zeus Waz
map-marker Fort Lauderdale, Florida

E.D.M.C.-A.K.A The Art Institute, Are Student Loan Predators!!!

Hi everyone:

Just a note of caution,

Do Not Let this School, trick you in to thinking that they are an Institutional College or University, Just because they have the word Institute in there name; they are not! They are registered as a For Profit Trade School Corp. like ITT tech and all the other TV-Internet Mass Advertiser Predators.

They operate out of a very conservative 2.6 Billion Dollar Mega Money Machine Corporation, located in Pittsburg Pennsylvanian Called –for short Education Management Corporation E.D.M.C. Education Management Holdings LLC along with a Thrilling list of Privet Investors and Super Billionaires across the USA and abroad including, Providence Equity Partners and Goldman and Sacks.

DO NOT SIGN ANY DOCUMENTS WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be sure to bring your paperwork to an attorney before signing any kind agreements in relation to your finances or enrollment with the Art Institute.

They will mislead you into using there lenders, when you have the right to seek your own personnel financing that can lead to necessary funding amounts for your educational plan.

I had a credit score of almost 700, and now due to the lack of professional services at the Art Institute, I cannot even buy a bike.

They destroyed my credit, ruined my College career and my job resume. I have been fighting this School for almost 2 years, and will eventually have to sue them to get my life, and education back in order.

Be very careful when dealing with this school, check everything, and keep all copies of your paperwork NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If anybody else have any problems PLEASE CONTACT ME, you maybe entitled to justice, or compensation.

Due your Home Work THEY HAVE BEEN SUED MANY TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Case has gone to the Fed's and I hope our Government Stops these, Student Loan Farming Predators from operating in the USA

If you have any questions or would like to hear more you may contact me.

EMAIL=zeusproto@***.com

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Loss:
$73000
114 comments
Guest

Hello everyone i have read alot of everybodys storys and it feels allitle better to know that i am not the only one i went to the art institute when i was 16 being 16 they required my mothers signature the finacial aid was horrible they didnt explain anything ESPECIALLY THE PART WHERE IF YOU DONT QUALIFY FOR ANY STUDENT LOANS THEY WILL KICK YOU OUT AND SEND YOU THE BILL FOR THE WHOLE SEMESTER ! i got a pell grant of $500 which is great but they charged me 5,000 for a whole week i was there iv been fighting this school for 6 years now and im tired of them harrassing me and taking me to court so i am reaching out to the public to help me if you are in debt with the art institute in a similar situation email me so i can make a petition and try to sue them Angeliceyes2282@***.com

Guest

I'm sorry, but all of this information is false. I'm not sure who mislead you, but you need to get the facts straight.

Guest

Tomorrow my daughter and I are going to Ai on Chicago. I received a bill from them for almost 10,000 with no explaination. She began July 11, 2011. At the the end of Christmas vacation she received notice she must reapply for a loan. She hadn't even put a year in yet but we were being charged for the full 9 months.

They included the spring quarter thought they didn't even know we existed at that time. What's more is that they want to charge for Jan, Feb, and March housing. They said it's in the contract.

Hhmmmm...no charge for Apr, May, June for housing yet I am being charged with educational costs. School year ends in mid Dec. at which point I require another loan approval to continue, yet I am being charged with housing costs for Jan, Feb, and March. I am no MIT graduate but even I know there is now equasion which can make sense of that. Oh, did I mention that housing costs were also supposed to be covered by the loan???

I asked my daughter if she still has contacts from past roomates. She does not and told me they have all gone. She was there for 2 quarters (that's 6 months) and she has gone through several roomates already. This school is SHADY!!!!!!

There should be guidelines and laws regulation this, and I have yet to find someone who can help.

All I can suggest to those not hiring a lawyer is call your representatives. I mean every day!! Write to the govt, EVERYDAY!!! The more complaints aimed at one institution or problem the better. Or do what I have done with other issues, CALL THEM. They will answer and I have seen results.

I will be consulting my attorney and writing letters, emails and making lots of phone calls. PLEASE do the same. Those is legislation will them be aware of how much of the public and our country's future has been affected.

Guest

I am an attorney and have been in conversation with other attorney’s and some former students of AI. We are in the very initial stages of considering how best to put a lawsuit together against AI due to their unethical practices.

If you think you might be a person who should be a party to any potential suit please email me with the following information:

Name:

Years attended AI:

Campus (City) Attended:

Age Started:

Amount in loans:

Did you complete your degree:

And feel free to provide us with any other information you feel might be relevant. (ie – information pertaining to your experience dealing with the financial aid officers, documents you have in your possession, etc.)

Please send the information to:

ClassActionLawSuit99@***.com

Thank you!

Guest

How does one even begin to file a lawsuit against them? What sort of attorneys handle things like this?

Guest

I went to AIW of washington DC and it RUINED my life, i wasnt even there a year and im init 40k. and housing, like really 4 girls to a 2 bedroom apt, and having noe room for anything.

and the school, no help with tutors or anything teachers not showing up, and get meet with ur advisors or to ask ne questions there were COMPLETE ASSWHOLES. no joke.

i was fed up and left, and now i am stuck paying out the *** jus to get my TRANSCRIPTS (which they are holding against me till i pay off so much) so i cant even think about starting another skool until i work my *** off to pay to get them. *** ai.

Guest

I recently graduated from AIPX (phoenix) with a AAS Graphic Design. Now that loans are coming due, my husband and I are finding that the balances that the loans are showing (principal, not including interest) are totaling about 6k+ more than what accounting shows was charged for my tuition.

Add to that, the end billing for all tuition fees is is coming up about 4k more than what they quote upon admission. Seeing as I entered the school with at least 1 or 2 classes of transfer credit and also tested out of another class, the math just isn't adding up. Granted they nail you at classes start for a 1.5k "kit" but my degree, unlike some of the others ie. photography or some of the food service degrees, doesn't not have the insane "lab" fees associated with it.

So, even that doesn't make sense. NOTHING matches up at this point and it nerve wracking!! I've attended other colleges in the past, business degree programs *snore*, and never run into anything like this before. Even my husband, with 2 degrees from ITT Tech never had a problem.I'm not here to rant, I fully knew that the cost of education was high.

But for what I wanted to learn, I felt it was my best option. The problem *I* have, is that at this point, it very much looks like something shady is going on with the accounting. I'm here looking to see if anyone else has had a similar problem?

We're still in the "research" stage and trying to gather as much information as possible - so if you have anything that might help shed some light on this, please contact me at: denise.meister@***.com. I'd appreciate it.Thanks people!

Guest

i go to ai and i am so much money that i have to drop out that i wont even finish school

Guest

ATG:

Some of the worlds BEST artists have dysgraphia, which impairs their ability to spell and compose literature, but that very missing link is what powers the supra-natural art talents.

So it appears they were actually in the right school. If you excel at creative writing, maybe you were in the wrong school? They don't teach that here.

Guest

It's not just The Art Institutes!

Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California (Private) is much worse, with higher costs that put students in debt for $200,000+ after graduating. And of course there's no guarantee that you'll land a job that relates with anything you went to school for. I know, because unfortunately I went there and have since defaulted.

Stop ripping on The Art Institutes - they are way less expensive, and they have several student success stories. Just like any other money sucking college.

You can't tell me that 'non-profit' colleges are any better than 'for profit' colleges, all of them put people in tremendous student loan debt upon graduating. It's the American way!

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Tiffany C Vfq
map-marker New York, New York

AI is a scam, violated housing laws and student contract

I attended The Art Institute of Philadelphia. They blatantly lied about the transferability of their credits, quality of education and reputation during the enrollment process.

They violated housing laws by not providing me with a working HVAC for an entire year in student housing. I had no heat or AC, but they still feel they are justified in charging me 2,500 a quarter for housing. I complained many times and the problem was never fixed. They even went as far as to bolt down my windows.

I am in the process of filing a lawsuit against them. Do not go to this school as you will be stuck with a useless degree and very high student loan debt.

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66 comments
Guest

Credits for AI don't transfer any, *** -.-

Guest

Honestly, what you learn, or lack of at Aii..you can do by watching all the COUNTLESS Youtube videos. I have learned more from those videos then in the classes at Aii.

I have a full portfolio of my Art work, 3D animation and some Logo design I learned outside of the classroom. And it didn't cost me 90,000.00 just cost me my time, supplies and practice, all the 90,000.00 you are paying for is a piece of paper that states you are in debt for 90k and the BA GAD Degree.

Guest

From day one to the last day, it was money coming out of my pocket and never coming back in. Almost 5 years since I graduated from Ai of Dallas in Graphic Design and no job, no options just COLLEGE LOAN DEBT of $134,000k to Sallie Mae.

Every job I've applied to.. the door shut in my face. The Sent section in my Email is endless of pages of jobs where I emailed my resume. They promised the world and in the end nothing.

This school is the biggest rip off scam artist that exist in this world today, they are nothing but FALSE ADVERTISEMENT. Several months ago I had an endless email conversation with one of the Career Service staff members and all she tried to do was for me to admit that it was my fault and not theirs, but I told her to stick it in her ***. She also said you might need to comeback here to school, I said no *** way I would not even go there for FREE. The government is suing them for $11 Billion, I hope they win and leave them in the *** street with no money and job.

When I graduated one of the Career Service staff member named David Elias, said “lets stay in touch”, almost 5 years later and I have never heard from that piece *** ever again. I wished them the worst.

PS The world famous PORTFOLIO SHOW was a big joke and waist of money, in my Graphic Design class it was 40 students displaying their Portfolios and only 15-20 companies attending. Small local companies paying salaries $10-14hr.

How and the *** are we suppose to pay a debt of $100k to Sallie Mae.

Do the math. Its *** sad.

Susen Mbj

I have read most of the comments here and 100% agree the art institute is a scam. I come from a poor family and i was the first member of my family to go to school. In high school I had a 3.7 gpa and the Art Institute was no different i made the deans list and presidents list, I worked my *** off for my associates from "instructors" that claimed they had little to no experience (they actually would say that to the class).

also I was paying a lot of money that I wasn't told I would have to spend, we're talking hundreds of dollars on supplies that I was told if I bought this starter kit I would save. The starter kit was 1500$ and it had books I didn't need, and various other supplies that went unused even after my graduation. All that did was make them extra money.

My brother died and I was dis enrolled for missing two weeks even though I cleared it with the dean and my instructors before hand. (I was allowed back in, but the point is that should never happen to anyone)

I was promised a career, but they won't even give me my diploma until they get their money. This school is responsible for ruining my perfect credit and good name, destroying my dream, throwing me into massive debt, and wasting my valuable time.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Susen Mbj

I'm sorry you had that experience...but that is your campus. Not everyone else's.

I have noticed that everyone who hates AI, hates on Philly, Dallas, Chicago, etc. I go to the Tampa campus. It's a branch of a major Miami university. My campus is ACCREDITED and is one of the best schools in the country.

I checked. They didn't lie. You also got cheated...my starter kit was around $400, not $1500, and I was more than aware that supplies would be used up and replaced as time went on. Have some common sense.

I am truly sorry you had a bad experience. My teachers are insanely qualified in everything they do, and they do not hide the fact that AI is a corporation. They truly care for the students' abilities and work their butts off to teach us and improve us. We have graduates working at many animation/video game companies around the Tampa/St Pete area.

It's MANDATORY to do an internship before graduating to give us work experience, and a bigger chance at a job.

I don't know what your campus did wrong, but it's not fair to hate on everyone just because you're bitter. This is my dream too.

Guest

Im sorry . :sigh i hit wrong button . What the above poster says AI is a scam is 100% correct!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-601553

Took my son to Nashville AI and all they did was lie to him and wife ssi and wanted us to pay so much money to them is was a joke thanks for all the post so at least my son is only out 50 dollars and not a bad school and every dime he has

Guest

I had a problem with this school too they told me that everything would be covered there would not be loans and when I keep calling them to solve the problems of not telling me the information on why I had to pay they told me that I signed for the loans and are forcing me to pay for the costs that they had promised I would not have and are causing me a lot of problem and troubles also even though I had completed my classes and withdrew from the school they all of a sudden told me you can't transfer the credit that you have and keep trying to convince me to stay I'm live with a family of 5 and only one of us works so we have a low income yet when I when there to talk about how to pay they lied to me about how I could go without have to get anything extra like loans when I attend and also every time I call they keep trying to push me to another person or try to convince me that I had to pay anyway and that they told me about the loans when they haven't told me a thing about it.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-560991

That's insane. My campus never lied.

My campus in Tampa is accredited as one of the best colleges in the country, AI or not. They never once lied about anything financial. My mother and I are 100% aware of all the scholarships, grants, aid and loans in our names. I don't see why they lied to you.

That makes no sense. I'm sorry you had that experience.

Guest

I am sooooo not going to this school anymore!!!!

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