Acellus Academy-Review

Last Updated on April 13, 2024.

Is Acellus Academy Legit? Is Acellus Academy worth it? Is having an Acellus High School Diploma better than holding a GED®? What’s the cost of Acellus Academy’s Online High School program? How long do I need for completion?

We often get this sort of important question, so keep on reading this Acellus Academy review before making any decision.

Acellus Academy offers video-based programs that are also used by numerous schools across the nation for K-12 education. The program includes video lessons, just like BestGEDClasses’ free online GED classes.

Our free classes and practice tests allow you to see if online learning is right for you. If that’s the case, go on with Onsego GED Online Prep. an affordable, accredited, full-scope GED program. But now, back to Acellus Academy.

Acellus Academy is an online private K-12 school headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The online school is part of the International Academy of Science, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational institution.

Acellus Academy was founded in 2013 as an answer to the continuously growing number of people of all ages looking to complete their secondary education degree through a quality distance education program.

The online courses provided by Acellus Academy are produced in high-definition video and presented by some of America’s best teachers.

As said before, Acellus Academy is part of the International Academy of Science. This institution has been advancing and promoting education and science for more than thirty years.

Acellus Academy offers an online Elementary Program (K-5), an online Middle School Program (6-8), and an online High School program (9-12). In this article, we focus on the Acellus Online High School Programs (Standard Pathway & Honors Pathway).

Acellus Academy offers online education through the Acellus Learning System, an interactive online learning platform that has helped thousands of students earn their high school credentials.

Over the past decades, Acellus’s high school graduates have shown well-rounded academic proficiency in top universities and colleges around the country.

The school’s high school programs are rigorous but highly flexible and self-paced. The school has produced graduates with a positive attitude that are motivated to be successful both academically and professionally.

Is Acellus Academy Legit?

Acellus Academy is officially recognized and approved by Missouri’s Department of Elementary & Secondary Education to provide online courses for the official Missouri Course Access Program.

The school holds official accreditation by a number of regional and national accreditation agencies, and the school’s courses are used additionally by many schools across the nation.

Acellus Academy is one of the more popular Online High School Diploma programs in America. It is perhaps not as well-known as, for example, James Madison Online High School and is more expensive, but the school is rapidly becoming more and more popular.

For another alternative, see also our review of Penn Foster Online High School, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of North America’s largest online educational institutions.

Is Acellus an Accredited School?

Acellus Academy’s academic programs are accredited by WASC (The Western Association of Schools & Colleges), one of six regional accreditation agencies that oversee the quality of education programs offered by public and private educational institutions.

Additionally, Acellus Academy’s AP (Advanced Placement) courses are approved by the College Board, indicating the courses are in line with the highest standards available for academic AP courses.

The core courses offered by Acellus Academy are also approved by the NCCA (The National Collegiate Athletic Association).

Acellus Academy Online High School vs Online GED

Many students ask us, ‘What is better, a GED or an online high school diploma such as offered by Acellus Academy?’ Well, today, the GED HSE (high school equivalency) diploma can also be earned through an online exam, and quite a few students who quit high school prematurely prefer to earn a secondary education degree through the GED (General Education Development) program.

Having said that, it is important to realize that there are still educational and professional circumstances where applicants with a high school diploma are preferred over GED holders. The U.S. Military Branches, for instance, prefer applicants with high school diplomas over those with a GED. So, understandably, some students have the impression they may be better off with a Diploma.

These days, many online high schools have become credible institutions, and attaining a high school diploma via an accredited online school is easier than ever. So for students who couldn’t complete their high school curriculum, not only getting a GED is a viable option, but also going back to high school (online) has become more and more popular.

Online education programs (and this is true for Acellus Academy as well) allow students to study at their own pace, within their own time frames, from wherever they prefer, and on any mobile device they choose.

Well-Rounded Academic Skills

Acellus Academy is known for preparing students to become proficient in literacy. They are taught to be good readers and critical thinkers who are capable of questioning and challenging the literal or implied meanings of both fictional and non-fictional texts.

Acellus graduates are able to understand and apply the common rules and conventions of the English language. They know how and when to use adequate language.

Graduates of Acellus’s online high school program are taught to be self-directed, independently thinking learners. Students are motivated to take the initiative and to be responsible for keeping their academic standings. They learn how to best manage their online learning experience.

Being successful in an online study program requires students to have well-rounded self-disciplinary skills and to be independent. The school’s courses can be followed from any place, at any time, and at any pace. This required self-discipline!

Acellus’s graduates are known to have good problem-solving skills. They understand how to best apply critical, cognitive, and creative thinking skills to identify and approach complex problems both in real-life and academically challenging situations.

Additionally, students who successfully completed the school’s online high school program are technologically literate. They are taught how to effectively apply technological developments to access, evaluate, communicate, and integrate technological information.

Online High School Program Options

Acellus Academy offers two pathways to high school graduation: the Standard Online Pathway, and the Honors Online Pathway.

Standard Online High School Pathway: This option is optimal for students planning to further their academic education in a community college, enter the workforce once their high school education is completed, or join the U.S. military forces.

This program is 24 credits and includes 17 core courses in English Language Arts, Social Studies, including U.S. & World History, Mathematics, Science, Fine Arts, Health & PE, and Practical Arts. Students can choose from a range of Electives for the remaining seven credits, resulting in a total of 24 credits for program completion.

Honors Online High School Pathway: This option offers a more rigorous high school diploma program and is the best option for students looking to enroll in credit-bearing programs offered by more competitive 4-year colleges and universities. Check here for free GED Math practice tests, a great way to master Math topics fast.

This 26-credit program includes 20 core courses in the same subject areas as listed above but also requires students to complete 2 credit hours in a language other than English and 6 Electives. Applicants must have a GPA of at least 3.0 to qualify for this option.

So students looking to attend a community college or want to enter the job market at the entry level may benefit from Acellus Academy’s High School Diploma program or, alternatively, perhaps earn their HSE (high school equivalency) GED diploma, an option that’s now available online as well.

How Much is Acellus a Month?

The school’s tuition rates include registration fees and educational expenses. The school’s students can take from 1 to 6 courses at a time but in increasing level order where applicable.

The school provides official transcripts at no additional cost, and student IDs can be acquired at nominal processing fees.

The monthly tuition rate under Acellus’s Monthly Payment Plan is $249 a month (Grades K-12). When paid in full, the one-time tuition will set you back $2,400 annually (Grades K-12). All extra instructional materials are included in the listed rates and provided entirely online.

Graduation Fees – Acellus Academy has a “Graduation Application Fee” of $100.00, and the school’s “Transfer Credit Fee” (for credits that students transfer to Acellus Academy) is $15.00 per credit unit. Read more about transferring credits below.

Acellus’s Roger Billings Scholarship

Qualifying students can save up to 70% on the tuition cost of enrolling in Acellus’s Online High School program.

Under the school’s “Roger Billings Mentoring” program, they may qualify for receiving a scholarship contribution to help them pay for tuition expenses.

Participation in the Roger Billings scholarship is open to all students committing to taking part in Acellus’s weekly mentoring program. Please contact the school for more information.

Transferring Credits

Students can transfer credits earned from another accredited high school. It goes without saying that official transcripts must be submitted to transfer credits.

It is the school’s policy that only credits that are at the grade C-level or greater, or 70 percent and above, qualify for transfer, and the school reserves the right to decline any credit transfer.

To graduate from Acellus Academy’s Online High School program, students must, at the minimum, have completed the entire 12th grade at Acellus Academy, with a minimum of six credits.

Academic Excellence

Through the Online High School program offered by Acellus Academy, students can graduate with a respected high school diploma issued by an accredited educational institution.

Students have access to a number of self-paced courses that come with personalized instruction and engaging video lessons. As stated above, the school offers two different high school graduation pathways: the standard and honors options.

The school’s courses include not only video-based instruction but also interactive practice tests, problem-solving lessons, memorizing drills, and exams that are aligned with the Common Core Standards. The courses also come with digital books, and everything is delivered online.

Acellus Academy’s students, just like students at some other online high schools, such as Excel Online High School, are usually looking for an alternative way to earn their high school credentials that are available in a traditional school setting.

They generally do so for a number of reasons varying from a medical issue or necessity, bullying issues, more rigorous coursework, more flexible study options, or looking for independent studies, particularly for students who left high school prematurely and are looking for a second chance toward academic success and excellence.

Check out also our post about GED College-Ready scores. The GED exam is scored on a 100-200 scale, where the passing score is 145 on each of the four GED subtests. College-Ready (165-174) and College-Ready + Credits (175-200) scores are accepted by a rapidly growing number of colleges and universities, so applicants don’t need to take prerequisite coursework or submit, for example, ACT or SAT scores.

How Old do I have to be to Graduate from Acellus?

To graduate from Acellus Academy’s High School Online program, students need to be at least 16 years of age and have been actively enrolled in Acellus Academy’s High School Program for at least 12 months.

To graduate with a high school diploma from Acellus Academy, students are required to have earned 24 credits in total (and the minimum requirements for all subject fields).

Additionally, they must have completed at least 6 credits through the school, including at least 1 credit in the 4 core high school subject fields of Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science, and at least 2 elective credits.

Pros & Cons of Acellus Academy

Though Acellus Academy is a well-respected and accredited online educational institution, there are, as with every school, some positives and negatives that need to be addressed. Let’s take a closer look:

The Pros – Acellus Academy offers a comprehensive, all-in curriculum. The school is using a convenient, user-friendly online learning platform, and the instructors and advisors are highly experienced, well-trained, and knowledgeable.

The Cons – The school’s program could perhaps offer some more variation and be more flexible as the used online studying platform may not be appropriate for certain learning styles and students. The fact of the matter is that earning a GED comes at a far friendlier price, around $144 in most states for the entire 4-test GED battery.

Worth mentioning is also the relatively high cost. There are quite a few more affordable options to complete a high school curriculum online, though not all alternatives meet the rigor and quality of Acellus Academy’s Online High School Diploma programs.

Acellus Academy
11020 N Ambassador Dr, Suite 120 Kansas City, Missouri 64153
Phone (toll-free): 866.684.6127