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The academic content itself can be valuable, but the overall environment at The Chicago School is rigid and unsupportive. Administrative communication is inconsistent, and policies—especially around Residency and student wellbeing—lack flexibility or understanding of real-life circumstances.

The culture emphasizes strict adherence to rules rather than compassion or problem-solving. For a school that trains future counselors, the approach to student support often feels procedural rather than genuinely... Read More caring or trauma-informed.

I graduated in April 2025. The program (CMHC) teaches specifically to keep it's CACREP accreditation, which is completely unnecessary to most people who want to enter the counseling field. The administration is inept at best and constantly changes policy for internship, graduation requirements, etc.. Today, 1 month and 2 days after classes ended and 3 weeks after my degree was conferred and certified by the school for licensure, and 4 days after I received my degree in the mail, administration emailed... Read More saying there was a graduation requirement that they forgot about and which was mentioned nowhere except for one sentence in the student handbook. Now my degree conferral is in jeopardy unless I am able to complete this requirement. I wouldn't recommend this program to my worst enemy. Avoid at all costs- and the costs are very high for a program of this nature in Chicago. Look elsewhere. Plain and simple.

a day ago Do not enroll in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. It is a program for white anglo-saxon Protestant women only. If you are a black female, male, LGBTQ, disabled and using a reasonable accommodation, or non Protestant Christian you will at minimum have a difficult time and will be likely harassed and repeatedly refered to a disciplinary committee that the college claims is not a disciplinary committee. This school also saves every single piece of paper you ever give them, and will force... Read More you to write admissions of guilt that they insists are only reflection papers, then you will see the reflection paper again when you are referred to the disciplinary hearing. They also will wait until near the end of your degree when you are past the point you can transfer credits, near the end of your degree, then start harassing you, so they can get as much as possible because they don't want you to leave and loose your tuition money. This school also sweeps race discrimination, disability discrimination, and sexual harassment claims under the rug. Their modus operandi is to pretend to be so incompetent the school's general counsel can't understand claims and will keep asking for clarification even when the claims are extensively documented, so that the claims can be left at an intake stage, never invesigated, and ignore the claims. Multiple students have made claims to the school, have or are considering filing law suits, and have or are considering filing ethics complaints against professors with their state counseling boards.

This school is a joke. I saw the reviews for this school and thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. For a school teaching students on how to be better counselors they sure don't care much about their students. I learned absolutely nothing in this program that I didn't already learn in my undergraduate program, which was one the reasons I didn't stay in the program when I got sick. I withdrew from the university because I was sick and they decided to refund my loans without telling me. They didn't... Read More mention any of this when I was speaking to them about withdrawing and I made constant attempts to meet with someone from financial aid to make sure everything would be alright once I withdrew. My counselor mentioned nothing. The chair of the department mentioned nothing. Then they sent a letter to an old address that I owed them money and if it wasn't paid it would be sent to a collections office within 30 days. I didn't receive any of these letters until after 30 days, because it was an old address and when I called they said they had forward earlier in the month to the collections office. It had been almost a week from the day the letter was sent and they decided to forward the debt.

My graduate program is a blended-style, where 54% of academic hours are face-to-face lectures and 46% of hours are online. This allows me the flexibility to work a part-time job during normal business hours throughout the week. This style of learning is good for me, as I am self-disciplined enough to complete all my readings and online assignments thoroughly and promptly. This program also emphasizes hands-on learning, as seen through mandatory second-year practicums. The blended-style program allows... Read More for more practicum opportunities, as the students are available on weekdays.

The Masters of Counseling Psychology program is set up to train students to hit the ground running in the job market. They emphasize diversity, but are only slightly successful at executing the concept. For being a campus that considers themselves culturally aware, they certainly do not train the students well in how to work with a diverse population. I have had nothing but positive experiences with the faculty, include core, adjunct, and alumni professors. They are truly experienced and passionate... Read More about the field. The administration, on the other hand, is poorly organized. The cost of tuition is also very expensive, as it is a private school whom does not receive research funding. Overall, though, I have had a positive experience.