r/CapellaUniversity

I worked over the holiday weekend and have like 8 assessments complete just need to submit.

Will I be penalized for submitting everything and waiting?

Hey everyone,

I need to vent, but I also genuinely need to know how you guys are breaking through this. I am currently in the FlexPath option, and I feel like I've been stuck in an absolute bottleneck with my final major assessments and capstone blocks.

It feels like the same cycle every single week:

1. I write a 20-page paper, pulling completely from the literature matrices and keeping everything strictly in objective reporting style ("the study found...").
2. I submit it.
3. The professor takes the full 3 business days to grade it, only to return it with a request for 15 minor formatting or alignment tweaks (usually something like using "we" instead of "I" or demanding additional sources for foundational claims).
4. I fix them immediately, resubmit, wait another 3 days, and get hit with different formatting critiques from the secondary review.

A buddy of mine who graduated last year recommended I look outside the standard library tools and use specialized consultancy platforms to handle the heavy editing and alignment checks before submitting. I've been running my drafts through Academiascholars to clean up the literature formatting and check my structural logic against rigid rubrics before the faculty sees it. It has honestly cut down my revision count, but the gatekeeping at the evaluation stage still feels brutal.

I've been getting questions about how I have been progressing so quickly through the DBA program, I started April 2026 and am currently 67% done, 1 class pending, 4 left. I'll try to keep the rundown short, any questions feel free to ask.

1. I have been in my industry for 16 years,
2. Got my bachelor's from WGU - took 10 months, took a 2-month break.
3. Bachelors ended in Oct '25, MBA at Capella started in Jan '26, completed MBA Feb '26.
4. DBA started Apr '26 - here we are now 61% complete. I also, somehow, had 1 transfer course for DBA, before the April start I had, maybe 4 or 7% done, however many 1 class is.

There are the stats, now here are some tips, or advantages I have.

1. I have a hybrid, flexible work schedule. So, 3 days a week, I can devote over 12 hours on schoolwork.
2. I spend the entire weekends on schoolwork. I aim to finish as quickly as possible, due to cost and just the fact of being an adult in school for the last almost 2 years.
3. Use AI, use it to keep track of your sources, it'll keep you accurate and help you sort through what makes sense and what doesn't (idc what you say, after looking up nearly 20 cites per paper, per assessment, you get cross eyed and can't tell if you're coming or going, you need a second set of eyes), in DBA, you'll get a literature matrix, USE IT, its coming in handy now that it's time to work on my final capstone, I can pull from my matrix and add whatever other sources I need.
4. The initial first half went quickly for me because it was courses like HR, teaching, etc. and I was fresh off the heels of both an bachelors and a masters, I have fresh info in my brain.
5. I sort of started mentally preparing for this program during the end of my bachelors, I'm in healthcare so most of my papers were written with healthcare in mind, as is my DBA paper.
6. I learned that instead of taking a school break like I did with my bachelors, to just take PTO from work, so when I really want to get a paper in, I take off.
7. I was already an avid audible subscriber, now some of those books are school related.
8. I try to respond to feedback and resubmit as quickly as I can, a day max, if I can.
9. Again, use AI, to keep yourself on track, it's very easy to veer off, and unfortunately most of us are working on topics that we can't find ppl readily available to proofread and keep up with changes etc., like ChatGPT can. NO, I AM NO SAYING TO LET CHATGPT WRITE YOUR PAPER, I am saying use it to your advantage.
10. Reach out to your professors. One of mine left his contact number and off of a whim I decided to call and shoot the breeze, he gave me the most valuable information for getting through the program (he said not many students actually took him up on his offer and called), he said, when a professor asks for X number of pages, stick to that. He said, if I only want 2 pages, only give me 2 pages, some professors will fail you for going over page limits. He said a large part of a doctorated degree is seeing if the student can follow directions.
11. Number 10 leads me here, I am a rambler, it doesn't take me long to skim the material and spit out the paper and it's easy because I already like to ramble.

Has anyone’s professors acknowledged the use of AI in your work?
Some of the replies I get from said professors seem to use AI themselves.

If so, what has happened to you regarding enrollment or grades?

I feel the best route is to write the assessment first, then use AI to clear up the language and tone of the assessment.

Im curious what types of jobs graduates have gotten after capella? Feel free to comment whatever field you studied and work in. I am in general psychology starting the 13th, and then plan on getting my masters in forensic psychology. Ive done research and the jobs with a non licensure degree are right up my alley, and ive read reviews online but im just trying to hear some real life success stories from real life people lol thanks!

So July 5 is the last day for the course. I submitted my last three assignments yesterday and when I emailed the professor, I got an out of office email. Should I be concerned that I won’t be able to “complete this course” by July 5?

I completed Capella’s MS in Applied Behavior Analysis and it was a complete waste of time and money. Their marketing promised a solid path to BCBA certification and career growth, but the program left me underprepared. Employers often see it as low-tier, and I’m now stuck with thousands in student loans with almost no ROI or career benefit.Capella’s constant success stories feel like gaslighting when the reality is financial harm and regret. I been looking for employers to give me fieldwork hours for 2 years and havent found anyone. My rbt certificate expires next month.

I applied to places and got rejections. I got another one yesterday. I got zero outcome in life from this programme. I live with my parents still.

If you’re considering their ABA program, look elsewhere. Has anyone else been burned by this?

I’m trying to get 4.0 translated all the way.

But I was given 3 distinguished and 2 proficient in an assignment.

Should I resubmit? Will this hurt my translated GPA?

super frustrating . 12 days before the semester starts I’m being told I have a $3300 balance that is from an oversight on “dept of education“. they are saying that disbursement exceeded my cost of attendance. i feel like someone would have caught that at the school as well. So, now I have to come up with this money or I can’t attend again until it’s down . I’m so frustrated that I’ve made this progress and now I’m feeling stuck. This was so personal to me. & not to mention the people at the financial aid office are so insensitive. — has anyone experienced this with them?

I submitted a paper that had an article mistyped. My mistake. I didn’t change the article name on the reference page before I submitted it. Again, my mistake.

My professor reached out and gave me the opportunity to fix the reference LINKS. He said only change the LINKS. Okay cool. Did that. Now we have been going back and forth for days because he’s claiming academic integrity issues and said he’s going to have to report it.

Again, it was my mistake, but I’ve explained to him what happened and even when I tried to fix it completely it’s an integrity issue for using an “unverified source” (even though I didn’t, I just typed the damn article name wrong on the reference page). AND the second part of what I typed does match the actual article name so it’s just the first couple words that don’t match.

I’m going to lose it. Has this happened to anyone else? What’s going to happen when he ultimately does report it for academic integrity. I literally only have 6 classes left. 😅

Specificity chapter 35 and title 29… I don’t think I could afford to go if they don’t accept these benefits.. I’m fine with switching between flex and guided paths but I need to know before I fully enroll because the woman I am speaking to hardly knows anything.