Goddard College

Goddard «College» turned out to be a complete scam and waste of my time and money. The majority of the college credits I thought I earned there were not accepted anywhere else. The curriculum is an absolute joke. Very unprofessional «teachers» and staff. My advice… go to community college or any other college for that matter. Good luck in your search for a great college/​education.

Congratulations Goddard College graduates, you’ve just received a useless ethically deficient degree. But hey, you can always tout your support for convicted cop killers. Way to go!

In my role as a company partner and exec I have and will continue to make hiring decisions on recent graduates. Given the grip on reality demonstrated by the recent student body decision of a commencement speaker I just want to let future students know that Goddard on the resume = circular file. I know a number of execs who have expressed this same viewpoint.

I am a student in the Individualized Masters of Arts program and I love and appreciate Goddard’s commitment to radical learning. It’s the reason I decided to go to Goddard; I wanted to be immersed in a community that honors all people and all ways of knowing. I fully support the students decision to have Mumia Abu-​Jamal and I really appreciate Goddard supporting that decision. I imagine they were fully aware that it would bring out the droves of Fox News supporters. And honestly, any school that Fox News is skeptical of is the school for me.
Goddard is certainly not a school for everyone: it requires a dedication to ones own study above all else and you have to be your own advocate in many ways. But I do believe it is what education should be– self-​directed with a small support system to help guide. I wouldn’t have gone for a graduate degree had Goddard not existed so I am thankful to have the time to study what I love in a way that benefits me and the direction I want to go.

Goddard is a really special place. I finished an Individualised MA there this past summer; I’m currently in a competitive PhD program in my field. Goddard gave me the opportunity to fully explore my interests, to craft a thesis project that combined rigorous scholarship with awareness of my own baggage I brought to my academic work, and to find my individual voice in a moment where graduate school is about conforming to the institutional climate. It was overall a good experience, and for a student who comes in highly motivated and well-​prepared for graduate work, it is a way to pursue a topic that isn’t possible at a traditional institutions.
There is not much in the way of financial support from Goddard, and the campus itself is struggling to modernise. If you are a student with disabilities or with low income, you will have to be creative, resourceful, and above all, your own advocate. But it is possible to be successful at Goddard and to shape your own degree there, which is a unique opportunity.
Bottom line is that Goddard is a place where you get to do you. And you are ultimately responsible for whether you rise or fall. For some, that’s a challenge. For others, its a death knell. But I will say that the community of students there, while littered with its special snowflakes like any school, is one of the warmest and most supportive I have ever encountered. Goddard students are keenly interested in each other and in the world. That intellectual curiosity is Goddard’s greatest asset, and something that should be fostered in all of us.

Goddard College is an incredibly special place. Learning at its best: if you are motivated to follow your passions, you are completely free to do so. Wonderful faculty and environs, everyone there is following their personal vision of how to contribute to the world. It’s an incredibly refreshing and inspiring experience.
I’m nearly three quarters through my masters program at Goddard and I’m already sad at the idea of ever having to leave this place.
Of course, as others have mentioned, there are drawbacks to going to a small school that struggles with funding and depends on you being (almost entirely) self-​motivated. But, for me, the positives outweigh those a million times over. There are few places in this country that allow you to follow your own vision, write your own curriculum, and yet still put you through a program of rigorous inquiry. Goddard is one of those places.

Was part of the last on campus program student body. Excellent experimental college, but would highly recommend that they bring back the on campus program. Constant interaction among faculty and students is an essential aspect of the learning process and this is diminished with distance programs.

RUN WHILE YOU CAN! The school is a scam and run very poorly. It is in financial ruin and on the brink of bankruptcy. Don’t waste your money and time getting a degree from here. Taking the «easy way out» doesn’t pay off, because it comes with a price. When I initially arrived for my first orientation, I had a sick feeling in my stomach to just leave, but I had already handed over money and made the travel commitment to show up. I wish I had listened to my gut instinct and just left.
The pros: you design your own schedule and pick your own curriculum.
–It is lax and you can get away with putting very little into the curriculum (if that is what you want to do). Great place to float.
–A great option for single parents or older people that have very little time for school and have full time jobs.
–The school is located in a pretty forest.
–Catherine is a fantastic advisor. There are some good people at the school, but if you get a bad advisor you will suffer the consequences.
–I met some very nice students there. But be cautious, some people are very unstable.
–If you want to study something very unusual that is not offered at a college than this can be a good option. One person I knew studied about human trafficking, another in trauma studies, another person rennaissance history. I studied Chinese and Ayurvedic herbalism and medicine, phyto chemistry and neuro psychology. And I taught myself a lot in the process. I learned more than I did at a regular state school, but there are serious problems with how the school is run. And there are repercussions many face upon graduating. It is a great school for an older person that is going to college to learn something at their own pace or for someone that doesn’t have much on their financial plate. It is great for someone that is well off financially.
If you are young and starting out, and need a career plan and an income to set up your future I would look elsewhere. Goddard is great for some people’s needs, but not for others. It really depends on what your goals are. And some people do well there, in order to do well you need to be self reliant and very motivated and independent.

Cons: Campus computers barely work and are outdated, because they can’t afford to update their system or buy new ones. The school is nearly bankrupt
Some of the professors take a long time to get back to you, you have to fish hard for guidance and help. You need to be a strong advocate of yourself. You are 100 percent on your own.

The campus is very dirty to the point it is not hygienic. Be prepared to smell strong body odor through out the buildings. Beware the bathrooms. Be careful what you eat at the cafeteria, several classmates contracted food poisoning.
At my graduation ceremony, on the stage I received an invoice in my diploma folder for $ 7.42. I owned the school seven dollars and they kept my diploma hostage until I forked that 7 dollars over. I was a long time student that had donated money to them and paid them for my education was humiliated at my own ceremony over 7 bucks. My other classmate received an invoice instead of a diploma over $ 20.00
Be VERY careful with your thesis project do not bother going through with the IRB to get approved. Don’t do it! Pick something boring and safe. The school is not respected, many people have never heard of it. It wont look good on your resume or to good reputable colleges. Few of my classmates were prepared for GRES and had a hard time getting into graduate school. They had to audit classes first in order to get in. Bottom line most of my classmates are unemployed or at dead end jobs.
After graduation I realized my only way out of this huge mistake was to forge my way and start my own business. I’m a business owner now and am doing well. My degree from Goddard didn’t contribute to any of my success in my business.
One semester half of the staff was fired because the school was nearly bankrupt. only 15 – 20 students returned and the campus was a ghost town. limited resources and mentally ill students with serious problems are a big issue. One semester there was a student who had a psychotic break, stripped his clothes off and was running through the woods after eating bad mushrooms and smoking sage. He had to be carted off with the help of paramedics and police. This was in 2010 FYI.
You aren’t getting a shortcut coming here, yes they will take all of your credits from previous colleges so transferring on paper is easier. The repercussions you will face in you future simply isn’t worth it. I was a fool to have gone there. Honestly I picked goddard because they would take all my old credits, I didn’t want to waste those and be set back a few more years. I was burnt out and just wanted my degree and I thought I was getting a short cut and easy way out. I was WRONG. You don’t get what you pay

What higher education should look like. Goddard is student-​centered learning for wimple who want to integrates college into the life that they already have. Each program meets here for just one week each semester, then everybody goes home and does their work. It’s a rigorous and self-​directed way of learning, ideal for people returning to finish an undergraduate degree or expand/​deepen their practice through a masters program. Come here and create the kind of learning that you need!

The good, the bad, and the ugly all rolled into one.
Four years at Goddard made grad school way easier than it would have been otherwise. Truly.
If you know what you want to do, are motivated, and work well independently, this is the place for you.
The campus and the surrounding woods have terrific energy. Plainfield VT is one of the most beautiful little towns in the whole, wide, world. You will meet life changing people at Goddard, and you will be in company with some amazing, brilliant, and inspiring people.
But be aware; Goddard has the same problems that can be found at any college. Mixed in with amazing and dynamic faculty advisers are the burnt out, the personality disordered, and the incompetent. Goddard admin has it’s unique set of problems, and low residency is much harder than traditional type college.
All that said, I’m so grateful I went to Goddard. I never would have learned so much about the world and about myself. I designed my own studies, instructed myself in everything from herbal tincturing, Jungian dream analysis, creative writing, transpersonal theory, and developmental psychology. And, based on my studies, I got accepted at a great graduate school!
Goddard is an experience that never really stops; my time at Goddard shaped the way I interact with the world in general. It changed me. In the best ways.
If you go to Goddard, take a sidetrip down the street to the Plainfield Co-​op — Plainfield Co-​op rocks!!!

A transformative experience that allows individualized studies for community and civic minded people. Goddard celebrates 150 years of academic programs. Tim Pitkin’s Dewey based philosophy on education is the current model integrating — since 1938 — experiential understanding into the academic study plan and process.

I am relieved I made the decision to discontinue my studies after a single semester at Goddard College for several reasons. With a 10k per semester price tag, Goddard, as a previous reviewer stated, offers few financial options aside from loans. Hence, you won’t be surprised to see a homogeneous, white student body. And you won’t be alone in ending up with 40K plus in debt by the time you are finished.
The other reason I am happy I discontinued my studies has to do with my experiences with faculty and staff. I spoke with my program director about my indecision to continue my studies due to finances and she was completely unsympathetic. In fact, it was clear she didn’t really want to engage in a conversation about finances, which tells me there are no grants or robust scholarships coming to Goddard any time soon. And also tells me the faculty are more interested in retaining students than with empathizing with our burden of debt and possibilities after Goddard.
I learned a lot in my single semester there, but ultimately the cost of Goddard and Goddard’s lack of commitment to making the school more affordable, more accessible, and therefore, more diverse contributed to my decision to leave.

It takes a special type of person to really do well at Goddard. I wouldn’t recommend it to those who don’t actually take an active interest in their own education, or anyone with poor study habits. (Although, a lot of us do procrastinate!)
Many kids that have previously been home schooled end up here.
My experience at the college thus far has varied depending on my advisor, so it’s imperative you pick a good one.
I do agree that Goddard credits don’t transfer well, but as Goddard is the «last stop» for many students, it usually doesn’t matter.

Goddard is a mixed bag. It works for some people, but I wouldn’t recommend it at large.
Goddard is not financially supportive of its students given the current economic climate. They don’t offer work study, they have few scholarships available, they don’t go out of their way to help you find other financial aid, AND they will not permit you to miss a residency based on financial need. Goddard does not provide faculty who teach you anything, rather they encourage you to teach yourself and learn from others. This can be good if you want such freedom and you have the resources to pursue it, but it is difficult in terms of building a credentialed career.
Additionally, their library is weak, lacking up to date books and variety. While they sell the inter-​library loan it does not make up for having a strong library. With the ILL you cannot borrow between semesters, except your last semester. Also you generally will only have a couple weeks to view the book. If you live far away from Goddard most of your ILL time is used by shipping. I don’t know what the official retention rate of Goddard is, but I can tell you that among those who began with me only half finished.
Expect to spend alot of time on school. The best thing I can say for Goddard is that is it the most rigorous scholastic experience I have ever had in my life! Unfortunately, it is because you have to teach yourself, make your own curriculum, motivate yourself daily, work without any peer or communal support, and work tirelessly to make sure that your degree is going to be worth something. Oh and let me just say that it is almost impossible for any of your credits to transfer from Goddard to another school.

Exceptional breadth of coursework and studies, many choices for focus of education. Design your own program, distance learning with 10 day intensives once a semester in VT.
Campus picturesque. Old, once-​working farm. Great community of students and camaraderie despite short amount of tine in residency.
Wonderful experience being there with a graduate.

This is pretty much on of the best colleges around. The low residency program is a really interesting aspect, that lets people earn a degree in their field of study and the ability to stay in their current location. Students can focus on what their passions are and earn a degree at the same time. The Staff are great, and the faculty are accessible and engaged in your education as well as their own. Even if you don’t go to school the campus is worth a trip to check out!