GetSmarter offers online courses developed with universities and institutions including Yale, Stanford, Cambridge, and the Economist. This page aggregates shopper ratings and reviews to help prospective students understand what past enrollees experienced with course quality, customer support, and the enrollment process.
GetSmarter Reviews
What Shoppers Say About GetSmarter
GetSmarter's reviews are deeply polarized. The small group of satisfied students (17 percent) praise the quality of courses from prestigious partners like Yale, Stanford, and Cambridge, citing excellent content and instruction. However, the overwhelming majority of reviewers (78 percent) report severe operational failures: missed communications about course start dates and assignment deadlines, login credentials not provided until class begins, unresponsive customer support that hangs up calls, and refund requests ignored despite course withdrawals. Privacy concerns about third-party verification vendor Jumio also appear in reviews.
Multiple reviewers describe preventable administrative problems that made course completion impossible or made the enrollment experience frustrating despite paying substantial fees (ranging from $2,000 to $8,000). The contrast between course quality and platform operations suggests GetSmarter's problems lie not with its academic partnerships but with enrollment support, communication systems, and customer service infrastructure.
Customer Reviews (18)
Sorted by: Most recentOne of the worst experiences I've ever had! I registered for a university course but joined late without being told that I'd already missed assignment due dates and couldn't participate in certain graded discussions, which meant completing the course successfully was impossible. I reached out to support repeatedly asking for help and deadline changes. While I got some initial adjustments, staff kept moving deadlines without warning, making it impossible to finish my work. After that, they stopped responding to my emails. My request for a full refund has been completely ignored. This shows terrible management, unprofessional behavior, and a failure to provide basic customer service. I cannot endorse this company based on what happened.
Definitely do not recommend! I registered for a course through Economist Education, which partners with this platform. After I paid, communication basically disappeared. I didn't get any information or updates about the course. Only when I asked directly did they send login credentials, and that was on the day class started. Even though the course content is pre-recorded and reused every session, it doesn't become available until several days into the course. The biggest issue is being forced to submit photos of my ID and a selfie to a third party platform that uses AI for identity checking. There's no clear reason why this data is necessary to deliver their service. This should absolutely be optional for people who just want to take the course without seeking an official certificate.
My Cambridge course was supposed to start today and I still haven't received my login information. I've emailed the platform twice and tried calling, but all the customer service reps are busy and the system just hangs up, directing me to email instead. At $2,000 for just a few weeks, I'd expect something as basic as getting login credentials to work smoothly. They eventually sorted it out later that day, but it was a disappointing way to begin.
I've completed four different courses here including Yale's Accelerated Management Program, Stanford's Psychology for High Performance, Critical Thinking through Economist Education, and HEC's The Leader As Coach. Every single course has been excellent, with Yale's program standing out as exceptional for both content and how it was taught. The platform worked smoothly and the teaching assistants plus support team were quick to approve extensions whenever I needed them.
I cannot recommend this platform. GetSmarter requires verification through a third party called Jumio, which raises serious privacy concerns. This company has faced multiple lawsuits regarding improper handling of biometric data under privacy laws. There's documented evidence that Jumio holds onto facial scans and ID documents longer than necessary. Handing over such sensitive information to a company with a track record of legal problems is really concerning for an educational service. When I contacted support to discuss these issues, they were unhelpful and dismissive. It's clear they don't care about addressing concerns after payment is made. There's no flexibility with verification methods either. You can't use alternative identity services like other providers offer. For an education company working with respected universities, this is a failure in protecting student privacy.
I paid for the course but told them I wanted to withdraw because I disagreed with how they grade assignments. They never responded and I lost the full $8,000 with absolutely nothing to show for it.
My overall experience was quite positive. The platform and instructional team delivered well. The course featured actual face-to-face sessions with Oxford professors and you receive your certificate after meeting the required performance level. Access to additional learning materials and a professional network connection are included as well.
My experience has been quite positive overall. The platform and instructors delivered good training. Real Oxford professors taught the course and completing assignments at the required standard gets you a certificate. You gain access to valuable materials and get connected with an alumni network in your field.
My two daughters finished their coursework in November 2023. We've tried calling, emailing, and messaging through their chat system repeatedly but cannot get their certificates issued. It's heartbreaking when they're applying for positions and need those certificates to show employers, yet the institution ignores our requests. They were extremely efficient at collecting monthly payments, but now that people are desperately asking for their certificates, no one will respond.
I finished the AI course through MIT and agree with previous comments here. The whole experience felt disconnected from real learning. Module discussions are the only way to interact, but with hundreds of students enrolled, quality suffers. You don't see grades on assignments until after the next one is due. MIT professor videos were valuable, but lots of the reading materials are outdated, some from 2022 and already irrelevant in the fast-moving AI field. The projects connect to real work situations which is good for applying what you learn, but the platform itself is poorly designed. Before you sign up, think twice. I registered for two courses simultaneously to plan my schedule and regret not waiting. The platform actually undermines MIT and other top school names. There's no syllabus provided, so you can't see what topics are covered in each module until they unlock weekly. That's unusual for a reputable university program.