service assistant

admissions advisor

community health worker

administrative assistant

instructor

Sundance College

My experience at Sundance College felt heavily driven by enrollment targets, where speed and volume appeared to take priority over meaningful student advising and long-term program fit. Over time, the role felt closer to a numbers-driven enrollment position than what I expected from a student-focused advising environment.

Key program details, including costs and expectations, were often communicated verbally, which limited students’ ability to independently review information or make decisions at their own pace. The process emphasized urgency, creating pressure to move applicants through quickly rather than slowing down for deeper discussion.

Daily follow-up expectations were high, with the same lead often receiving multiple contact attempts per day across calls, email, and text. Combined with heavy emphasis on call volume and conversion targets, the role increasingly felt structured around sales-style performance measures rather than individualized student guidance.

Questions about withdrawals or refunds, even for high-cost programs, felt uncomfortable to explore in depth and sometimes seemed misaligned with expectations. This contributed to an environment where maintaining enrollment momentum appeared more important than fully addressing student concerns.

Language proficiency requirements also felt inconsistent during my time there. A free online self-assessment tool was accepted as part of evaluation, but when external review was anticipated, expectations shifted toward standardized testing. The sudden change made it difficult to understand how standards were being applied and created uncertainty around decision-making.

Expectations and procedures sometimes changed without clear explanation, and leadership messaging frequently referenced unusually high past commission examples that felt difficult to reconcile with the commission structure and enrollment volumes advisors were actually working with. Over time, this created a noticeable disconnect between messaging and day-to-day reality.

Concerns raised by staff often felt addressed only after escalation. Coaching sessions framed as professional development focused largely on targets and performance correction, while broader operational challenges remained unresolved.

The overall environment was high-pressure, with burnout, low morale, and frequent turnover. Over time, the gap between how the role was described and the day-to-day reality became increasingly clear, and the workplace felt more focused on enrollment outcomes than long-term advising quality or employee sustainability.

Oh lord where to start. At first you think it is a great company and the hours are going to be good and the way they make it sound is that you are going to be making tons of money. 

About a month in, you realize that your whole job is sitting in an office for 9 hours a day with one window to the hallway. You make calls day in and day out and if you are not converting the leads into enrolments you are given worse leads and less of them. 

You think talking to management about your leads may help? You will be met with so much denial and make you feel like you’re not doing enough. Marketing apparently is doing an amazing job on bringing in ‘quality leads’… well if amazing job means half the leads you are receiving is for something the college doesn’t even offer then kudos to them! 

The pay is also absolutely atrocious.. a base salary is so low and you get a 2k bonus after the first year.  It’s hard to make the commission.
Sometimes you are working with these people for months and if they don’t make it through a month of their program you don’t get paid for it. The amount of energy you spend on this isn’t worth the 2% commission.

But hey, maybe you are someone that loves to work around the clock! I remember getting messages on Christmas holidays that if I don’t work my leads, I’ll lose them. If you have absolutely no outside life and love to work all hours of the day and weekends. This is for you. 

Mental health is not taken seriously here. With many advisors crying in their offices and thinking  is this the best I can do? My friend, the answer is NO. If you suffer from any anxiety or depression I urge you to look elsewhere. You will be miserable. 

The only upside to the whole experience is having coworkers that were utterly amazing and could talk about these things with. I wouldn’t have lasted 3 months without them. 

Don’t be sucked in by the pull that you are helping people change their lives…. Some of the people need real help… instead they get bamboozled into a program with a 20k loan that they will have problems paying back. 

I can honestly say it has been the worst company that I have ever worked for. Do yourself a favour and stay away.


As an Admissions Advisor, you’re the bottom of the barrel. Especially if you’re not in the “club” of your direct supervisor or leader. 
If you perform well, you’re put on this pedestal of greatness. However, the minute you fail your first week, you’re kicked to the bottom, forgotten in the abyss of nothingness. 
They expect you to always be working, even on your free time, but at the end of the day say “it’s up to you, but we really think you should be working on weeknights and weekends”
Ask for a day off for dentist or doctors? Good luck. If you’re not performing well, don’t even bother showing up.
The double edged sword of not performing well is they cut your leads, and on top of that, they pick who gets what leads. You’ll notice it the minute it’s your turn at the bottom.
Departments work against each other instead of with each other, and it doesn’t help that the divide comes from your own team lead. 
When you do fail, they expect you to turn everything around without issue.
It takes time to sell someone education, it’s not like you’re selling a phone or clothing items. 
When you do ask for help, don’t expect it. No one knows what they’re doing, and hires for better positions are always outside the company and never within.
Also, up to my last moments, I was going through personal things, but that didn’t matter because I wasn’t a top dog. I was expected to “leave my stuff at the door”.
The cherry on top of the already melted sundae, was that I was let go for no reason. They don’t give you the proper reasoning, therefore you don’t know how to grow as a professional or person.
Eventually, all days feel the same and you find every excuse you go home. The only reason you stay for so long is the relationships you build with certain advisors; and the only reason you guys bond is because you’re left out of the 1% club they build that week with whoever is number 1.


Like many have already posted, there is a great sense of job INsecurity at this place. Management constantly reminds you if if enough students do not enroll that layoffs will happen. In the years I've been with Sundance College for a while and this was constant. A revolving door of staff. Managers have power trips and a large majority are a nightmare to work with. One of the top performing financial advisors who we heavily relied on was let go/fired from the company which was extremely confusing, because we heavily relied on their performance to deal with trouble revolving students.

Because of this fear and pressure myself and many were overworked and severely underpaid. I was constantly provided a workload that was impossible to complete in 8 hours. It is common for people to eat lunch at their desk/classroom or skip lunch entirely and STILL complete work during evenings and weekends (unpaid).

People start working here thinking it will be amazing working at a post secondary institute. Trust me, for the same pay (or less) than an assistant manager at a fast food chain I would rather work there and have way less stress/take at home.

Pros: The students. Many instructors stay much longer before quitting because educating is a passion and the learners are wonderful. Another pro may be your coworkers (not all levels of management), but because this place is a revolving door people usually quit or get let go so often that it is emotionally exhausting.

Cons: Literally everything else especially the management team at all levels.

I do not have much to say other than,
-poor upper management communication with advisors and support staff
-flawed work life balance (there is none, you are expected to work around the clock evenings, weekends, seasonal holidays included)
-no ability to work from home or hybrid structure for most, some get special treatment and privileges without reason
-broken commission structure (it's extremely difficult to earn comission, lots of events against your control will cancel you from getting paid out)
-problems aren't addressed properly or respectfully, the feeling of "being in trouble" is frequent
-very stressful sales job, which is unfortunate when you are dealing with students and advising their career goals vs hitting sales targets

All in all, a very high pressure sales job, low pay, big disconnect between admission advisor, financial advisor, support staff vs the management and home office staff. This job works great for some, the top 10 or so who are very successful and treated well, the rest are given old leads, reinquiries, and less promising inquiries. If you like high pressure sales 60 hours a week, then this will be great for you. Just wasn't for me...

Management is highly toxic, playing favorites with older Admission advisors. New admission advisors are rolled out on a consistent basis. 0% chance converting leads are transferred to new admission advisors whereas ones that are likely to be converted as transferred to existing admission favorited advisors. Financial advisors are lowly paid, and are considered bottom of barrel in the eyes of management. They are treated like utter garbage. Absolutely no care for existing and new employees. Barely any benefits for employees aftering working probation period. Read all of the negative reviews before working for this company. All the positive reviews are existing employees that are incentivized by monetary gain. The negative ones are real. A lot of good employees have left or have been dismissed. The atmosphere working within the college is unbreathable, especially with management sucking all the oxygen out of every single employee. They'll breathe down your neck like it's your last day and terminate you without proper reasoning. I personally wish I never worked for this college. It was by far the worst experience I could ever ask for.

A typical day at Sundance College is full of energy and engagement. Collaboration is key, and our team is both supportive and adaptable, making it easier and more enjoyable to tackle challenges. I've learned to be more adaptable—responding quickly to new challenges and finding creative solutions on the fly.

Management is both professional and approachable, always ensuring we have the necessary resources while fostering an open, friendly atmosphere. The culture here is truly unique—it's a seamless blend of hard work and enjoyment. While we stay focused during work hours, we also make room for fun, which makes our work feel purposeful. Being surrounded by passionate and talented people makes it easy to love what we do.

The toughest part of the job tends to be handling unexpected, urgent projects, but thanks to our team's strong collaboration and adaptability, we always manage to get things done. The most fulfilling part of the job is the continuous learning and growth alongside such a skilled team, which makes each day more rewarding.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Learning about how human the experience of helping people financially -- actually, is. 

You draw from a lot of your personal experiences, as well as, have a management team to help you with any underlying issues. You have a team. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
You have a team. Everyone wants something done, immediately. Frustrations can occur for how tedious the process of financial-planning, and informing oncoming students to the college - especially when the delivery is an online format. 

Students want to understand how to best apply these skills learned online can best help the job market. As quickly as, possible. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment is flexible - as delivery can be done: 

In-person, over-the-phone, or email. 

Culture, is very formidable. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Emails, work, emails, phone calls, emails, more phone calls, and then finally emails. 

Eventually, you'll just walk on over to your teammates desk(s), and ask them your questions. Versus Slack, or Zoom.

Every day here is fast-paced, engaging, and full of opportunities to grow. The work is challenging yet fulfilling, keeping things dynamic and never monotonous. There’s always something new to learn, whether through hands-on experience or collaboration with knowledgeable colleagues.

Management is supportive, approachable, and truly values employee input. They foster an environment where innovation and teamwork thrive, making it easy to stay motivated. The workplace culture is a perfect blend of professionalism and camaraderie—everyone works hard but also knows how to uplift and support one another.

Balancing multiple tasks can be demanding, but the sense of accomplishment and the impact of the work make it all worthwhile. The best part? Working alongside passionate, driven individuals who make each day both productive and enjoyable. If you're looking for a workplace that challenges, supports, and inspires you, this is the place to be!

I've been with Sundance College for 4 years and I have to say it's wonderful working for an organization that cares ...cares about students, cares about staff, cares about our communities.  It seems most companies these days are focused solely on the bottom line where Sundance instead is focused on "supporting student success" and having all staff working on achieving this goal, regardless which department they work in.

The College is growing fast and there is lots of opportunity for advancement.  All staff receive bonuses in December, and managers earn bonuses depending on how well the College is performing.  The workplace is generally professional, inclusive and positive with lots of staff in all age ranges.  Leadership is very good, with experienced Directors and Executive providing clear direction and reasonable timeframes.  

Overall a great place to work!!


Top Job Titles	Average salary
Service assistant 7 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Admissions advisor 9 salaries reported	$45,000 per year
Community health worker 2 salaries reported	$25.00 per hour
Administrative assistant 2 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Instructor 3 salaries reported	$23.33 per hour

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