 months. This is mainly a self teach school. The faculty could really care less about you as an individual. They change the “standards” or “rules” on a weekly basis. 27k and this place isn’t even worth it. People make false promises here and don’t deliver. Would not suggest anyone to come here. Save your money do yourself a favor and go to a real college not a mediocre trade school.
I was planning to attend one of these “for profit” schools but apparently there is some shady stuff going on. Initially I signed up to Kaplan University in Somerville, Mass two weeks ago (September 2012) for the electrical course. Oddly, the entire school decided to shut down 4 days before classes started on October 3, 2012. I thought, “That’s highly unprofessional.” I have a two year legal degree from Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown, Ma (500 ft from Kaplan) and Google-ed lawsuits against Kaplan. Surprisingly I found some interesting facts.
Furthermore, I got quotes from the lawyer of Kaplan stating that “it may be odd to see a school operating like a business, but it is.” The class action suit painted Kaplan as targeting low income folks and using crude corporate sales tactics to sucker them into the school, and the Kaplan lawyers admitted this fact but stated that it is not illegal. The federal judge agreed with Kaplan and dismissed the suit in favor of Kaplan. Sad state of affairs in America but needless to say, I will not be attending one of these for profit schools until I Google everything about them. Some facts about Kaplan:
-Owned by the Washington Post (Weird)
-Many of the same site Porter Chester Complaints are filed, Kaplan is right there
-http://truth-out.org/news/item/8059-washington-post-annual-report-reveals-widespread-accreditation-and-legal-problems-at-kaplan-university (“Kaplan University is the blood bank for The Washington Post and supplies The Washington Post Corporation with 58 percent of its revenue.”)
-“Kaplan’s answer to regulatory problems is to pay off politicians to weaken or rescind troublesome rules and regulations, thus reducing oversight, disclosure and transparency.”
It appears that there is rampant fraud within the Accreditation process, Federal College money programs, banking (where the funds and interest rates originate) and downright criminal activity on a large scale basis. I have made my point. Train yourself through self discipline and the internet.
At best you will receive a mediocre education, that is if only you can shut out all the extremely poor behavior by other students. the foul mouth swearing is chronic, the talking is loud and excessive, and the fights among female students, weekly. i feared for my safety on many occasion. it seemed like the instructors didn’t know how to control their class and it was a zoo. it was appalling. i read that the instructors get bonuses for keeping everybody in that they can, that is, as long as the school is receiving the funds from the students, so many students graduated that shouldn’t have – a major insult to those of us who really tried and cared. i can’t say that the instructors don’t care, i think they do if you show that you want to learn, the problem is the curriculum is poor and because of this, you will not receive a solid education. some teachers probably are teaching in up over their heads and then get beaten down by the crap that the majority of students dish out on a daily basis. they are probably afraid of the students and don’t want to cross their paths. awful.
I realized too soon but then it was too late to quit, that i had made a major mistake by attending this school. i am now stuck with an enormous debt to pay off but fortunately found a job. i agree with all the other posts that p&c is a money mill and that the higher ups don’t care about the students, just their money. I will be paying off a loan for the next 25 years for a crummy education but will most likely go in to deeper debt to go back to college and get a real education. i signed the dotted line believing the bill of goods that wasn’t delivered.
I am not proud that i graduated from p&c because anybody can as long as their money comes in. do yourself a favor and run, do not walk, away from attending this school. pay the extra money and go to college. you will be grateful that you did, and you will probably be much safer on a college campus. p&c is a danger zone.
btw, we all can’t be wrong.
What is the HOTNESS FACTOR and why would I rate something that I have no idea about?!?!?
Shut this place down. 25 k waste of money. Do not sign any papers. Just look at the reviews their instructors and their bosses are just a bunch of scum, Chicopee campus especially. It will be really nice when they only have some “potential cash” that’s what they call people interested in the school. Before they will parade you around they make sure all the students look happy in their uniform. They will honestly spend like 5 day cleaning the school to make it nice then. This should be illegal. Yes their curriculum is non existent. How can you sell school to people and not have a curriculum. Grades do not matter here if they want to get rid of someone here they will and you will get robbed. They change the rules everyday don’t get suckered by these people like i did. Spread the word
Just before finishing, Porter and Chester had the nerve to say that I owed them $1600.00 dollars out of pocket, even though I had financial assistance to cover everything. So I questioned them where the $1600.00 came from. “Go see (will not mention name)” So I did and no answer was calculated to justify this $1600.00. NEVERTHELESS, right in front me, I did see something so very interesting during their failing attempts to calculate a $1600.00 figure. Turned out they owed me $3300 dollars.
I attended the Wethersfield CT branch back in 07 which then moved to Rocky Hill DURING the class sessions.
Total mess and very disorganized. There would be multiple group levels taught in one class. Why should I, as a beginning classmate, sit and listen to course materials for students that are ahead in course reading materials?
Job placement doesn’t work there.
I went to Porter and Chester for the job placement assistance more than the paper I would receive in the end, and they said they would find me something. Throughout the term there was only one solid interview that was 1.5 hours away from home, Groton CT, to be exact. I went to the interview and didn’t get the job because of my lack of experience, and the cost benefit factor commuting there. That was the last interview Porter and Chester ever set me up with and apparently Porter believed I didn’t present myself well enough. So, they called the interviewer to verify what went wrong. First and foremost, its not rocket science to see that commuting a 3 hour drive back and forth each working day, would be a financial burden for $11 an hour.
So what happened? I never got a job from them, and they wondered my negativeness even though I graduated with a 4.0 average, BUT, graduating took some challenge as well. Five different dates were given to me. It became so ridiculous that I didn’t even go to my graduation, I was fed up with them.
j graham
Hi parent of two students graduated from watertown campus..what’s going on at this school??BS 101..both had 4.0s medical assisting and autotech..no jobs..mr palmer the only one going out of his way to help..in auto..huge loans no jobs as promised. Then the kids give up with my phone ringing off the wall for the $$ to b paid back..this is fraud don’t committ to borrowing federal funds from govt and false promises of jobs after they graduate..its getting worse..no hookups or connections in wtby..or ur not bilingual no JOBS period..terrible..this is fraud and deception. The schooi is pumping out the loans with an 80percent default status upon its grads..putting them in line for food stamps not to mention depression..what is the ratio of grads overall from these campuses getting reliable jobs after their internshios?? These statistics need to b researched b4 any student borrows from any PC institute.. some one might consider a class action lawsuit for fraud!!!
Disgusted Parent
Even giving this school one star in each category is a stretch. This school is a total scam and should be revealed for what they really are. Its quite obvious reading these reviews that the same complaints from different students and parents are mentioned over and over. I would advise anyone and everyone to stay clear of this school. You will be paying thousands of dollars for an education that you will either not get or never have a chance to get but your still going to have to pay off those loans. Sound fair? Do yourself a favor and go to a real school like so many stated in their complaints they ended up doing in the end. This so called “school” is a joke!!!!!! I cannot stress “joke” enough. I wish I had done a google search and found all these complaints before I let my son enroll there only to end up with $27,000 in loans and no certificate.
I wish i can go back in time and read these reviews, because they’re all true. Porter & Chester is ALL about the money. Its full of lies. Porter & Chester is bullshit and overpriced.” Teachers are only there for their paycheck. I’m telling everybody. You are paying 30k and up to teach yourself so don’t waste your time.
Hey, that’s porwfeul. Thanks for the news.