One hundred and seven Corinthian and former Corinthian students have now had their stories of deceit, deception and descent into debt told, in their own words. Stories to make your blood curdle. Stories that, if brought to the silver screen, would be rated R - viewer caution advised - for their disgusting yet true-to-life portrayal of human greed and deceit.
Corinthian Colleges, now bankrupt, has been duping would-be students with tales of great jobs and luring them into loans for decades. The Debt Collective, an offshoot of Strike Debt, has organized 107 of these students (a number increasing all the time) into a Debt Strike (see here and here). Each striker has publicly announced that they refuse to pay off their accumulated, fraudulently-induced debt, and their stories have been collected onto the Debt Collective website.
TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
19 February, 2015
Who are we? We are the first generation made poor by the business of education.
We are people living paycheck to paycheck, single mothers, and young people just starting out. We wanted an education because we were driven to learn and to achieve a better life for ourselves and for our families.
We trusted that education would lead to a better life. And we trusted you to ensure that the education system in this country would do so. But Corinthian took advantage of our dreams and targeted us to make a profit. You let it happen, and now you cash in.
Each month you force us to make payments into an immoral system that profits from our aspirations.
We paid dearly for degrees that have led to unemployment or to jobs that don’t pay a living wage. We can’t and won't pay any longer.
Repayment plans presented as a helping hand simply aren’t good enough. The wrong done to us is deeper than that.
We are not alone in this fight. Corinthian’s predatory empire pushed hundreds of thousands into a debt trap. But even beyond for-profit schools, tens of millions of students are in more debt than they can ever repay. And you are the debt collector, with powers beyond a payday lender’s wildest dreams.
To the Department of Education and to the lenders, servicers, and guarantee agencies who have stolen our futures, we say: enough! Erase these loans.
To current and former college students across the country, we say: we stand with you to demand the end of a higher education system that profits from all our dreams. Join our fight.
Here are some excerpts.
I was lied to by Everest College. They did things that have caused so much stress in my life. I thought I was doing a great thing by attending college. Little did I know it would destroy my life... I never in a million years would have thought I was agreeing to almost $100.000 to get a degree that I will never be able to use... Corinthian claims I still have 3 classes to have my Bachelor's degree. But my debt is already higher then if I attended Harvard University
I served in the U.S. military for five years. I was deployed both to Iraq and Afghanistan... I didn't expect to be lied to and defrauded by a college that was funded by the Department of Education. But that's exactly what happened. So now I am doing what a soldier does: I am fighting back.
I wanted to be able to support myself without feeling worried that if I bought too many groceries, I would be broke for the rest of the month.... Heald College did not just prey on my current situation, but on my future. They have taken away my goals, my dreams of buying a house and having the option to attend Sacramento State College... I try not to think about what I've been through with Heald College because I feel like the biggest sucker... how stupid of me to believe that I can have an education and a career. I feel like a failure. This is the damage they leave behind.
My education from Everest does not qualify me for any job. They have taken my taxes this year and want to garnish my wages. I live paycheck to paycheck, and every day I regret that I ever went to Everest.
Everest told me that they offered career placement and that all their graduates were gainfully employed... I worked very hard. Being a mother of 4 and having a child with cerebral palsy, it was not at all easy. But I did it. In 2012, I graduated with my Associate's degree in medical billing. Next to having my children, it was my biggest accomplishment.
...Everest called and manipulated me into continuing with my Bachelor's degree which they said would increase my chances of employment... I am now $59,000 dollars in debt with a degree that's not worth the paper it's written on. I feel like I have failed my family, and I also feel Everest and the Department of Education have failed me.
I graduated from Wyotech's Automotive program in 2010, but couldn't get a job that paid anywhere near what they told me. When I went to career services they just printed out a google map of nearby garages and nothing more. For that, I'm now 33,000 in debt.
Everest tricked me into enrolling. I tried getting a job after graduation, but no one would interview me because of the reputation of my school. I am 69-years old. My biggest fear is that the Dept of Education will garnish my social security checks
I lost my job and I could not make payments on my Genesis loans, which I was required to pay while I was in school... I was told that I had to leave school due to my overdue balance. I had also discovered that my academic program would cost $40,000, far more than I was originally told. I tried to get into a loan repayment program to pay back some of the federal and Genesis debt. But no matter how much I paid, it seemed like my balance never went down. Now I'm stuck with a loan and no degree. My tax return has been garnished.
I attended Olympia Career Training Institute (Everest) to learn medical assisting and support my daughter. Through false advertising, Olympia got me into debt, but can't get me the kind of job I would need to pay that debt - since local hospitals and clinics refuse to hire graduates of what they see as a deficient program.
Everest Tampa defrauded me repeatedly. They put me in classes I didn't need, claimed I hadn't taken classes I really had taken, and ultimately refused to grant me the bachelors in business management I worked so hard to attain.
I have developed an anxiety disorder due to the stress of my debt, and have terrible insomnia due to the anxiety. And now I have been forced to take a job at a cafe to make a living, earning minimum wage, which is why I went to Everest College in the first place, to get out of the food service industry and get a career that I could be proud of and get out of poverty. I feel that my prospects are bleak and I am in worse debt than I have ever been.
I attended Everest... fresh out of high school to get a jump start on a career in the medical field. I graduated with honors... only to find out... I was nothing but another number to them. Now seven years later I am still trying to fight my way out of this debt.
I enrolled in Everest college online to get certified in medical billing... But now I have over $40k in debt and nothing to show for it.
...This fraudulent, predatory school destroyed this dream! Not only did this school cause me financial problems but it also caused problems in my relationship with my fiancé, and serious stress which is affecting my health...
Going to Everest College Phoenix was the worst and most expensive mistake that I have made in my entire life. Education is supposed to better your life but Corinthian Colleges turned mine into a nightmare with their predatory, fraudulent, and illegal actions!
Six years ago, at the age of 45, I decided to go back to school to obtain a court reporting degree... they sucked my federal funding dry, and then turned me over to Genesis, a predatory lender. After being in school for 5 years, and after 3 Genesis loans, I could no longer afford to go to school.
Needless to say, I have not obtained my court reporting degree, and I am in debt for more than $70,000! To add insult to injury, I have since learned that I do not even need a degree to become a court reporter! I just need to pass the state exam at 225 wpm and could have done this online for less than $5,000! ...
I will be dead before I will be able to pay this money back, and I do not want to see this happen to anyone else.
Everest commercials say they will change your life. Well, they made mine worse. I was in a tough situation in my life when I went back to school. Everest promised to help me find a job and start over, but they signed me up for an unpaid internship and expected me to be grateful. I have not paid a dime on these loans. I am proud to stand with other students to demand justice from the Department of Education.
Despite getting good grades at Everest, I was unable to pass potential employers' tests for pharmacy techs. My instructors at Everest did not know the skills they were teaching... my SS benefits have been threatened with garnishment. I made on-time payments for approximately seven months, after which the threat of garnishment was lifted. I have not made a payment since, and I will not make any further payments even if the threat of garnishment is renewed.
After graduating and unable to find work, I discovered that I was $33,000 in debt to Sallie Mae and ECMC. I did not sign these loan papers to my knowledge. The only record of this debt that I have is on my credit report. I am not only concerned for my own future but for the future education of my two children. I believe that my $33,000 debt from Olympia/Everest College's 8-month certificate program is fraudulent and I refuse to pay.
I was sent on job interviews that had been filled... I went on an interview recommended by job counselor from Everest College only to be told I was not welcome & would not be interviewed. They had such a bad experience with Everest College... I was so humiliated. I sat in my car and cried!
Some of the instructors were unprofessional and lazy. For every single test or exam, we were given all of the answers or they were open book. There were constant disruptions in class; not to mention those ridiculously embarrassing, unprofessional commercials...
I now have a Criminal Justice degree that I cannot even use. My credits do not transfer and I was never assisted with job placement upon graduation... I have 15% of my paycheck garnished every two weeks and that doesn't even pay the interest rate that keeps rising. I actually owe more now than when I graduated... We as citizens should not have to pay for something given for free in other countries, especially if it makes our country a stronger and better nation.
. I am striking because I am furious and hurt, and I will not pay a single dime for an education that was not only not fit for me but useless. The diploma is not worth the paper it is written on. Many employers have mentioned this fact to me...
I enrolled with Everest to obtain the education that would enable me a career outside of the service industry... All they delivered was aggressive enrollment practices, a sub-par education, lies, and a huge debt! I am still in the service industry and have huge student loans that I cannot and will not pay!
I owe $60,000 for an online degree. Everest promised that I could transfer my credits. They promised me job placement assistance. But they broke their promises. I have ended up in a worse situation than before I attended classes at Everest. Now I am deep in debt, and I can't go to a real school because I owe too much money. I'm stuck.
I have 12 out of 15 of my loans in default... I am aware of the risks of striking. There are no consequences on your list that ECMC has not already been threatening me with for a couple years now... Going to this school is my biggrest regret. It has financially ruined me. Until this issue is resolved, my boyfriend and I are putting off our wedding... We just can't attach this debt and credit to his name, it's not fair.
I also want to thank the Debt Collective and the Corinthian 15 and all involved for helping the "little people" who feel helpless and run over by these corporate scumbags.
they charged me $40,000 dollars for an Associate's degree.
My name is... and I am just one of the thousands of Americans who stand defrauded by Corinthian Colleges Incorporated, specifically Everest University... After having lost my home due to unemployment, my marriage was falling apart as fast as my credit score. Then came the unsolicited phone calls by high pressure salespeople assuring me that all of my problems could be solved by a college degree...
It was almost effortless to maintain a 4.0 GPA, make the "Dean's List" and the "President's List". I received quite a few gold-leafed achievements, but what I did not receive was a comprehensive and engaging education in computer science. I also received a notice, almost every term, that there was a "funding gap" and I needed to take out more private loans with a "certified lender" if I was going to be able to continue my education.
Two years down the road I now have a near worthless degree in computer science and nontransferrable credits... I also have almost thirty thousand dollars in federal and private student loans that I will need to make payment on in just a few months... I have been continuously hounded by Everest's career services department... I would receive multiple emails on a daily basis and constant phone calls attempting to get me to fill out a false statement. These are not the ethical practices of an educational institution, but rather the self-serving bureaucracy of a failing predatory industry
No one should be looking at enough debt to buy a house in order to receive an education.
I have had a kidney transplant & I'm on SSI, so I can't afford to pay back my loans. My credits aren't transferrable and I still have no GED. I don't want to see anybody else go through this mess.
I signed loan paperwork, but I wasn't informed about just how much Everest would be borrowing in my name. I was never able to complete the internship that is required for graduation. Everest kept moving me from clinic to clinic without explanation. Now, I get letters from debt collectors every week. I have a newborn baby, I am unemployed, and I can't pay.
We are a married couple that attended Everest in Michigan to prepare for new careers in the medical field. College officials lied to us about how much the program would cost and how much we would owe by the end. They also told us our credits would transfer. This was a lie. They pressured us both into taking out high-interest Genesis loans on top of our federal loans. Now we don't earn enough money to repay. We were defrauded by Corinthian with the help of the Department of Education. We enrolled in college together, and we'll do whatever it takes to fight back together.
I owe almost $70K in federal loans for a Criminal Justice degree that is nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. Everest College lied to me about everything. They told me they were accredited. They weren't. They told me my credits would transfer. They don't. They said that my education would be mostly funded by Pell grants because of my low income. But later, I received a call saying that I had nearly maxed out my federal loan money. I was in shock. Then Everest pressured me into a high-interest Genesis loan...
I am proud to join with others to challenge these debts and to demand that the Department of Education does its job and cancels our debts.
I am 70-years old and on a fixed income... the Professor told us that we would learn Quantitative Analysis by taking some free online classes provided by another vendor and that we would not be required to do any math... the federal government ((is going)) to take 15% of my Social Security check.
I was promised a quality education at Everest... Instead, I got teachers who hadn't read the book they were teaching to the class. Now I'm $55,000 in debt for only two years of college... I'm standing up for what's right and demanding that the Department of Education cancel my debt and the debts of all other Corinthian students.
Every semester, enrollment counselors explained that I had to sign what I now know to be loan documents in order to register. Every semester, I had to take out more loans to pay for books that Everest reprinted every term and would not buy back.
Note: Corinthian Colleges consists of Everest, Heald and Wytech campuses
Sample Press:
CBS News: Graduates of Corinthian Colleges Refuse to Pay Back Student Loans"
The Student Debt Revolt Might Just Work.
'Corinthian 100' Ask Education Department: What About Us?
Inside The Historic Meeting Between Student Debt Strikers And Their Government Antagonists