Sophia, only 2 courses active at one time

[monchevy]

As of yesterday at least, Sophia now allows you to "try" a course before you commit to taking it. If you're not sure you want to attempt a course in the time left, this is great! It lets you download all the PDFs and I think you're allowed to work on the first unit as well. You can "try" a course whether or not you've hit the 2 courses already. So if you're taking a break before taking the final milestone, this lets you preview and choose what to take next.

I saw that button the other day and thought maybe I wasn't logged in. But I was. Anyway, it was the only button there to take a course, and it still gave me the "are you sure... you can only sign up for 2 at a time" message.

[tallpilot]

The smartest thing Sophia could do after the freebies are over, is lower their prices to the neighborhood of Study and SL courses, or hit us all with coupons that end up $100/course again. Some may only need 1-2 courses though, so I hope it’s not a buy 5 deal. They have a good bit of momentum from this. People like their courses. Roll with it!

That might be what's best for you as a student, but I doubt it would make much sense for Sophia.  You don't establish yourself as a purveyor of high-quality goods or services by price-matching your competition, especially when your product throws rocks at theirs.

Sophia offers a more tightly-integrated, student-friendly, transparent, and overall higher-quality experience than either SDC or SL.  I doubt that happens by accident, I suspect that they have substantial and ongoing costs in excess of those other providers.  That's probably one reason their course selection is limited.  They likely don't release a new course until it's been properly audited and the integration is smooth.  Contrast that to all the "the tests weren't aligned with the course materials" complaints you see from SDC students.

Personally, I think that while SDC does have some advantages, such as wider course selection, course-for-course, they don't compare favorably to Sophia.  Likewise, I don't care for SDC's business model.  Their marketing focus seems to be on confusing the customer with a low, come-on rate and locking them in with a monthly charge.  I'm confident that if you were to audit study.com, you would find dozens if not hundreds of accounts with no activity for months or even years, because relatives, benefactors, employers, scholarships or government agencies continue to pay the monthly fees even though the student has lost interest or graduated.  While that's a great business model from a profit standpoint, as a consumer, I find it to be loathsome.

I don't think Sophia is likely to "hit us all with coupons" when the current promotion is over.  I've never seen any indication of a "shotgun" approach with their discounts.  What I've seen seems to indicate a careful marketing strategy, where they offer discounts to specific groups; for example, students of partner schools, homeschooling websites, and even, in at least one case, members of the Airline Owners and Pilots Association.  With that said, I can tell you that, at least in my experience, there have always been discount codes if you know where to look, and they have displayed a flexible and reasonable approach to the application of those discounts, even offering to combine accounts when a student has created multiple logins with different partner schools in order to minimize course fees.

I completed a number of Sophia courses prior to the start of the current promotion, and (not including the two historically free 1-credit courses on offer) my average cost was around $30 per credit.  The most I ever paid for one three-credit course was $112.50.  When you consider the quality of their product, and the fact that they're a private enterprise that exists to turn a profit, I find that very reasonable.  If you need only one or two classes and can't find what you need at your target cost per credit, you might want to consider Davar Academy.  They have a number of 3-credit online courses for $80 plus proctoring cost, as well as a $99 monthly program for two business classes.  Those are bargain-basement per-credit costs, but if you're used to Sophia, you may not like it...they're the Hyundai to Sophia's Lexus.

I agree with your assessment that Sophia generally has a higher quality product and I recommend new alternate credit seekers go there first.  I can tell you their algebra course was loaded with typos that might really trip someone up if they had not been exposed to the material before.

I understand your frustration with recurring charge business models; they are becoming ubiquitous in every industry.  I suspect you are correct and they make a fair amount of profit from people who set up the billing then forget about it.  They could charge per exam and eliminate the 'scam' complaints.  I will find out soon enough if they are honest when I pause my membership next month.

I do not agree with the assertion that the tests aren't aligned with the materials.  The tests are absolutely aligned with the quizzes and practice questions (the lessons occasionally do not include the answer to a specific question, that much is true).  That's the model.  One could exhaust herself trying to absorb a whole course worth of material or just hammer the questions until capable of getting a 70%.  SDC is faster than Sophia but Sophia likely results in better recall a month after taking the course.

I would love to see Sophia figure out how to offer upper level credits to select partner schools.  I take issue with their pricing model of offering huge discounts to some groups while offering high pricing to the general public or the ignorant. That is just as much of a scumbag business model as recurring billing, IMO.  $99 for non touchstone courses and $149 for touchstone courses is reasonable pricing. $349 for something where their incremental cost of delivery is bandwidth charges?  Maybe if you just needed one or two classes otherwise it is a colossal rip off compared to the other options.

[ctcarl]

I agree with your assessment that Sophia generally has a higher quality product and I recommend new alternate credit seekers go there first.  I can tell you their algebra course was loaded with typos that might really trip someone up if they had not been exposed to the material before.

I understand your frustration with recurring charge business models; they are becoming ubiquitous in every industry.  I suspect you are correct and they make a fair amount of profit from people who set up the billing then forget about it.  They could charge per exam and eliminate the 'scam' complaints.  I will find out soon enough if they are honest when I pause my membership next month.

I do not agree with the assertion that the tests aren't aligned with the materials.  The tests are absolutely aligned with the quizzes and practice questions (the lessons occasionally do not include the answer to a specific question, that much is true).  That's the model.  One could exhaust herself trying to absorb a whole course worth of material or just hammer the questions until capable of getting a 70%.  SDC is faster than Sophia but Sophia likely results in better recall a month after taking the course.

I would love to see Sophia figure out how to offer upper level credits to select partner schools.  I take issue with their pricing model of offering huge discounts to some groups while offering high pricing to the general public or the ignorant.  That is just as much of a scumbag business model as recurring billing, IMO.  $99 for non touchstone courses and $149 for touchstone courses is reasonable pricing. $349 for something where their incremental cost of delivery is bandwidth charges?  Maybe if you just needed one or two classes otherwise it is a colossal rip off compared to the other options.

You have an interesting definition of "scumbag".

I'll just leave this here:

Better Business Bureau Complaints - Sophia LLC

Better Business Bureau Complaints - Study.com

[LevelUP]

Has anyone noticed the "software bug" that now all reviews are only from July of 2020?

I would vote for Sophia being $100 per month that includes 1 course per month. If you for example take 2 months off, you never lose your credits so removes the pressure of using up the credit each month.  Each additional course $60.  That put them near the same price as other providers per course while not being too expensive per month. 

I'm sure they have a pricing plan already set up, we'll see by August 1st.

[monchevy]

Has anyone noticed the "software bug" that now all reviews are only from July of 2020?

I would vote for Sophia being $100 per month that includes 1 course per month.  Each additional course $60.  That put them near the same price as other providers per course while not being too expensive per month. 

I'm sure they have a pricing plan already set up, we'll see by August 1st.

But wouldn't they have to have a lot more courses to justify a monthly membership? I'd pay $200 per course if they started offering UL.

[tallpilot]

I agree with your assessment that Sophia generally has a higher quality product and I recommend new alternate credit seekers go there first.  I can tell you their algebra course was loaded with typos that might really trip someone up if they had not been exposed to the material before.

I understand your frustration with recurring charge business models; they are becoming ubiquitous in every industry.  I suspect you are correct and they make a fair amount of profit from people who set up the billing then forget about it.  They could charge per exam and eliminate the 'scam' complaints.  I will find out soon enough if they are honest when I pause my membership next month.

I do not agree with the assertion that the tests aren't aligned with the materials.  The tests are absolutely aligned with the quizzes and practice questions (the lessons occasionally do not include the answer to a specific question, that much is true).  That's the model.  One could exhaust herself trying to absorb a whole course worth of material or just hammer the questions until capable of getting a 70%.  SDC is faster than Sophia but Sophia likely results in better recall a month after taking the course.

I would love to see Sophia figure out how to offer upper level credits to select partner schools.  I take issue with their pricing model of offering huge discounts to some groups while offering high pricing to the general public or the ignorant.  That is just as much of a scumbag business model as recurring billing, IMO.  $99 for non touchstone courses and $149 for touchstone courses is reasonable pricing. $349 for something where their incremental cost of delivery is bandwidth charges?  Maybe if you just needed one or two classes otherwise it is a colossal rip off compared to the other options.

You have an interesting definition of "scumbag".

I'll just leave this here:

Better Business Bureau Complaints - Sophia LLC

Better Business Bureau Complaints - Study.com

I recognize that Sophia has far more transparent billing. Notice the complaints for SDC mainly reference the misunderstanding between free trial and 30 day money back guarantee. I agree it’s disingenuous but it is quite clear if you read before putting in your credit card.

Honestly all post secondary education in the U.S. is fundamentally predatory and exploitative. These options are simply less so.

Respectfully, you seem to be sidestepping my point, which is curious, because you paid ~$99 per course, just like most of the people I advise (ALPA members). My only complaint is that pricing should be more egalitarian. I acknowledged the quality.

[ctcarl]

I recognize that Sophia has far more transparent billing. Notice the complaints for SDC mainly reference the misunderstanding between free trial and 30 day money back guarantee. I agree it’s disingenuous but it is quite clear if you read before putting in your credit card.

Honestly all post secondary education in the U.S. is fundamentally predatory and exploitative. These options are simply less so.

Respectfully, you seem to be sidestepping my point, which is curious, because you paid ~$99 per course, just like most of the people I advise (ALPA members). My only complaint is that pricing should be more egalitarian. I acknowledged the quality.

No, I didn't notice that.  I'm not going to sort through...what was it?  A hundred and eighty-seven complaints?

My point is that describing Sophia as having "just as much of a scumbag business model" as Study.com is laughable.  Feel free to sidestep it if you like, it won't change those BBB numbers.

[LevelUP]

I'll just leave this here:

Better Business Bureau Complaints - Sophia LLC

Better Business Bureau Complaints - Study.com

The Better Business Bureau is a racketeering scam.  They are not a government agency.  

They want you to pay them off to make the bad ratings/reviews go away.

[ctcarl]

The Better Business Bureau is a racketeering scam.  They are not a government agency.  

They want you to pay them off to make the bad ratings/reviews go away.

I don't remember reading anywhere on this site that the Better Business Bureau was a government agency.  I myself neither said nor implied that they were.

To me, the Better Business Bureau is essentially a review site, much like Facebook, Yelp or Trip Advisor.  I'm aware that virtually every major review site has a substantial pay-for-play component.

That said, if I see nearly two hundred bad reviews of Merchant A, and only one for their competitor, Merchant B, I'm going to have a good laugh at any online post that claims Merchant B has "just as much of a scumbag business model" as Merchant A.

If this post happens to appear when Merchant B is winding down a promotion whereby they've thrown open their doors to everyone for free (as egalitarian an act as I've ever seen) at a time when demand for their services is elevated, perhaps even unprecedented, thereby making it impossible for anyone to spend one nickel there for more than four months, and the post appears on a site, many members of which have shared that they've benefited from those free services, you shouldn't be surprised to see a reply pointing out the absurdity of said post.

[walkingbyfaith]

Oh dear. Well, I better hurry up and finish more Sophia classes, I guess.

Now that we're down to the end of this generous few months...does anyone know when you are officially “unenrolled” in a current class so that you can enroll in another? Is it the moment you finish a class that you are able to enroll in another (during this time where we are limited to 2), or do you have to wait for Sophia to send the transcript to you?
 
 I’m  hoping the moment you finish a class on the 31st you would be able to immediately enroll in another.