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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

Monetary Loss: $73000.

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

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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 attorneyรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs 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 รขโ‚ฌโ€œ 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!

Guest

I began in Pttsburgh, PA online division 2 quarters ago, and, I must say, I am highly disappointed. A few people I knew told me to use caution going to this school, but I thought I'd give it a go and make it work.

It definitely seems true that some of you on here posting go to this school-you all write like idiots. Such is the case at the school. A bunch of idiots in the class who can't spell, use proper grammar or punctuation. There are likely some 3rd graders who can write better than most of the *** in the class (and on here).

The instructors, they are just as bad. I have previous ground-based college experience at not-for-profit colleges and the instructors don't sit there and hold your hand and wipe your *** like they do at AI. It should be pretty straightforward: you are in college, you either do college level work or you fail. But not at AI.

It's more like, don't worry if you can't do college level work or you commit plagiarism, we are here to hold your hand and pass you, otherwise we don't get paid, kind of attitude. In the online classes, I am frequently told my critique is harsh and unacceptable as my "tone" implies I'm picking on people. WTH do these people think an employer is going to do? They want to make money and are not going to put up with some lackey who can't even form a proper sentence.

I'm in the process of weighing my options, as I am fully paid through financial aid for 1 full year. I've been reported twice because of my tone in my critique and I basically have told them to *** off if they don't like my critique. I'm not certain if I can transfer to a regular school or if I'm under contract to stay where my funds currently are.

I will not be returning after a year though. A local college close to me deserves my money more than this daycare.

Guest

I did the exact same thing as Sarah. I was instructed to enroll in the associates program so that I could get a degree and get working and that it would also be safe in case something happened where I could not complete the full term of the bachelors program.

I was not informed that the cal-grants I had received however would not apply if I changed. I was also not informed that once I continued to the bachelors program I would no longer be eligible for new/re-applied cal-grants. I was also mislead to believe that I should sign up then and there because it was an "intersession" term and I could get a jumpstart on the program, while conveniently leaving out that now grants could be applied until the start of the next year. I am the first of my family to attend college.

I had no knowledge of loans, grants, etc and the art institute took full advantage of that. I am almost done now with my bachelors program and my education has cost me $30,000-$50,000 (after interest) MORE than it should have. I maintain a 3.8 cumulative GPA.

Never once has the administration attempted to give me the proper guidance or information so I could start my career with my best foot forward. (this is just have of my story, if you want the full one, I'll let you hear it when we start a class action lawsuit against these thieves).

Guest

I forgot to mentionรขโ‚ฌยฆI had one week left from a quarter and had to leave due to a life or death medical emergency. Rather than finishing that one weeks worth of assignments, I had to re-take those entire classes over.

Guest

I'd have to say the Art Institute has screwed many people over, including my friends and I. I attended the Art Institute for four years so, I should have a four year degree, but I only have an Associates degree.

I was going for the Bachelors, however, I decided to switch to the Associates so I could have some type of degree and get out in the field already. With only a few more quarters left, I was offered to switch over to the "'new program" witch made more sense to do from what I was told. They said "if you switch over, you will be saving money because you will only have to take one more class rather than four".

After I switched from the "old" program to the "new" program, I started comparing the two and found that I had now wasted thousands of dollars and time on classes that don't apply to the "new" program. With almost 200 credits, I graduated with an Associate of Science and will be in debt for the rest of my life...I have yet to receive my diploma.

Guest

i gree.AI is are predatos.when i took my daughter there,they filled our heads up with a bunch of *** say this and that,but when classes started,everything changed,including the price! low & behold i just met a cousin & she said its true.they only want to swindle u n.she used to work for the company that "runs" AI,so she knows.im filig a suit as well.i doesnt make sense.

Guest

I should of read the fine print

I just started Ai i had a problem with a teacher who keep ignoring me in class and indulging in out of class topics with a compleet loud mouth, who had every thing to say about nuthing.

i brought up my conserns a bout the issue's that i could not stand the childish aditude of my fellow class mate's and the teacher/who probly got beat up by a guy that looked like me when he was a kid?

(40.000.000 is a lot of cash)i said i would like to wait untill the next quarter or so /.,;thats when they turned demmon and my so called finance instructer turnd on me

///i now hafe to loose my place and defalt my enrollment as a drop out ,just to wait 3 to 6 months to to return and i half to pay back the full 5000.00 for the three months even if im not attendig they wont carie it over for when i enroll (now i wont be attending that *******school

sorry about the spelling im in a mood

555 VANCOUVER B.C

Guest

Back to the Contract,s**t, LOL at you.

YOU SOUND LIKE THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE; YOU THE RICH, DON'T WANT TO PAY YOUR SHARE OF TAX'S, JUST LIKE YOU DON'T WANT YOUR PAY FOR YOUR MASS FRAUD.

*** SPY, MY CAMPAIGN IS BIGGER THAN YOURS.

EVERY TIME YOU MOVE, MY ADVANCE IS X 1000 YOURS.

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AHEAD OF YOU, AND ALWAYS WILL BE.

E.D.M.C. AND YOURS, WE COME FOR YOU!

x3

Guest

LOL...This last comment has been laughing my *** off. First you say if you can't afford to go to this college then don't go.

Seems to me that you can't afford it yourself. You graduated from this "great" school and either you still don't get paid *** or you still poor as ***. If this wasn't the case then you should be paying your loan back to the government instead of deferring it. I bet if there was no such thing as financial aid or student loans then you *** wouldn't be going to school.

Why in the *** would the government allow students to attend school relying 10-20% on financial aid and 80-90% on student loans. Tell me why would anyone pay to go to AL for 70-100 thousand dollars and get out making entry level money????? Yeah the starting pay of most of the jobs offered is around 30 thousand do your research and you cant even begin paying your loans back while surviving. (remember hardship) So while it is the responsibility of the person signing the contract it is still morally right for the school to make sure the loan can be repaid.

(Dont worry soon this will be another house crises). Your the perfect example of someone that got persuaded into signing something that you couldn't really AFFORD!

So sad! Good Luck with your Hardship, but remember you signed the contract now pay back your loans.

Guest

The Art Institute of Philadelphia is currently attempting to evict me from my student housing apartment because I'm only taking 9 credits. I took 9 credits last quarter, it was fine.

I can only take 9 credits at a time, that's how they told me the program worked while they made my schedule. They also messed up my medical leave of two weeks, so my GPA doesn't even exist.

Not only are they currently making asinine excuses for evicting me, they only gave me my eviction notice Saturday when it was supposed to be given on Thursday saying I had 48 hours to leave.

Unless you have more money and patience than you know what to do with, steer clear of this school. I really wish I had.

Guest

I have never attended the institute, but i went there to scope it out. I cant claim they stole $ from me or anything, so this is just my opinion.

new to florida I have never even heard of a trade school. I had an AAS in commercial art from a community school so i wasnt flying blind. I thought AI was the art school of art schools. So i walked in with a predetermined opinion, in FAVOR of AI. I was immediately disheartened to see it was run out of an office building, and the recruiter who was nice...made me feel like he was selling me a car. a used one at that.

"can you see yourself here? can you see it?" he would say over and over making my eye rolling quite painful. when he walked me into the "life" drawing class, i noticed the model was fully clothed. the teacher was instructing everyone to make sure they got all the folds of the jacket and all the folds of the pants.

in 4 years (now 6) i have never drawn a fully clothed model. the idea of the nude is to fully develop and explore the human structure..THEN apply the clothes. I wont even tell you about the horrific gallery.

But I digress. art is subjective. let me get to the more interesting financial aspects.

1 go to school at an accredited university. i have 3 kids.

i work part time.

i take out student loans to the max.

I live off my student loans and i can afford to pay all my bills, vacation (small ones) and i have a savings.

Tanya my friend goes to AI.

she has 3 kids.

she works full time and then some.

she takes out student loans to the max and never sees a cent. they mail her all her books, and her schedule and she does not see any money in return.

AI charges whatever you can get off the loans. they ARE farmers. and the basically let you know that up front. we are responsible to read the stuff we sign, but too many of us get sold that "car" and find ourselves in a pickle with a lemon. THATS why we blog...THATS why we tell people.

i think its funny that the AI spy thinks we should all be quiet about our problems and not tell anyone...ie WARN anyone about this school. maybe theyre not scamming...but they DEFINITELY prey on the uneducated.

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