Trace Your Past Reviews 236

I had an initial consultation with a staff member and was very clear about what I wanted to research. I provided a lot of documentation that I had previously compiled. What I got for my $199 dollars was an amaturish and shoddy proposal that was not what I had originally discussed and it was clear that the researcher did not look at the documentation I had sent. The proposal consisted of researching many of the things that I had already provided. The company refused to revise the proposal or give me a refund.

It was fun seeing the family history, The process took an inordinate amount of time (even through COVID) (1+yrs), but I was kept informed of the progress

May 26, 2023 - Sadly, upon successful completion of my final test the admins, instructors and staff, in general, have disappeared. The web page that was accessible during the course, apparently, has no one monitoring it. So all queries do not get posted or responded to. I am having a extremely difficult time finding a way to contact anyone. I paid my fee promptly, successfully completed the course, and still have not received my certificate of completion. Also, I have not had any response from the course admins, instructors or staff.

March 24/23 An admin posted on the web page "....any registered learner who has successfully completed all requirements as of yesterday will be receiving their certificates soon. If you have not already received your certificate, expect it to arrive within the next 3-4 weeks. Once we receive confirmation from the printer that the certificates have been mailed, we will post another update....."
April 6th/23 another update posted.
"Certificates have shipped!"
I wrote a glowing 5 star review March 23, 2023 and have now altered it.
During the time I was working on the course I was able to work at my own speed, had access to the instructors if I needed them. Videos, graphs, charts, and resources were available to me, and still are today.

I have had two appointments to speak with a representative. They do not call. They do not email. They do not offer a Teams or Zoom contact. When I call their number during their stated normal business hours I receive a recording stating to call back during their normal business hours (10 AM - 1 PM, EST, which translates to 8AM - 11 AM Utah time).
I am looking for their help, and they are unresponsive.

I have used Trace twice now and both times I was happy with the results. The genealogist was very thorough and the summary and documentation sent at the end of the project were excellent and enlightening.

Trace successfully provide sufficient details about my brick wall ancestors parents and one sibling that I have since been able to find a second sibling line and the probate record that my ancestor named his son as Administer of the estate and names his mother. I have connected with decendents of the 2 sibling lines to learn more about this family.

The course was definitely for beginners like me; I was completely clueless about how people read their DNA tests. Now I have a better methodical understanding.

LOVED this course. So glad that I signed up for it. Extremely useful and informative. I really appreciated all of the handouts and resources that were provided with each module. Instructions were clear and step-by-step application of research methods was appreciated. I wish there was another course! I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to dive into the basics and intermediate concepts of genetic genealogy.

Highly recommend the DNA Course, especially for newbies to DNA. Taking the course at ones own pace allows for the ability to stay with one topic til it clicks. The tools/resources are really helpful in not only understanding the concepts but applying them as well.

The course is well designed, with good depth of information. The amount of learning in each section is good. Assessments help confirm that you are grasping the concepts. For a topic as broad as DNA genealogy, they have done a very good job. A few concepts, terms and tools are mentioned without fully introducing them, so had to occasionally jump over to Google to stay caught up, but it worked well.

The most in depth DNA class yet!!

This online class is perfect for beginners and intermediates who are interested in finding their biological families. I loved the triangulation sections.

I recently took Trace's DNA Academy course. Some of the information was review from what I had learned in other courses I have taken, but there were modules that had new material and applications that were helpful. There was a FB community that allowed students to communicate. However, there was a lack of Trace presence in the community to answer our questions.

This course was very thorough and I was happy with the order in which it was taught. Each section flowed into the next with good explanations and examples of the topic. Adding the skills practice, to apply what was learned, before taking the assessment was very helpful. I would recommend the trace DNA Academy to anyone looking to advance their knowledge of DNA and research methodologies.

I just completed the DNA Academy-Genetic Genealogy for Beginners & Intermediate Course. This course was packed full of informative information. I was definitely in the "beginner" stage when starting this course and have found the content extremely useful. I now have to put all this information to use! It was well worth the cost.

I have taken dozens of courses (online and in-person) on topics running the gamut from adoption to DNA to triangulation, and the Trace course is by far the most helpful. The lessons are deep, thoughtful, not repetitive, and well packaged. Lessons contain a multitude of worksheets, practices, and assessments for understanding the rich material. Trace goes above and beyond the traditional approach!

I had a successful conclusion to my research. The researcher gave important monthly updates that made me realize that there was someone working on it. It does take some time depending on what your research is about but as I said I feel it was worth it to get the answers.

I found the Skills Practice activities to be very helpful. It's one thing to read about it, but then to turn around and do the activity was extremely beneficial to me.

This is the worst company with the best advertisements. I was lured in and signed with them and sent a lot of money. I dealt via email with Matt Bidstrup. I gave Trace everything I had on my Baltimore great grandparents who I had been researching for 40 years. I asked for their port of entry since I could not find it and where they came from in Lithuania. Instead, after months and months and months, I got their Baltimore addresses and their children’s birthdays! Nothing that I asked and paid for instead they sent everything I had discovered decades before by visiting and researching in Baltimore. Last year, my husband hired a professional genealogist in Sicily who promised him 5 generations in 3 weeks for $800. I was skeptical because of Trace’s disgraceful service but guess what? Three weeks later he got birth, death, and marriage records for five generations as well as a magnificent family tree. Trace is a rip off and probably farms out to novice genealogists. They wouldn't refund my money. I got nothing I paid for. Don’t use them. They are the worst. I am still seething. Hire a professional!

I appreciated that no one from Trace over-promised what could be achieved in a difficult search. Also appreciated the transparent pricing and there was no subsequent 'upselling'. The final report contained information that I had not been able to find for myself, and was well-written. I thought it was money well spent and would use this service again if I come across another family history hurdle that requires some professional knowhow.

I really liked the updates. It got me excited for the next update. You always do a great job and follow through.