Do your research - and consider another school - first off - I have been attending this school since September of 2010 when I enrolled into the Medical Coding and Billing program on line. Things seemed to be okay at first but just wait until you have no support, grades are late, no one ever calls back and instructors barely respond. I finished the Medical Coding and Billing program with some minor break-downs with the system. Once I finished I decided to enroll into the Associate Degree transfer program where I was expected to graduate in May of 2011... I have been trying to repeat a failed course ( my last course) I have never failed a course until my last one... Then I was asked to repeat the course and I agreed. Shortly after I started to repeat it, I noticed that my student account has a balance of $2, 300. I called them and I became aware that if you have to repeat a course, they charge you an additional fees to retake the class and if you pass they will give you a credit minus $95.00. When I started the school I was never informed about this. Nowhere in my contracts or agreements with the school at the time I enrolled stated this. I asked them to produce documents stating that I agreed to this and that this information was disclosed to me. They were not able to do so. So was coming up on completing my repeated course and guess what? Failed again - like I said already I have never failed a course - seems like fraud here. failing the students to make more money. Now I have been getting call after call because the school claims they sent me books that I must return back to them or they threatened to charge me. They told me I must return my ICD-9 and CPT coding books - the very books that I needed for my Medical Coding class and to study for my certification exam. I told them I already started using them... they told me to just send them back as is -

Also, when I was finishing my program for Medical Coding, careers services called me and asked me if I wanted to be a student ambassador - they sent me a word document with an application and a request asking me to write a reason on why I would be a good student ambassador for the online program. I did all the applications and I get a call from some guy in New York on his cell phone trying to give me all this information regarding the program. I was told that I would receive a plaque and a letter of recommendation from the CEO of Ultimate Medical Academy in return for being an ambassador. The guy explained that all I needed to do was go on line like once or twice a month to review sites just like this and post good things about the school - basically to counteract the such horrible reviews other students have posted... I thought this was a joke. He asked for my personal email address to see he can set up Google alerts so that when new information about UMA is posted online I would be alerted in my email so that I can go to the source and post good things about the school. Is this really a student ambassador?

Are they really asking me to send books back that I already paid for and that I need for these classes and to study for my CPC exam?

Did I really fail my last course two times in row and be told that I owe them now $2, 300?

Please, do your research when considering an online school.

My situations have yet to be resolved...

First, I would like to say, except for being way tooooo fast, my education and instructors were wonderful!! However, I took 6 courses I had taken before, and I did find it harder! My course adviser was excellent! Tutoring was fantastic! But, the problems I had with financial aid, (from the beginning) and I was told the college paid for my certification, (then found out they don't) caused me more hardship and took 40% of time out of my life all the way through because of the mistakes made on loans, finances, people I had to report etc. I lost all my benefits except my health insurance: food stamps, unemployment etc. I have now applied with another agency to get more help. When I would try to talk to the same person concerning my financial aid and problems they would always "pass the buck", I would always get someone new who I would have to explain everything from the beginning again, and then why I was told I cannot graduate or get my diploma until I paid another $575.00, I asked which books they were for?? I was told to look at the paperwork and costs of books I got in the mail, and then figure up what added up to that amount. The costs is not on those slips!! I do not have anything showing in detail what costs what. The answer is always, "Everything is estimated." They will be giving a detailed answer later, as I have to report everything I do income wise to 4 agencies due to medical problems, I have not worked since August of 2009. So, I have put the money aside for now, and they are going to have to send a detailed list of all the costs to some of these agencies. I also have to agree the costs for this college is 4 times higher than all the other colleges I checked into later. There is nothing wrong with the education, except the accelerated courses are twice as fast as the accelerated courses I checked into with other college, and after working in medical for years, in my opinion, way tooooo fast!! It is too bad they have these problems, when the education and everything else was wonderful, and I did learn much more, and much more was required. This was not an easy education at all. I had to study 100 times harder than past colleges I attended, and even after working in the same fields for years.

CW

I came into contact with this company by accident. I was in the process of applying at a local university in the town I live and clicked on a request for information. I thought I was still under the "university 1" website. Since then I am receiving calls between once or twice a day. After I let the representative do their introduction, I inform them that I am enrolling at a different school. For some reason that does not matter. I have even been asked to be taken off of their calling list; and for some reason that does not matter. I have been receiving calls and when I try to call back, it gives some odd ball name. When I let the phone ring, the message is music playing in the background. I find this rude and not professional at all. Here is the question I pose to you, "If I have asked you on several occassions to remove me from your calling list and that request has not been fulfilled, what makes you think that you can give me a proper education?"

Ultimate Medical Academy promises a lot, but the promises are empty. When speaking to an advisor before attending classes, one is promised so much. Especially what is underscored is that one would be working in the medical field, where there are always jobs.

The classes were described to me as being six months long for an MCLA (Medical Clinical Lab Assistant). In fact, there are four mods which are about a month long each. So much work is crammed into that time to get students in and out of the school. It is almost like an assembly line. Into school, cram a lot of teaching into a short period, then out on externship.

After the four months of schooling one is given an externship site. For an MCLA, one must extern for 180 hours.

The complaint about the classes crammed together is because a student may have an issue with a medical clinical procedure, but is passed anyways. Other technical schools in the area ensure that all medical clinical procedures are done correctly at least fifteen times before the student may pass the class.

For the amount of money the school charges, the students deserve much better treatment. The faculty should care that the graduates reflect on how the school has trained them.

The cost of the program is expensive. If you are using Federal Student Loans, the school can only get about half of the cost from the government. The rest of the money is out of pocket, paid monthly.

Once one has finished externship the student is on their own. In this difficult economic atmosphere, MCLA jobs require experience and certification. For new graduates, if you are not hired from the externship site, jobs are difficult to find.

The rate of pay for this field, if one is lucky enough in this economic climate, to find a position is $9-$10 an hour.

To summarize, one is put through a factory like assembly line 4 month set of 4 courses. One is promised the moon before signing on the dotted line. One is ON THEIR OWN in this difficult economic climate after school and externship have been completed. The cost of attending this school is just too much money to throw away if one is not able to seek employment.

If being a medical assistant is what one really wants to do, research other schools, or try nursing.