I am a student of a very well known online school. I am currently enrolled and will graduate in December. I will not have to start paying on my student loans until June of 2010.

I enrolled two years ago at this school for my Associates Degree. When I spoke with a recruiter they said that my Associates Degree would cost me roughly $35,000.00 (Which is Alot). I asked who I could get my student loans through, and they said in order to make everything a smooth process I needed to use Sallie Mae. I asked about an alternate option with better rates, and they said that if I decided to go with another lender, that I may not get enrolled in time because they would have to go through a “manual” process, and told me to apply with Sallie Mae. So, I did.

The following quarter they told me that I needed to secure more student loans to cover lab fees and tuition. (By the way, everytime that I was told to get these loans I was assured it was “all I would need” to complete the Associates Degree program)

In May of 2008 I was told by the Financial Aid department that I needed to secure more student loans in order to continue my classes. I asked why, and they said it was because they raised tuition. They said that I needed to get $12,000.00 + more in student loans. I was locked out of my classes, and so I got the student loans and was able to continue.

In December of 2008 they started sending me correspondence and calling me stating that I owed $2,000.00 + , and to secure more student loans to cover the balance and the next quarter. Obviously I was extrememly upset at this point, and I called the Financial Aid Department. I talked to 4 individuals, and two told me that I owed more than the $2,000 + and two who told me I owed less. When I sent them correspondence to inform them that I was collecting all of my records to pursue legal action a Financial Advisor called me and said that she audited my account and found that they owed me money from past quarters that was never refunded me and that I did not owe a balance.

If I would have been refunded or aware of that surplus I would not have “needed” to get such a high amount of student loans – and as a result pay additional interest.

At this point I had $45,000.00 in Student Loans and I still had almost a year left of schooling. They told me that I would need to get an additional 15-20K in Student Loans to finish the program. So I would be paying $65,000.00 for an Associates Degree! I wrote a letter requesting to be downgraded to the one year certificate program for financial reasons, and they granted my request. I was told that I would save alot of money and graduate alot sooner. In the Associates Degree program I was set to graduate in December of 2009. Come to find out, in the one year certificate program – they told me I would still graduate in December of 2009. I was only a few credits away from the requirements for the one year certificate when I downgraded programs, and when I called to find out why my graduation date had not changed, they said that several of the credit that I recieved in the Associates program did not apply to the Certificate program and that I needed to get more credits (btw they charge somewhere around $400.00 per Credit Hour). They said that if I wanted to graduate sooner to take more classes at a time, but that I would need to secure more student loans.

Like I said, I am currently enrolled, and my student loans dont start payments until June 2010. I am a great student with a high gpa and have worked very hard. It is almost too much to handle however when I think about how I have more than $50K in student loans – for a one year certificate program. I can’t even get an entry level position in my field because the minimum requirement is an associates degree.

I feel like I was really scammed by the school – particularly the recruiters and the financial aid department. I could also go on an on about the actual quality of education, but I think I have made this post long enough.

I wish that I would not have been so naive, yet I had 0 experience with Colleges. I attempted to go to a school in state, but my major was not being offered in an online course. I had to go to school online because I was working full time and my family depended on my income.

I know that I am probably screwed, but I really want to try and take action now while I am still enrolled if there is anything at all that I can do. Thanks for any thoughts, and sorry its so long. BTW I live in Oregon. The school is physically based in PA, but it operates nationwide.