by DAVID HALPERIN, Republic Report
All across the country, people are waking up to the abusive practices of for-profit colleges, which take $33 billion a year in taxpayer money, much of it for poor quality programs that leaves students deep in debt and unemployed. The newest bombshell is an in-depth report from Chris Parker in The Village Voice highlighting students and employees who lived first-hand the deceptions of these institutions:
Bobby Ruffin Jr. was only 14 when a recruiter from Ashford University called. The Birmingham, Michigan, boy thought he’d clicked on a link promising help finding money for college. It was actually just a lead generator for the for-profit, online school’s sales staff... He told the recruiter that he wanted to be a doctor. She assured him that Ashford could be a stepping-stone to that dream.
Never mind that he was only in the eighth grade. "She said, 'You'll be working toward a degree as a medical doctor, so when you do graduate high school, you’re almost there,'" Bobby says today. "I'm like: 'This is great. I'm going to talk to my mom.' And she's like: 'No, I wouldn't tell your parents because that would take away from the shock when it happens. If I were you, I'd complete the program, and when graduation comes around, let them know. Mom and Dad will be super excited.'"
Admission to Ashford requires a high school diploma or equivalency. So when it came time to fill out the financial-aid forms, the recruiter told Bobby to claim that he’d already graduated. He objected, but she insisted "the loan-processing company will go back and correct everything."....
Of course, it’s illegal for kids Bobby’s age to receive financial aid....
Bobby took online classes for almost a year. But when he wouldn’t endorse Ashford’s lying on his financial-aid forms, administrators miraculously discovered that he was under 18. Since this left him ineligible for federal aid, Ashford was forced to return his loan money to the feds. The school wouldn’t be eating those costs. Bobby would. Ashford, which declined interview requests for this story, sent him a bill for $13,000. [Read more]



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