I was a student at Vatterott for one year for their Computer Technology classes. Really the education to me was EXTREMELY substandard. Their job placement, they guarantied me, was not even there until you were in the last year of the Computer Technology course, of course after you paid all they could get from you. The Gen Ed was a complete joke, and how that passed for their accreditation I don't know. They claimed college credit transfer, but then refused to transfer my credits from Meramec Community College until I was in the last year, again after they got all the money they could, forcing me into worthless Gen Ed classes, that I complained about in writing on at least 3 separate occasions, as per Vatterotts policys, of which nothing was ever done or changed, to which my instructor told me my knowledge was higher than there kindergartner level book would teach. As well no one no matter how stupid, for lack of a better word, ever failed a test or a class. When I asked several times for an itemized bill for classes and materials they refused with some of the lamest excuses I have heard.
The accreditation that they told me they had was a lie as well, as they are not "Regionally Accredited" and none of the time I put in at the school is accepted anywhere, which to me is no different then if I paid $500 for a mail order degree from the online degree mills, I would just be getting the same thing for around $33,500 cheaper. I was NEVER able to get a job in my field, or even one close to my field, and since their job placement promise turned out to be a lie I eventually was forced to leave the school in the start of my 1st year 4th phase because economically I could not afford to stay and try to keep up on my basic living expenses. I think of this as a small blessing since my total bill in loans only added up to $10,000, of which my choice was homelessness or not able to pay in the US, or not be able to pay here in Vietnam teaching English due to Vietnamese money transfer laws, and not the full amount my classmates had to owe in student loans only to not have the degree from Vatterott accepted by employers.
My biggest problem and why I write here is to find out if anyone else had a situation of predatory lending from Vatterott? After signing up for classes, but before they started, a death in my family caused me to suffer higher living costs. I immediately expressed this to the financial services rep and strongly questioned if I would be able to repay the Sallie Mae loan, that was to start being repaid 6 months after the start of classes before you even finish the Associates Program. The answer I got was "Don't worry Sallie Mae will work with you." Yea, their way of working with you is a month deferment of the payment which if I had a hard time paying at $130 a month, making it higher, do to the deferment, was not happening, and Vatterott never followed though with the promise of job placement assistance, unless as started you were in your 3rd year/phase for the Bacholars Program. Sallie Mae didn't care, but they are a separate issue. This added with a month break in the classes I took, for economic reasons, in which I was told I would have to take off an entire course, and nothing else said. Only to come back for the next course to be told that since I was gone a full course I lost my PELL Grant, but not to worry Sallie Mae covered the loss.
Curious if anyone else has had this? To me Vatterott's predatory business practices are ruining peoples lives causing students who go to improve their life to not be able to find work, not transfer their credits earned from the school to another, by which robbing students of not only time but money, and causing students to default on their student loans, ruining the rest of their life... Not only how is this right in any idea of ethics and morality, but how are these business practices even legal?
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