I was somewhat relieved when I stumbled upon an article about B.C.T.I. And the experiences of others who mirror my own. I attended B.C.T.I. Of Everett from November 1999 to June. I have no fond memories.
Being out of school for almost 10 years and never having a job that forced me to use a computer made me an instant sucker the day I walked into the recruiting office at B.C.T.I. They are good salesmen. They told me I would learn all of these handy computer skills that would give me multiple opportunities in the workforce. I was clueless that any high schooler off the street could teach me what I was about to shell out almost 10 grand for. Besides the fact they verbally hog-tied me to the chair and would not let me leave to think things over before I signed on the dotted line and was signed up for a not so joyful ride in an academic lemon.
I spent the next seven months driving three hours a day round trip five days a week to sit in a class room of co-students whom by the end of my experience greatly increased my self-esteem and made me realize I am smarter than I once thought. Not to mention I could not believe my instructors were actually getting paid to be there. That is, on the days we HAD an instructor.
The course work was a joke. I promptly completed a weeks worth of assignments every Monday then spent the rest of my time teaching myself areas of the programs that were never covered or assisting the instructors with the other students that could not seem to keep up because of disabilities or language barriers. I later found out to my great embarrassment I could have learned the same skills either by buying a set of CD's for $300, using the built in Microsoft tutorials, or as said above, supplying a high school kid with Mountain Dew and Cheetos.
Exams, if that is what you could call a test that made you feel like a fifth grader by their simplicity were given to prove they were testing us. But I am sure they never reported the fact they allowed the students to retake them as many times as it took to pass. The only reason I did not graduate with a 100% is because I played hooky a few days and it counted against me.
Before graduation one of our Business Skills assignments was to compose a letter to the dean or president of this shameful scam telling him about our experience with B.C.T.I. And show him examples of the skills we had learned. I remember expressing to him my great disappointment. His reply was along the lines of his regret for my experience and that I must be an exceptional student and should consider spending another 10 grand to attend the second year course.
Needless to say I am in debt and still don't have an education that will give me a foot up in the workforce. If I had the money back I would put it towards a real degree from a University. But because I have been forced to default on my loans I can't even afford community collage.
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