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Old 05-01-2010, 03:40 PM
 
610 posts, read 3,010,100 times
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I don't see any reason why anyone would want to attend a for-profit college. Most for-profit colleges cost more than your local community college and it seems like the level of education you receive is not that great.

Also, it seems like for-profit colleges really don't care about a student's past academic experiences/education. They only care about how much money you have or how many loans you are willing to take out.
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Old 05-01-2010, 04:04 PM
 
Location: Maryland's 6th District.
8,358 posts, read 25,165,083 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heeha View Post
I don't see any reason why anyone would want to attend a for-profit college. Most for-profit colleges cost more than your local community college and it seems like the level of education you receive is not that great.

Also, it seems like for-profit colleges really don't care about a student's past academic experiences/education. They only care about how much money you have or how many loans you are willing to take out.
Well, that is why they are for-profit. The appeal of these schools lie in the ease of admissions, and that most -if not all- of their courses are offered in the evening, online, or on weekends; all of which really appeal to students who work full time or perhaps are raising a family.

The problem with these schools is that they prey on the (potential) students' desire to get an education by offering a service and admission process that does sound appealing, but in the long run they just want the money. A search of for-profit school satisfaction would reveal numerous pages of unhappy costumers.
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Old 05-04-2010, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Kansas City, MO
5,765 posts, read 10,960,583 times
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^^^U of Phoenix is one of the most complained about businesses in the history of the Better Business Bureau. They get your money and then *********. There use to be a website called UofPSucks but it got taken down. It had pages upon pages of horror stories.

You really have to question someones decision making process when they choose to attend U of P or similar schools. There are reputable universities that offer online courses.
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Old 05-04-2010, 12:00 PM
 
207 posts, read 961,765 times
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The really sad thing is that the only people who would consider for-profit colleges are the ones who so desperately need the education. Those places are only there to separate gullible people from their money, and often those who go to them don't have the money to spare. They prey on a vulnerable population of painfully uneducated people who don't have the common sense to realize they are a scam. I feel sorry for people who get taken advantage of like that, but it's also hard to understand how they couldn't know that it's not legitimate. I think in order to be that oblivious you must be mentally challenged in some way and that is what makes it so sad.
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Old 05-04-2010, 04:11 PM
 
4,796 posts, read 22,849,250 times
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While I wouldn't advocate anyone attend one of these universities, I do think these schools/businesses have served a valuable purpose.

For-profit schools served a niche that the rest of the academic world was ignoring. For-profit schools cater to working professionals, with evening schedules. Their online courses cater to people who can't relocate to just for school. Many of the for-profit schools that were worthless diploma mills are already going out of business. But they have made not-for-profit schools acknowledge the untapped population of would-be students, and many of these traditional schools are making adjustments to their programs, altering extension programs and adding online programs, to compete with the for-profit schools. I think there's value in that.

I also think that it is important to acknowledge that these universities are serving an overseas market too. We don't see their marketing and recruiting campaigns overseas, but most for-profit universities have at least some online education that are aimed at foreign students, particularly China. China is desperate to increase its college degree rate (currently only 20% of high school graduates go to college in China, compared to 60% in the US) but they don't have the resources to do it domestically. They don't have the money or space or time to build enough universities (it would take literally hundreds of universities, with thousands of student spots) and most importantly, they don't have enough college educated citizens to fill professorships. They need help from overseas to educate their people. And even better, degrees from American universities have a special cachet. And once again, it is the for-profit schools that have illuminated this niche market, and now many not-for-profit schools are getting into the game too, by offering online programs or by opening bricks-and-mortar branch campuses in Hong Kong or other cities.

Eventually I think for-profit schools will either die off or alter their business models to offer better value to their students. But I think not-for-profit schools are going to alter their business models too. It's gonna be a whole new world.
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Old 04-30-2011, 05:27 PM
 
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@Kodaka Yes, "for-profit" institutions attract individuals who typically have full-time jobs, but unfortunately, many corporations look at that type of degree as a joke. In addition, when many students who received a "degree" from one of these institutions and transfer to private or public colleges/universities, they quickly find out that their "degree" is not that validated; therefore, many of those students almost start over as if they do not have a degree. I oppose "for-profit" because the schools are pricier (as stated by heeha) than the local community colleges. As far as those who are overseas such as our military personnel, most private/public and community colleges are now offering eDistance Learning programs that will enable them to effectively be a student in a school that will at least look good on their resume.
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Old 04-30-2011, 10:09 PM
 
Location: Ft.Lauderdale/Miramar FL
177 posts, read 404,154 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heeha View Post
I don't see any reason why anyone would want to attend a for-profit college. Most for-profit colleges cost more than your local community college and it seems like the level of education you receive is not that great.

Also, it seems like for-profit colleges really don't care about a student's past academic experiences/education. They only care about how much money you have or how many loans you are willing to take out.
Very true. This is what I'm trying to figure out. Why are these so called schools around anyway?
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Old 05-01-2011, 02:56 AM
 
3,852 posts, read 12,836,283 times
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Yup, most for-profit schools are a scam. However, you also have to look at the non-profits as well.

A teacher once told me, "non-profit is simply a tax designation, not an operating philosophy."

It holds true. We rant about for-profits being expensive but do non-profits fare any better? Absolutely not. How about government schools? Once again, absolutely not. They are only cheaper because someone else is picking up the bill.

As access to student loans has increased so has the cost of admission for both for-profits and non-profits. Essentially they are one and the same, one just has been doing it longer than the other so they are better at it.

Also, for-profit designation is not bad, we just haven't seen any for-profit schools that are serious about giving a solid education for a fair price. The key concept is in maximum VALUE for your dollar. Likewise, its the fault of the consumer to blame for not doing their homework. Its also the fault of the politicians who don't set high enough standards for what schools can get student loan programs. Then again, its all about maxing out those student loans and the system is highly successful at doing that.

Take note that student loan debt is higher than credit card debt. Its also important to note that student loan debt cannot be bankrupted away like credit cards. It means it is a much heavier burden for the student who has to pay it back.
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Old 05-01-2011, 05:44 PM
 
809 posts, read 1,324,973 times
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I am a career counselor for a non profit agency. Last week I was working with a student that had signed on the dotted line to start classes in 2 weeks. He told me within the last 4 weeks, the admission counselor (sales person) at the non-profit had called him 23 times. The sales person gave him a piece of paper and asked him to choose a major. The student also asked to speak to students who had graduated with the major. he was told that was a confidentiality policy and they couldn't do that (but their placement rate is 98%). Also, couldn't tell him where students were placed. They did fill out his FAFSA- and at the end of the time he would have $18K debt.

We discussed the situation, and he called and told them he was not going to start at the school. The admission counselor continued to tell him he could defer his loans, he wouldn't be able to get in the next class if he changed his mind because classes fill up quickly(but they couldn't tell him how many students were in a class). The saga goes on and on- I graduated 30 years ago and I still talk to prospective students from my alma mater in my area. The confidentiality is a bunch of bull.
The student applied to the local community college- he can start in either June or Aug and his total cost for an associates degree will be less than $6K.
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Old 05-04-2011, 12:58 AM
 
Location: Northwest Indiana
815 posts, read 2,986,485 times
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I think some people forget that community colleges aren't everywhere. For example Indiana, until only recently had ONE community college. There is now a second one with several locations (maybe one or two you could maybe call a campus). Nevada and Rhode Island have one each, Vermont and Delaware have only two, Idaho has only three. So if you don't live close to those schools, you don't have a community college to go to.

So the for profits fill a need and they are everywhere. There are many fine for profit schools. Just like there are many crummy non-profit schools. There are plenty of little "business colleges" everywhere that are just fine for many. And some community colleges are no better then the bad for-profits. I really don't see why for profits are worse because they are for profit. A bad school is a bad school no matter if its non or for profit and how much it costs.

The reason you see so many complaints about for profits is that they take everybody including many people who have no business being in higher education classroom. So they have far more people who quit or are lazy or aren't ready for college work. You can find just as many complaints about community colleges.

So whats the point. Everybody has to look more carefully at any school they may want to go to. Buyer beware!!!!!

We need to get rid of bad schools. Not all of them are for profits, if we are going to clean house sometime we need to rid ourselves of all the bad schools which include plenty of non-profits.
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