Kaplan University review: scam 10

I do not know exactly what is going on here with these financial problems, but I wanted to put in my two cents about student loans and other stuff. I have taken out various student loans over the years.

First of all, it is YOUR student loan. It is not Kaplan's. You are the one who signs the loan documentation, not Kaplan. Student loans are Federally regulated because the government kicks in interest subsidies on loans.

Before you even take out a student loan, you are required to go through loan counseling and to sign that you have done this. You should have received information, and/or gone through a training about what a student is and that it is a responsibility and needs to be paid back. This is a REQUIREMENT before taking out a loan. It educates you on the loan process as well and you sign that you have completed this course that takes a few hours.

Next, you will receive information about the amount of your loan and if you want to accept or decline all or part of your loan. Consider it carefully. This is not free money. You will be paying this back. Next, you will receive a loan document that clearly shows that you how much you money the bank is loaning you and the interest rates, along with many other important things about your loan. This is called a Promissory Note. It is a legal document and you keep this. Next, you SIGN your promissory note, either by hand or electronically and submit the note back to your lender. You keep a copy of your Promissory Note for your records. The loan is your record of everything about your loan. Finally, YOU receive YOUR loan check. You pay Kaplan with money from your loan check for your tuition. This is different from a grant, i.e. a Pell Grant, where the money does go directly to Kaplan. You do not see that money. That is a direct pay.

If this is not going on with your loan, I suggest you contact either the Department of Education, the bank who loaned you the money, or an attorney. The Department of Education has a website www.ed.gov and phone numbers to calls, and even numbers to call if you suspect fraud. You can also call Citibank, or what the bank is and request any and all information about your loan, but you should be receiving this information in the mail anyway I also suggest, before your sign, that you have someone else, besides you, look at your promissory note.

You will then receive information in the mail updating you on loan information and giving you the option to pay back the interest while you are in school. As long as you are in school, you do not have to pay back the loan. After you leave school for a number of months, you will begin paying your loan back to the lender, not to Kaplan. This is all very regulated. The government has a big stake in this.

I am really concerned at what am I am hearing here. For heaven's sake, you are getting an education, supposedly, but all I am hearing about is how you all spend hours hearing from or trying to get in contact with the financial aid department. In my years of education, I have rarely even had to contact them for anything. That's becaue they were doing things correctly and I was well informed of what was going on. You should be to.

If these procedures are not being followed with your loan, then contact any or all of the above I have listed. Keep records, and write down who you talked to, etc.

Things like money being sent back to banks, the school taking out loans on your behalf and without your permission, raising loan amounts, this pattern that seems to pop up again and again of the student suddenly owing thousands of dollars at the end sound like they are not on the up and up.

You signed a document to attend Kaplan, like I did, unfortunately, and the costs and terms of payment are clearly spelled out there. Go re-read that document. This document you signed for Kaplan is also a legal document and is your guide to what you owe. Also, your website area at Kaplan has a Ledger Card online of what is going on with your account. Read and review this, and dispute this is needed. Print it out too.

I really think Kaplan is taking advantage of your lack of knowledge about the loan process and I think that is fradulent and probably illegal. Please... educate yourself about loans even more than you educate yourself about anything else. This loan mess is going to ruin your credit history for years to come. This is no way to start your career.

Read that Kaplan contract before you even begin to attend Kaplan, because, unlike going to a real university, they are locking you until a whole program, not just a class, and you are stuck. I am reading that well less than half of the people finish the program. Stuff happens, people change their mind, like I did, so think long and hard before they lock you in.

And, remember, they are selling you a dream. Either a dream of how to get out of your own miserable employment circumstances, or a way to get into the work force, or the dream of doing what you really want to do. Well, also check out how so-called really really great your new career is before you step in. I do not see any careers at Kaplan that are any different from what is offered at other universities and, in reality, all careers have their up and down sides. THere is not magic career. And, also remember that a big part of education is taking on work study and internships programs. If this is important to your field, as it is to most all fields, then do not do to an online school. You are cheating yourself. So much fo the college experience is about the people your meet, your instructors, your classmates, extra curricular seminars, organizations, volunteer work. By sitting home and reading, you are cheating yourself really of the full education experience.

You will graduate without the benefit of tapping into the resources in your community, instructors who know you and can give you references, and people at your local university or college who can help you get a job.

And, they are making you sign on the dotted line before you really really have the chance to check out other options or make a truly informed choice. That is their biggest hope, because then you are locked in and they will make you pay for the whole course. No recourse. And, they are making it easy by throwing money at you. But, please remember, there are less expensive and better ways to attend colleges, and there are colleges with much better reputations. At this point, I do not even see a piece of paper from Kaplan as really having any value in my field. I would almost be ashamed to list this on my resume.

But, worse than this, is what I am reading about finances. Do your homework very very well. And remember, no one here who has gone, is suggesting you even attend this school. You have other options. They may require more effort, but start with your neighborhood first.

And, do not hesitate to call an attorney to discuss this. Most attorney's will offer a free consultation as well.