Get Started By Telling Your Student Debt Story

[Karbia_Yuan]

First and foremost, I know it’s been almost 3 years since I’ve been involved with the DC community, as well as the FB groups associated with it, but here goes:

Greetings, one and all - it is I, Karbia Yuan (a recent alum of the ill-fated and “already-liquidated-to-
extinction” New England Institute of Art*, majoring in the Bachelor of Science program in Digital Film & Video Production), and I have been plagued with student loan debt, thanks to the combined efforts of EDMC, Navient (formerly Sallie Mae) and their affiliates. Despite my abilities to apply for any and all gigs - short-term, freelance, what have us - not to mention my cast-iron intent on repaying said debt, which I distinctly remember succeeding in once not long after my graduation (notwithstanding how much more I owe), in tandem with other crucial-yet-nerve-wracking bills…the reality of it all is that there’s no way for me whatsoever to fully meet aforementioned aim; hence why I’m reduced to starting a “semi-clandestine, one-man entrepreneurship (revolving around filmmaking, video-sharing, research, comedy/improv, marketing and everything-in-between)”.

For quite some time now (approximately 4 years - if less)…in spite of my recent success at graduating from my alma mater, and especially acquiring my diploma indicating said triumph, it doesn’t change the fact that I was looking forward to continuing on with grad school. Speaking of, after completing my Emerson application and following through with their crucial requirements - as it turns out, the courses they offered were full-time only (regardless of which field I decided on - be it Theatre or Visual & Media Arts)…and to make matters worse, my landlady for Hallkeen Management stated that I should only attend part-time classes - none of which Emerson offered whatsoever. Henceforth, I’m still swimming in the same direction-varied career-hunting void within which I still occupy, toughing it out in the real world, one day at a time (if longer)…so far, the 3 most legitimate paid gigs I’ve been involved with thus far (not counting any freelance work) were as follows: the portrayal of 2 military-type characters in the stage musical adaptation of a Polish children’s book produced & managed by 2 Russian-Americans on behalf of the Jewish Music & Theatre Enterprise (King Matiusz I), the promotion of a health-and-nutrition-themed Australian-created comic series at a health conference in costume as the leader of its main 5-unit group (Medikidz), and the appearance as an extra “marathon fan” in the recently-released Stronger with Jake Gyllenhaal (one of 2 films based on the infamous Boston Marathon Bombing, with the other titled Patriots Day featuring Mark Wahlberg). And to top it off, I’ve even been involved with Immersive Entertainment’s annual horror-themed “Ghost Ship Harbor” attraction for the last 2 or 3 years (despite the previous year being shot due to a fire having broken out), located aboard the decommissioned battleship, USS Salem, in Quincy’s Fore River - thereby extending my acting experience to a degree.

It was right then and there - by “then and there,” meaning my acquisition of the 3 checks I earned for these previously-addressed role-based gigs, that is - when I realized the importance of saving notwithstanding my usual financial sources (namely, my monthly allowance via a relative of mine), of which I have a farfetched, uncanny-as-sin knack for dismissing and neglecting to take to heart.
My main, bottom-line points (which, by the way, I fail very miserably at times attempting to make; let alone striving to make any sense out of any issue regardless of my efforts):

Always be vigilant when it comes to managing and saving expenses

Make sure your desired career (temporary, full-time or otherwise) matches your expertise depending on your desired field

Never let any greedy, corporate collector and/or educational franchise take advantage of you, and most importantly…

If all else fails, STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK - which, not surprisingly, I’ve been improving on even before graduating - amongst other objectives.

*If they’re reading this - I’m looking at YOU, Brock & Tran! (Pointless show of arrogance aside…)

[KWeihl]

Hi everyone… My name is Kim. I went into debt with the Art Institute several years ago, when I fell for their promise of having an amazing career if only I could obtain my Bachelor’s degree in photography. I was burnt out from nursing, passionate about my photography, they were offering me easy financing and creative classes - it really was the perfect storm. Every time I went onto any type of creative website, their ads would pop up. I made the mistake of calling one time, and their admission counselor (I have his name somewhere) was contacting me 2-3 times a day trying to talk me into attending! Promises of a fulfilling career as a photographer. Over, and over and over, until I bit.

The first year was fun. I was taking photographs, and having fun showing them to other students. However, the further I went along with my classes, I started to get the impression something was wrong. I had complained about something odd in the course work to another student and the school threatened to expel me, sending me an email that it was against their policy for me to talk to another student negatively about AI, even though that’s not even what happened.

A couple of years into the program, I was notified by my advisor that I could not finish the Bachelor degree track because of a small “financial aid funding issue”… They told me I had “maxed out” with EDMC. This left me scrambling, knowing then I made a huge mistake. My plan was to get a Bachelors degree in photography so that I could work with a local newspaper as an editor who had the Bachelor degree component listed as a requirement. This was the only way I was going to escape nursing. An Associates degree in photography was never what I planned on, because it had absolutely no value for me. They did this with ALL of the AI students - took as much money as they could until they could no longer take it - then forced us into GRADUATION with a lesser degree (of course this made the college look better because it increased their graduation rates). I was also told I would have to pay huge fines to get back in, which forced me down that path.

So, not only was I quite a few courses short of my Bachelor’s degree (and no way to fund it), but also needed to come up with my own financing (aka I drained my savings account) to fund enough to at least get my Associates Degree before walking away from AI. When it was all said and done, I ended up with over $60k in debt, for an Associates degree in photography - and 27 ADDITIONAL CREDITS that I did not need to finish the program. Unfortunately that degree is essentially worthless. I didn’t realize at the time that ANY degree from AI is deemed useless - this is not a respected college in terms of accreditation or training, but I did not know that at the time.

While the course did teach me how to use my DSLR, I could have gotten that information online with a free youtube video. AI also did this to me, a family member (who was also attending AI the same time), and all of the students I was going to school with (we have all kept in touch). We had all signed up on the Bachelor’s degree track, but were forced into leaving AI early, and pursuing the lesser (Associates degree) instead . We were all given the same reason, that EDMC had max’d out on our student loans - basically they milked us while they could. Extremely deceptive! They willingly took our money KNOWING we would never finish what we started. The degree is worthless, and unfortunately even while I am making steady payments on my account, the amount I have due went from just over $60k to almost $90k now due to interest! I have no idea how I am ever supposed to pay this off. On a sad note, I am 55 years old and have no idea how I will ever retire. You know, I spent my entire life taking care of others as a Registered nurse. I truly care about people. I had no problem paying for my nursing degree, but this degree from AI was 100% useless, and is not right. I have I just hope someone out there who is reading this can help us out now.

[Ed1979]

HI Ami Whats IBR? I hear you on wanting to illegitamizing the debt by not paying but if i get denied its double jeopardy with the unpaid loan plus interest.

[Ami_Schneider]

Any interest that accrues after the first year of being on administrative forbearance gets cancelled at the end if your claim is denied. Ibr means income based repayment

[Ed1979]

I know what you mean by the page timing out, the thing is i dont know if i should delete it and start over because i must of uploaded the same 2 documents 100x because it doesnt say whats been uploaded, how or what did you mean by writing it in another word document. I been working on it for 3 days and im losing my mind i got so much on my mind i have a hard time focusing its been getting to me. I wanna make sure i do this right because i feel like this is my 1 shot at righting this. That wayback site is amazing but unfortunately i couldnt find much incriminating stuff on there.

[Ami_Schneider]

Since the page times out you could type your answers in a word document and then copy and paste them into the application so that you have your answers saved if it times out and dont need to re-write them over and over

[Ed1979]

Thank you, thats what im on ATM. Thats good news on the forebearance interest.

[Ed1979]

Thats what i tbought you meant, thank you!

[Ami_Schneider]

You can add more documents after you submit your initial application so don’t stress about that part of it.

[Ed1979]

I always worked labor type jobs, didnt mind them, but i always had an intsrest in the medical field. My 1st son was born in 2007. The joy of hearing and seeing my son on ultrasound was the best day of my life. The heartbeat, and even the funny notes of the tech pointing out his boy parts with little arrows and text left me really appreciating the ultrasound tech. At this point of my life i was working outdoors operating a forklift in a lumberyars that was up on a hill. The sun was brutal in the summer, and everything froze in the winter. After 2 years of getting burnt and chiseling apart pieces of frozen lumber from the unit in the winter i had had enough. My wife had also had enough of me being unhappy with my job. So she told me to go back to school. So i decides to give this medical stuff another shot(i was a community health major in kingsborough community college in Brooklyn) so i decided i want to be an ultrasound tech. I met with 3 different schools. Sanford brown was the 1st school i visited. The issue there was it was a bit of a commute and they werent accredited. Then i went to dutchess CC and they didnt have an ultrasound tech program but they had an expedited but difficult RN program so i kept looking. I went to Ridley Lowell. They told me they were accredited (they lost their accreditation in 2016 probably because of how lousy of a school it was) and that they have a great externship program, job placement help and lifetime resources. They told me that they didnt have the ultrasound program up and running yet, but Debbie the director of admissions pulled out a huge folder and said that those were all the people that signed up to be an ultrasound tech. She told me if i sign up for the medical assistant program it would be a prerequisite into their ultrasound program. But i had to sign up right away because the classes were filling up!! Long story short, they never got the ultrasound program together, they closed in April 2018, and im back working outdoors because working as an MA didnt pay enough to support a family of 4 and 2 dogs. Last year i filed for bankruptcy, and the reason im fighting this now is because i stumbled upon an old email (2009)that detailed everything i wrote here and plan to use it as ammo. I always knew they duped me but i couldnt ever prove it, it was just my word against theirs. So now im looking to hear how people got their loans discharged and also trying to help ppl get their loans discharged by sharing this info. My loan was 13k after financial aid, now its at 17k. That school was trash, some of the teachers were really out of their minds, specifically Donna Lyons, i would not be surprised at all if shes in the nut house.

[Makenzie_vasquez]

Hi everyone! I just want to say a few words
Little back ground , I went to Everest in 2013,
I too was taken advantage of and had huge loans from Corinthians, they preyed on me and took advantage of my DREAM. They took advantage of my eagerness to learn and better myself, all while the Dept, Of Education allowed them. Their hands just as dirty.

Iback in 2016 almost 17 I got my loans discharged,
Only because , I COLLECTIVELY organized with this Group Debt Collective. These amazing organizers and the many other former students who stroked their debt and put in the work and made those calls, sent those letters ect, it payed off, It Works. Although the fight still continues and I stand strong with you,

I ask you to KEEP fighting and don’t give up, trust in the effort you put in. If I gave up I wouldn’t be here debt free, it took me almost 3 years. It was the best 3 years of my life.
I am Educated and powerful ! Our voices can be heard and they WILL.
Keep fighting y’all, it works.
#solidarity

[PAMELA_HUNT]

My name is Pam
I was sold “the dream” of a better life by furthering my education,by the constant ads and phone calls from Everest University, formerly florida metropolitan university and so I did. However, I’m now in a worse position financially than i ever was. The “dream” is currently unattainable for me, because I now have a worthless master’s degree and about $156,000 worth of student loan debt! with $48,000 in interest for a grand total of $204,000. They (Corinthian College Inc.)engaged in predatory behavior and fraudulent practices.They were able to declare bankruptcy and get away scott free" however I’m responsible for payment of a degree that is totally useless and not accepted by any reputable company worth being employed with.I want loan forgiveness /debt discharge!!!

[Muzmee]

Hi everyone. I’m Tonya. I started school in 2008 at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh- Online for a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. I chose an online program because I am a mom of 3 who works full time and was told online classes would be the solution to being busy and not actually living close enough to a college to commute.

I was notified that I had run out of student loans and that I would not be able to finish. After this, I transferred to International Academy of Design and Technology in 2010 and was told by them that this would not happen again and that I would definitely be able to finish my bachelors. Again, this wasn’t true and I ended up taking additional loans to finish with IADT as well. During my time at IADT I was told that the amount of my loans covered everything, including books and supplies, which turned out to be a lie. There were times when I had to purchase art supplies and other materials for classes out of pocket. I was also told the instructors were all the best in their field and that we would be learning inside tricks of the trade to be able to get lucrative, high-paying jobs after graduation, also not true. Many of them were no more knowledgeable than myself and were doing teaching as a side job.

After graduating from IADT I went to Full Sail for an MFA in Media Design. I do feel that this was worthwhile, I don’t think it was worth the additional $40,000 that I ended up with in even more student loans.

I recently found out that IADT was closed in 2015 after being merged with Sanford Brown, and that’s when I discovered this group. Prior to this I had no idea about DTR or any other things going on with student loans and for-profit schools. I had been embarrassed by taking out such large loans for “school” and never really discussed it with anyone so I had no idea. While doing research for my DTR application I discovered that IADT was placed on accreditation probation WHILE I was enrolled there in 2012. I am mad about this because I know I wasn’t notified of this and I think that would have made a difference in whether I enrolled in my final year.

My current loans are over $132,000 (with a lot of it going up due to interest). I am currently a graphic designer but I had this job BEFORE I went to school and I am desperate to hold on to this job since I have come to realize that nobody will hire me in graphic design based on my education. I honestly feel foolish for getting myself into this mess and not realizing that they were only in it for the money. I’m actually even more mad about it this week after watching the Fail State documentary and realizing that this actually wasn’t new at all and that greedy people have been taking advantage of people who are just trying to better themselves.

[Bill1492]

My student debt story started back in 2011 when I graduated from Weststern Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. I had around $20,000 of student debt at that time(would have been much higher but my Dad took out parent PLUS loans) and it has stayed roughly the same as I have usually just been making the minimum payments due to other debts to pay off(I.e. car loan, credit card). I got accepted into graduate school(MSW program) recently but I don’t know if I want to take on more debt to further my education even thought it’s something I would really like to do. It’s insane that we live in a country we’re most of us are forced into debt slavery in order to get a higher education. I have been thinking a lot lately about how to form collective action around creating some type of student debt strike to force change on this issue. I believe that if enough of us went on debt strike the system would be forced to change.

Peace,
Todd

[Tmac1105]

I enrolled at Everest college in the city of industry , California back in 07 graduated 08 from the medical assist program . My current loans are sitting at 14,000$ with no ways to pay. During that time I was enrolled the school had me open 3 private loans in order to stay on the school or I wouldn’t be able to go any more . So they got me, And during that time I had three teachers who didn’t know what they were doing. Read a chapter take a test . My externship was terrible the staff quit on me and the dr offered to keep me without pay , and often made passes at me that were uncomfortable. Everest knew about it and still sent students to him . Career services didn’t help me at all. They jacked up my resume and never found a job for me . When I had called to check up on my status they told me I had already had a job at a small internal medicine office where I had done my externship (which i didn’t have knowledge or any idea of that ). Salle Mae harassed me with phone calls for 3yrs and once told me to sell plasma to keep current with my loans. I Haven’t had any luck finding a job since 08, I’ve went on several interviews and had Drs tell me my certificate wasn’t valid or accredited , and that I wasn’t current on the MA standards. I’m currently going through cancer treatment for Leukemia, My immune system doesn’t let me be around a lot of people since I can get sick easily. I am also not working due to that as well.

[pndombe16]

Hello everyone!
I attend North Carolina State University. However, I was unable to enroll in this year’s spring semester because of student debt. I am about $7000 in debt because of the cost of attendance this year is almost $23K with the university. I took advantage of a workstudy package as part of my financial aid for this year, but it wasn’t enough to carry me throughout the fall semester and I fell even more into debt. I do have the opportunity to re-enroll back, but not until my student debt is eliminated.

[Ncorinne28]

Corinne here! I feel like as of right now, my life is shaped by debt and I can’t swim out from under it. Currently, I am 40k in student loan debt currently through Nelnet about 9k in credit card debt and 25k in auto loan debt. I work for a bank so I absolutley have to keep everything in check in order to continue to work. Thankfully, I’ve been fortunate enough not to miss a payment but that comes at a cost. I have nothing saved to put to my name. Right now, if an emergency happened and I had to stop working, I’d be screwed. It’s very daunting being absolutely terrified every second that I could run into a sitation that could throw my whole life into disarray.

[Menefreghista]

I attended ITT Technical Institute from 2005-2009. Graduated with honors with both my Associate’s and Bachelor’s degree. Ten years later, still ranking these years as the biggest regret of my life. After graduating and 6 months later being hit with a $900+ monthly bill ($80,000+ total), going through hell to find all my loans and consolidate them, signing up for IBR, and then submitting my DTR claim in 2016, I’m still waiting for relief. This debt has hindered my life tremendously. I went into massive depression which required therapy and medicine. I took out my anger on my loved ones which negatively effect my relationships. When I finally landed a job to make a decent paycheck, I always felt like I was just working to pay these loans. Even with IBR, the monthly payments were just covering interest so my principal is never dwindling. And of course I can’t utilize IBR on private loans so that’s another issue. I’m scared to get married, have kids, etc because I don’t want my family being bothered with these loans. My story is long so I tend to just put the main bullet points.

· Inquired ITT Technical Institute in St. Rose, LA. Was contacted by recruiter for a meeting. Went to meeting where I was shown around the school and was given tons of paperwork. The main things that were shown to me were about the graduation percentage and the percentage of people who received jobs in the field of study there applied for. I was going for video game design and the percentage was about 7-12% stating that many people had received a job in video game design. However, we were the second class that was part of that program. The first class didn’t even graduate yet. So it left me wondering how anyone got a job in that field if they just started that program.

· I was constantly called to follow up on me attending the school. No different than a car salesman. I was even asked to take an entry test that I never saw my score, but was told I was eligible to attend the school.

· I knew I would have to take out loans. Asked the finance department if payments would be reasonable each month. I was told they would be and that everyone does it. And if everyone does it, then that is proof that payments are reasonable.

· After attending for a year, I was told that they would have to take out private loans since my federal loans were maxed out. They really didn’t explain what that meant and made it sound like it was very similar to federal.

· The whole while I was in school, many teachers would come and go. They were swapped out numerous times and teachers were even assigned to classes they did not even specialize in. Our math class was taught by another teacher who specialized in 3D modeling/graphics. He did not have a degree in Math at all and learned along with us.

· We even had teachers provide answers to final exams because if they passed a certain percentage of students each semester, they would get a bonus.

· After I graduate, I started receiving my monthly bills of over $900 per month. I called the school’s finance department constantly asking to help straighten this out and I was either never called back, or I was disregarded. No one at that school was able to sit down with me and figure out my options on how to consolidate, lower, or even help me understand all my loans and options.

· Last, but not least, I was contacted by the career department at the school and they offered me a job at Best Buy. I did not go to ITT to work at Best Buy nor can that career pay off my student debt. Once I found a decent job on my own with a small business, I was contacted by ITT career department to give them my current employer’s information so they can add them to the career list to help students get jobs. So basically I did their job for them.

I’m fed up and I really need some relief here. Some claim I’m just asking for a hand out, but it’s far from that if people know the facts. This school was a scam and suckered me in good. And if my monthly payments were at least decreasing my principal, I wouldn’t be as bad off as I am. I’m done, I’m tired, and I want some results.

[ajabsdlgnasekr]

welcome to the platform!

[ajn136]

Hello. I’ll m pretty much like everyone else here. Graduated from ITT with the promise of a good job in the field of study and found out it was all a big scam. Fast forward over 25 years later with a wife on disability while raising 3 kids and yep, they want to garnish my wages. It would be one thing if I was able to get a career in my field of study but I’ve never used my degree, it is a totally worthless piece of paper.

I’ve submitted the DtR and have a question for the group. Will the DtR at least postpone the garnishment? I received the notice Monday and submitted the DtR this morning. My only worry is that I’ve kicked this can for so long there’s not much of a chance I’ll see anything positive.

Thanks for the forum and any positive feedback is appreciated.