78,000 Learners Completed Penn Foster Programs Last Year. Here's Where They Are Now.
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Key takeaways
- Penn Foster saw major graduation success in 2025.
Our 2025 Impact Report highlights that 78,000 learners completed programs last year, with many reporting positive outcomes like higher income, promotions, and career progress. - Flexibility helped students overcome serious barriers.
Monet Carter’s story shows how self-paced learning can support students dealing with learning disabilities, illness, or other challenges that make traditional schooling difficult. - Penn Foster’s programs are often closely tied to career advancement.
Graduates often use their education to move into jobs, continue to college, or train for careers in fields like healthcare and veterinary services, in many cases with support from partners such as Chicago CRED, Petco, and JEVS Human Services.
We know that graduation and your future are important to you. They’re important to us, too. Read on to learn about some of the success our 2025 graduates achieved upon, including the Penn Foster 2025 Graduate of the Year winner Monet Carter.
78,000 people finished their Penn Foster program last year
The year 2025 was a big one for education milestones. By year’s end, 78,000 students graduated from various Penn Foster programs, according to our 2025 Impact Report.
Many of these students experienced challenges prior or even during their program, but they all overcame them to meet their goal and earn their diploma or certificate. According to Penn Foster’s 2025 Impact Report, respondents to Penn Foster’s Program Completion Survey and Alumni Impact Survey reported a median salary increase of $18,000, and 97% reported achieving the goals they set when they enrolled.
One high school student, Monet Carter, shares her experience moving through the program, why she chose Penn Foster in the first place, and how life has changed since graduating.
Read more: What Is the Best Accredited Online High School Diploma That Employers Will Accept?
One graduate's answer
Monet’s journey was not an easy one. Like many students, she has a learning disability that made a classroom setting with a rigid schedule difficult. She also suffers from sickle cell disease, so a self-paced alternative allowed her to complete high school on her terms.
"I've never had a platform where I can complete assignments at my own pace,” she shares.
Our 2025 Impact Report shows that 97% of program completers report achieving the goals they set when they enrolled, and Monet is no exception. She aspires to be an EMT, and now that she’s a high school graduate she can move on to college to get her degree and make this dream a reality. “I was just enrolled into Atlanta Technical College,” she tells us. “So I’ll be going there for a two-year EMS program, working with instructors who are qualified in the field, and gaining as much experience as I can to become an EMT.”
Video Transcript
It's hard to describe how it feels to stand up here. Not because I'm holding this microphone and pretending like I'm
not shaking, but because this moment, it means something different to each of us. To
me, it means survival. It means resilience.
It means that despite everything that tried to hold me back, I'm here. And that means everything.
Being chosen as graduate of the year is more than an award. It's a reflection of a journey. A journey that wasn't smooth
or easy and didn't always look like success from the outside. It's a recognition of something deeper.
the fight to keep going, to keep growing even when it would have been easier to stop.
I was born with sickel SC.
That means my body and I have been at war from the beginning. It means hospital visits, pain crises, fatigue,
and more days missed from school than I could count.
It means not waking up knowing if I'll feel strong today or if I'll fake it just to get through.
But it wasn't just the physical. I've struggled with mental health, too.
Fighting battles in my own mind and carrying pressure I didn't always know how to talk about.
There were moments when everything felt too heavy. when I questioned whether I could keep up, whether I belonged.
But here's what I've learned. Your struggles do not qual Your struggles do not disqualify you from success.
In fact, they're the reason you can reach it.
Every obstacle I faced, every overlooked assignment, every breakdown behind closed doors, every quiet comeback I
made before I made when no one was watching, those were the moments that shaped me.
And if you're sitting here today thinking that you didn't get your moment, that this wasn't your year, or you feel
like you're behind, please hear me when I say this. You are not behind.
Growth doesn't always happen on schedule.
It doesn't always come with awards or applause.
Sometimes it looks like just making it through the day. Sometimes it's quiet.
But that doesn't make it any less real, any less worthy.
This isn't the end of our growth. This isn't even the peak. It's just one step.
Whether you're walking across the stage today or still finding your footing, your story is still being written.
Now, I'd love to say I completed every module with perfect time management and boundless energy,
but the truth is I'm very familiar with the I'll do it tomorrow and I'll just rest my eyes for five minutes turned into whole weekends.
Still, every time I came back, I came back stronger. And that's the part I'm proud of.
To my friends and chosen family, thank you for checking in, for encouraging me, and for celebrating every small win like
it was huge. You reminded me I wasn't doing this alone.
To my family, thank you for your patience, your strength, your unconditional love. Even when I was too
tired, too quiet, too discouraged to ask for help, you stood with me.
And I want to give a special shout out to someone who has no idea what graduation is, but somehow helped me through it anyway.
My dog Kimchi.
[applause]
He didn't know about deadlines, but he always knew when I needed comfort.
because honestly he's been a source of unconditional love, joy, and emotional support.
Support support. Sometimes things felt overwhelming.
Kimchi would come up and curl up next to me like we're going to be okay.
And somehow that was enough to keep going.
To the graduating class, we've been through a lot. Not just school, but life. Life that kept
happening in the background while we were trying to grow up. And yet we're here.
We are not the guy. We are not the generation that gave up.
We are the ones who kept trying, who held each other up, who turned pain into purpose.
You don't need to have it all figured out right now. But I hope you know this.
You have already proven that you are capable. Not just of graduating, but of
growing, of surviving, of starting again and again and again.
So let this moment be more than a ceremony.
Let it be a reminder that you are stronger than your circumstances. That your story matters.
That healing and growth don't end with high school. They evolve with you.
And whether your name was called today or not, your journey is worth continuing.
But this world needs what you've learned. It needs your strength.
It needs your story. So go on with courage.
And when it gets hard, and it will. I hope you remember this day. I hope you remember that you made
it here. And that if you did it once, you can do it again.
Thank you. And congratulations, class of 2025.
[cheering]
[applause]
What the data shows
According to our 2025 Impact Report,
- 71% of program completers who responded reported positive outcomes
- 18% of respondents self-identify as a person living with a disability
- 75% of alumni respondents are currently employed.
For Monet, having the ability to work at her own pace and take breaks was crucial for her success. “With my learning disability, I sometimes kind of stumble—some things get rearranged—and on top of that, I have sickle cell. Some days I’m not feeling okay, like my joints really hurt and I feel really sick. So I’ll have to stay in bed, and it’s really hard to complete assignments when you’re in pain.”
Sometimes, flexibility is all a student needs to achieve their goals.
Read more: Affordable Online High School Diploma Options: How to Finish Without Student Loans
The organizations behind the outcomes
Not all of our 2025 graduates found Penn Foster on their own. Many of them had an employer, counselor, or other resource point them in our direction. Penn Foster partners like Chicago CRED, Petco, and JEVS Human Resources help connect people with us so they can get an education and achieve their goals.
Chicago CRED
Chicago CRED (Creating Real Economic Destiny) addresses challenges created by gun violence in Chicago. The organization does outreach, life coaching, trauma-informed support, and job training for individuals most at risk of being harmed by or participating in gun violence. Through their partnership with Penn Foster, they’ve helped hundreds of participants earn their high school diploma, with an impressive 731 enrollments from 2020-2025, according to our Impact Report.
Petco
If you have a pet, you’re probably familiar with Petco. What you might not know is that Petco partners with Penn Foster to help employees advance their careers. These employees are able to complete our Veterinary Technician Associate Degree Program while they continue working. According to our Impact Report, Petco enrolled 671 students between 2021-2025.
Read more: What Veterinary Clinics Actually Look for in Entry-Level Vet Tech Candidates (And How to Stand Out)
JEVS Human Services
A non-profit organization like JEVS Human Resources can be instrumental in helping many people get their lives on track or where they want them to be. They’re located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and partner with Penn Foster to help adults who may have had a brush with the justice system or are struggling to gain employment earn their high school diploma. Our Impact Report shares that between 2020 and 2025, JEVS Human Resources enrolled 673 students in Penn Foster.
Read more: Going Back to School as an Adult (FAQs)
Where the jobs are heading
A lot of high school graduates, like Monet, opt to continue their education with a college degree. Having her high school diploma finally allows her to pursue her dream of becoming an EMT. Others decide to go right into the work force, and having a high school diploma can help them get better jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is 2% lower for people with a high school diploma than those without one.
Many of our 2025 graduates were enrolled in our college or career programs. Our healthcare and veterinary programs are very popular, with many students seeking careers in vet tech or medical assisting, which are both areas that have excellent outlooks. Medical Assisting has a 12% job growth by 2030, and Veterinary Technicians have a job growth of 9% by 2030.
According to our 2025 Impact Report, 2 out of 3 program completers work in a field related to their studies at Penn Foster. These students had goals and dreams and took the leap to make them happen.
Read more: 10 Jobs You Can Get with an Online Degree
Questions on Penn Foster success
What outcomes do Penn Foster graduates report?
According to Penn Foster's 2025 Alumni Impact Survey, 71% of program completers who responded reported positive outcomes as a result, including promotions, raises, or improved work schedules, and 75% reported higher income after completing their program.
Read more: How Kendall Earned Her Degree in 17 Months While Working Full Time
How many people completed Penn Foster programs in 2025?
In 2025, 78,000 learners completed Penn Foster programs, a 23% increase compared to 2024.
What is the Penn Foster Impact Report?
The Penn Foster Impact Report is an annual publication that shares outcome data from program completers and alumni, including salary increases, career advancement, and learner satisfaction results.
Do Penn Foster graduates earn more after completing their program?
Penn Foster's outcome data shows a median salary increase of $18,000 for program completers who responded. Individual outcomes vary based on program, location, and prior experience. Results are self-reported through Penn Foster's Alumni Impact Survey.
Would Penn Foster graduates recommend the program?
According to the 2025 Program Completion Survey, 96% of Penn Foster learners say they would recommend Penn Foster.
Read more: Are Online High School Diplomas Legitimate?
The rest of the story is in the report
If you, like Monet, face challenges in your life that make going to school in person on a set schedule five days a week difficult, enrolling in an online program may be for you. You can read more about the different life circumstances of our learners as well as the success many of them have achieved in the full 2025 Penn Foster Impact Report. Your goals can be within reach, and we’re here to help.
To request more information about Penn Foster, you can fill out this form or call 1-800-275-4410 to speak to an admissions representative.
