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I attended the art institute between '06-'08. within that time they managed to defraud me out of $56,000 in student loans.

They informed me I could not barrow anymore money in order to finish the degree and they always knew , from the beginning, that I never could. I later found out some of these loans had up to 15% interest on them, and they had allowed me to carry a balance of $300 with the school [as if], so if I wanted to transfer credits to another school I could not. I am harassed daily by AI and Sally Mae [the partner in crime] for money I can never hope to pay. I was duped into singing these loans and never informed of the interest and they also knew I was not in control of my own finances because my mother informed them at the beginning and they never ask her to sign or even be present to look at the loan papers before they were signed.

Any job I would get they would immediately take half of my pay and I would be left with nothing to live on, as I suffer from an illness I will take medicine for the rest of my life and cost $400.00 plus a month getting a job is out of the question. So I am doomed to live on disability for the rest of my life. I am a talented artist but no one will ever know it because some fat cat board members got greedy. I am 23 and my life is over, I will never own anything or go anywhere.

The art institute of Pittsburgh stole my life!

Class action lawsuit anyone?

Location: Lakewood, Ohio

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Guest

I was also duped! If you ever come up with a way to fight them, let us all know and I'll let you know should I come up with something. So far though, it doesn't look good and we can't afford medical insurance now, because of having to pay sallie mae back!

Guest

Is there a class action lawsuit against these people?

Guest

I just found out I have the same problem as you. They signed me up for the Bachelor's in Photography knowing full well I didn't have enough student loans left to cover the degree.

I got a call yesterday advising me I have to switch to the associate's degree program and that not all the classes I have been taking during the Bachelor's will transfer into the Associates. Now I owe them an additional $4000 just to finish the Associate's, after taking $5100 in classes I didn't need in the wrong program. Regardless, after starting at Kaplan in a fake Web Design Program that they didn't even have but made up for me (and me taking a year in classes that didn't even apply to my degree field, then switching to Full Sail where after 2 years and going into a surgery, when I asked to extend my LOA I failed to respond to the initial email I sent asking for the extention (I had to confirm what I had already sent them) and they told me I needed $10 grand to go back there, so when the Art Institute called I thought, great I am finally going to get my Bachelor's in what I love...apparently not.)

I was lied to in the beginning and they have no problem with the fact I took classes that had nothing to do with Photography. They inflate the Bachelor's Program with tons of unnecessary classes, don't allow them to transfer into the associates program, effectively making me waste what was left of my student loans.

I have reached my lifetime maximum I can take out in student loans between all 3 schools. That's almost $90 grand for an associates degree?

Not worth it and honestly I feel they should be sued. Let me know if you find a class action...I am looking for one!

Guest

I am currently attending this school, I am new to finance I don't understand I just want a career- I have been failing a lot of things tho....

Guest

http://www.stopfraud.gov/report.html

Guest

The same EXACT thing happened to me!

Chana Pqa

They didn't defraud you. You just tucked up like I did!

Guest

So you were forced into signing papers for loans? I don't see how you could blame a school for that...

I mean did they put a gun to your head and tell you to sign em? PPL need to understand that they have to do a lot of research before going to schools like these.

They take a lot of work and are worth it in the end. It's all about the commitment you want to make.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-600480

It's true it happened to me and about five of my friends that where kicked out of school for noticing the fraud they where pulling off! And i didn't get kicked out but was forced out after being told they would credit m $7500.00 back to my acccount and then told me thats how much my balance was!

and to payout of pocket! she is telling the truth!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-600480

They take people that are out of work, desperate and own a home, convincing them that they will find people work. Convincing them that they will pull creativity out of them, teach them high-end software.

As long as you or whoever is co-signing is a home owner, they are guaranteed repayment when the house is sold. They promise work! (that is fraud!)They also claim that an online high school diploma is better than having a GED. This is a lie also!

People don't know all of this until they go to further education elsewhere or out of state. Most states require a GED to go into college, and anything else is useless. You can not tell me that Sallie MAE or the college doesn't know this! They are headhunters and prey on people that want to do better, get somewhere in life, survive.

Instead they take people down with these lies. Just like another class that I was sent to via unemployment. The school convinced the state that they were wasting their money, that they could teach medical classes in 3 months for 4 grand, in comparison to other states that took 2 years or so to study at. Then of course you're promised a job.

Well hello! Not a hospital or doctor will hire someone that took a 3 month class through some 2-bit operation. In fact, the owner took off with all the money that the state gave them! So if the state was convinced, what is everyone else supposed to think?

Lies.. it's all lies.. and they find you through the internet while you are looking for work, with all your info put into data bases and call people to convince them that they are the chosen one to be helped. They also tell you to take more classes in order to put off paying back Sallie Mae!

Meanwhile people are just getting deeper yet. It's not just AIO, it's our whole education system.

Guest

I been going to AIP for almost 2 years and I can see that even with my mediocre drawing skills I'm still pulling A's and B's, it just doesn't make any sense. Trying to talk to financial aide on anything is basically winning the "lotto" if you get a response.

They are saying now that I have exhausted my loans so instead of going into my BS degree try going for an AA degree instead. Its also weird how I'm can only get about 1500 in stipend when my cousin is pulling more then 7000 in stipend money. I don't get it at all.

I think this college is a ***, and without being a credited college if I transfer to another college or look for a job, those credits that I just took would be totally useless. Thanks AIP for messing up everyone's lives that are trying to get a degree and improve their lifestyle better.

Guest

:( At the time, I thought that AI was my only option since I had to keep working and could not attend the colleges locally. Now $60,000+ in student loans later, my credit is shot because of it.

I actually learned more from my dad who has his own business designing websites.

Not sure if there is a class action suit against them, but I am all for starting one. It seems the more I look, the more people I find in the same boat as myself.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-494058

I am 28 credits away from graduation. 70,000 in debt. Yesterday i was informed of not being able to graduate. I am a member of ITHS and Kappa Pi. I have a LOT of connections. Email me ASAP. We are a growing group of present and former students with EXACTLY the same results.

The lender (now the US Gov.) will listen when their $50,000 - 70,000 investment in the future of America is not getting those students degrees. They have a probability of return on their investment of about 0% then.

Contact me PLEASE

Justin Wheeler

justinww75@***.com

Guest

Every time I see or hear the name "The Art Institutes," I am filled with bitterness and a vast range of other emotions, not a single one of them positive. I am a digital filmmaking and video production student with enough time there to be considered a senior, but finishing this term and dropping this place next week.

Why invest so much time only to quit, you ask? Well, it all boils down to most everyone else's answer: FRAUD. They are being exposed and brought into the light more and more with every day that goes by. Start by checking out this PDF document, and then do your own research.

The facts are not difficult to come across, and it's strange that AI or EDMC continues their same practices as if they believe they are doing nothing wrong.

I am done talking. Here is the link.

www.gibsondunn.com/Publications/Documents/EDMC-Complaint.pdf

Destry Czs
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-493880

I agree! Let me know if u find anyone to listen to you.

Guest

I thought life would be okay. Now I can't even afford to live.

What a nice life of spending more on school than I'll make in a lifetime.

Well it feels like it anyway. :sigh :eek :upset :( :x

Guest

my financial aid ran out and they didnt even say anything to me for an entire quarter. then I was slapped with a 10000$ bill from nowhere. kicked out of school and asked to pay 1000$ a month...yeah..right...

Guest

I totally understand all of the complaints that I see about the Art Institute. I had a desire to get into film production and got something in the mail from the art institute that recently opened up here in Wisconsin. I'm currently on disability and they wanted me to pay an extra one hundred dollars a month to pay the difference between what my financial aid would cover and what my unmet need was.

I was informed that my financial aid would run out in two years and started probing them regarding how I was going to get my education paid for. "Well you just take out an alternative loan once your financial aid runs out." One of my questions was about job placement. "We can't tell you that, because we're so new. But within a year, we are going to have a career services department open and you can find work that way." Right. I'm competing with who knows how many students for the same work and I have gaps in my employment because of disability.

I also had loans in disability discharge and thought that if I had loans in discharge, I wasn't eligible for any more financial aid. They didn't bother to tell me that if I had taken out more loans that I would have reaffirmed about $50,000 of debt that I got discharged due to a total and permanent disability that I got my doctor to sign because I had a temporal lobotomy for a seizure disorder. This experience with the art institute is by no means my first rodeo. The financial aid officer looked up my name on the computer, said I was eligible for financial aid, which at that point had me rolling my eyes in extreme suspicion. I learned one thing, which is to practice vigilance. If you are paying them and they are not paying you, that's a red flag. That means they are spending your money on things that are unneeded and unnecessary.

So I decided to cut my losses before even attending the first day of class and withdrew my application. If you have any questions about this, all you have to know is that the same person who was running University of Phoenix is now running the art institute, which is nothing more than a degree mill. I'm going to my community college where it is cheaper in comparison to $500 a credit where I will at least have a degree that is recognized by employers. Look up what employers say about the University of Phoenix. They don't even recognize that as a legitimate university! If you put that you went to the University of Phoenix or the Art Institute for that matter, since the same person who was in charge of UOP is not in charge of AI, you probably are not going to get hired because the education you receive in comparison to the money you pay isn't worth the paper it is printed on! And the same thing goes for any of these other places like Full Sail University, ITT TEch, and so many others. When I see advertisements on television from places trying to enroll students I exclaim how they are nothing but charlatans who are only after your money and not looking out for your interests. They also never bothered to disclose to me that they were being sued as of September of 2011 by the Federal Government at a number of their schools. No wonder they were scoping out Wisconsin! More innocent victims to pillage and steal from!

Now, in the meantime between the time I start going to school at my community college, I just drink beer and play video games for most of my day. Hopefully these comments have helped somebody who is thinking about attending one of these designer diploma mill schools. Trust me! The price of admission is not worth it!

Guest

I am in the same boat as you. I was lied, cheated, ignored, and used.

At one point they "lost" my paperwork and they have treated me like a pile of *** I'll be damned if I am going to pay back the loans that they forced me to take. They didn't help me with scholarships or anything. Worst of all are the passive aggressive teachers and financial advisers that change every time you turn around. I am currently looking for another school to attend and I am complaining to the Ombudsman at Sallie Mae.

I also reported The Art Institute of Pittsburgh to the Better Bureau of Business. :( :eek

Guest

I feel you! They did the same to me.

They messed up my classes and caused my aid problem. They have admitted it yet I am the one who has to pay for it. It's so unfair! I can't stand that school.

They only care about money. They raped and pillaged my aid!

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