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Iadt Online review: Possible fraud! 63

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12:00 am EST
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I thought about going back to school, and was pretty excited about attending International Academy of Design and Technology. I applied online, and soon enough, I had a phone call. After exchanging my goals and past education, I was going to be 'reviewed' as to whether or not I was going to be accepted to the school. A day or two later, I got a confirmation call that I had in fact been accepted. So, I filled out my FAFSA and other information, and noticed soon after that I was owing about $637 every MONTH. Now, I was certain that it had been covered under FAFSA or student loans. That brings me to my current situation. I've tried contacting numerous people from Financial Aid, my Academic Advisor (who e-mailed my information to Financial Aid and gave me a phone number.) and the Registrars Office. These have been e-mails, phone calls, and even chats you can access on the website. Not a single person has yet to contact me after many phone calls.

To go a little more in depth, to show you how much they 'care', I started up a chat session with The Financial Aid team. I typed in my situation, hit enter and a "Please wait until a representative joins the chat." Waited, nothing. Waiting some more. Nothing. After about an hour of watching, "A representative has closed this chat session."

All they want is your money. They don't care otherwise. Do not go to this college!

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Iadt Online - Possible Fraud 3
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
63 comments
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Katrisse24
Hillside , US
Oct 02, 2009 9:49 pm EDT

Whew! after reading these postings I will not be attending this school. I applied online and like most of you said within three minutes I had an acceptance letter in my inbox. The sucky part is they got my $50 bucks but its better than them getting me in debt and not having a solid degree to show for it. When the Admissions Rep calls me tomorrow I will tell her after doing futher research I will be choosing another school. Thanks so much for your postings!

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erica_dillon
Russellville, US
Sep 08, 2009 2:40 pm EDT

I was a student at IADT Sacramento and halfway thru the semester was unable to continue.After MANY attempts to contact them for 3 weeks they finnally decided to return my call which convieniently happened to be after my first disembursement of my financial aid.I now owe them 1300 dollars.The staff is rude and doesnt care about you or your situation.It seems to me that all that they care about is your money and will do anything and go to any extent to get it from you.

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Liz C
, US
Aug 22, 2009 7:10 pm EDT

just a little update :-)

so.. Yep. still havent received my stipend check. its been close to three months now. higher one, which is the company in charge of the "academy card" sent it to the wrong address. oh wait, but they didnt actually send it at all. oh yeah, and although ive requested it four times now, it still hasnt been sent. does this make sense to anyone? didnt think so. thats what some guy told me. but yeah...still waiting.

after i complained to the school and demanded a refund in a well written three page letter to the president, i received a response about three weeks later, which was supposed to be three days. in this response letter, they did not confront the issues that i brought up, but instead made up a bunch of lies and mixed up everything i said. they didnt address anything at all, yet said that i was not eligible for a refund due to the fact that i signed some stupid paper when i got "accepted." although, my admissions rep told me completely the opposite of what i was signing! so heres a lesson for you, kids...READ THOROUGHLY EVERYTHING you sign! do NOT listen to the lies that come out of these peoples mouths! oh and im curious...has ANYONE ever gotten a refund from IADT? haha didnt think so.

also, its kinda funny how you can only get loans through sallie mae. my school wasnt even accredited when i signed up...yet sallie mae went ahead and gave me a loan for a NON-ACCREDITED school! when i questioned them, they gave me a bunch of different answers that made absolutely no sense. in my opinion, im starting to think that higher one and sallie mae are also part of this IADT scam. i could be wrong, but after everything ive gone through it seems to be correct.

i have talked to a lawyer about this case...but there doesnt seem to be anything that they can do. she said that the "comapny (iadt) is either in a protected form of bankruptcy" which would explain why they are closing schools left and right...or "they are reopened under a different name." therefore, suing them would cost alot money and time and out of it would come nothing because you cant file anything against them. so yeah, this completely screws up everything. im scammed by a school, along with hundreds of other students, and we cant even get our money back? i think its a pretty valid reason, but yeah whatever. just know, that this school is full of CRIMINALS. this was the worst experience of my life. i wasted six months up there when i could have been at another school...a real one. i spent ten grand up there, when i couldve saved it and moved down to LA for school. and now i have eight grand in loans to pay for and nothing to show for it! not to mention that i havent received my $400 stipend or the $300 rent deposit from the psycho room mate that they set me up with. alot of this could have been avoided if they wouldnt have lied to me and stole everything i have! this school makes me sick! erg!

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ghjghjdfgdfgrtyrty
wiltoin, US
Aug 22, 2009 3:05 pm EDT

i hate IADT tampa so much

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ghjghjdfgdfgrtyrty
wiltoin, US
Aug 22, 2009 3:05 pm EDT

agreeeeeeeee

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iadt dude
, TM
Jul 27, 2009 10:39 pm EDT

I attended IADT Fairmont for 1 year, opted to pursue a degree in Computer Information Management, and this is my experience...

Yeah the students/atmosphere was great there but where were the instructors!? They were nearly never there and we would be handed connect the dot puzzles! The Logic Instructor was fired after the whole class stormed and protested why he was brain###ing everyone with ### giving everyone his made up philosophic nonsense talk for hours at a time. At the end of the day you would wonder what the hell you just did for the last 5 hours.

Financial aid lied to me about a grant when it was actually a loan. I then later found out when the school closed down and to my susprise, collection agencies called out of the blue with no request of payments prior to the call. This left a stain on my credit history that still gets brought up this day when I deal with anything that would have it show up on a report.

Then you have the 'Dean' on the school who blatantly changes grades before your eyes after the term is at completion with a little smirk on his face. This was about the time when I decided to pursue other avenues.

SO about those avenues. Let's try to get my school records... Oh my records have been sent to Pittsburgh and the school is gone. Ok no problem right? Oh wait, the school in Pittsburgh is gone...

Many other things went on there and it will take to much time to post it all on here...

I don't know what other type of lawsuits or legal issues this company/scam has faced but if you are looking to take the opportunity to further your education, there are many choices out there. Don't even bother with this place. You're better than that. Besides, it will probably just close down mid-way through your term!

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Liz C
, US
Jul 08, 2009 3:41 pm EDT

I would like to join a group of students that suing CEC. I am a former student of IADT- Sacramento. To summerize, the admissions rep misrepresented the school to me saying that the teachers were qualified for the classes they taught, that my classes would transfer, and that I would find a job upon graduation. I recently graduated college and some of my classes wouldnt transfer...like algebra and such. I brought a very impressive portfolio to the interview...and my advisor didnt even look at it. I signed some paper...gave her fifty dollars and took a very basic placement test. I had been accepted. I moved five hours away from my home to attend this school and saved up ten grand to use towards tuition. My advisor promised to help me find a job, housing and a room mate. Its been six months and still no job...i live in ghetto apartments that she recommended and live with a pyscho girl that she matched me up with. My life has been a night mare since moving up here...all because of this school.The students at this school cannot even draw a stick figure. I work for hours on my artwork, while others do it in class last minute and still get the same grade! I had a 4.0 and did not get my tuition or books paid for like they promised. The teachers do not even know the subject material they are teaching. They have interior design teachers teaching political science! you can be absent for weeks at a time and fail every "project" and still pass eery class with flying colors. I am a very serious artist and this school is a complete joke. It has a horrible reputation and will not get you anywhere in the future. My advisor assured me that I could transfer to a university upon graduation. WRONG! None of my $1200 classes will transfer because no other school will accept them! The university I planned on transferring to said they werent even a real school, no one has heard of IADT. This is a brand new school, so there are no job placement rates yet. In fact, they arent even accredited! Another lie. I have a refund check that supposed to be here a month ago, but has not showed up yet. They dont return my phone calls or emails becaue they dont want to give me my money. This is not a school at all, but more a company trying to rip off innocent students. Now that I have wasted half a year of my life, I have to move back home and start all over at a university...which is a quarter of the price by the way. Stay away from this school.

If you have had a similiar problem with this company, please email me. I would like get a group of former students together and take legal action.

eli.crum@gmail.com

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clau
Irv, US
Jul 08, 2009 11:06 am EDT

Wow, this is really scary. I am in the Graphic Design program at IADT. I will be graduating in October of 2010 with a Bachelor's. I have not had any problems with this school at all and really do love the classes. Reading everyone's comments about their negative experiences is really scary. I feel like I'm getting my money's worth but I guess we'll see once graduation comes along.

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aes
, US
Jul 01, 2009 3:34 pm EDT

My decison to attend IADT Online was a very bad one. I am suing them for fraud for many reasons and have a strong case. Please be forwarned. What you sign up at the time of your admission can be changed by the school for no reason. The latest is that they've changed the online program to FULL TIME ONLY. One reason for choosing this program was BECAUSE I needed to attend part time. They also decided in the middle of my education that the transfers they said they'de take when I was considering the school were no longer eligible. As a graduate with BA in Communications, IADT thinks I should pay for Composition I, even though Composition II still transferred.

They've collected student loans for two classes that were approved as withdraws due to illness, changed the Ws to Fs, and say I owe them over the school and ADDITIONAL $2500. I had a 4.0 gpa.

You tell me. Does this sound like education or Fraud?

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IADT HATER
Lincoln, US
Jun 30, 2009 7:01 pm EDT

DONT GO TO THIS SCHOOL>>>THE CREDITS ARE WORTHLESS AT EVERY OTHER SCHOOL IN THE US AND YOUR DEGREE IS NOT CREDIBLE>>>THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY AND LEAVE YOU WITH NOTHING YOU CAN USE AND NO MORE FUNDING TO GO TO ANOTHER SCHOOL AVAILABLE>>>THEY ARE RIP OFF ARTISTS. THE PRESIDENT OF THE SCHOOL IS A JOKE, HE SLEEPS WITH HIS VP'S SO THEY CAN KEEP THEIR HIGH PAYING JOBS, MARK PAGE ONLY CARES ABOUT MAKING HIS MONEY AND NOTHING ELSE. THEY WILL TRICK YOU INTO SIGNING BOGUS FA DOCUMENTS TO

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The CEC Truth Advocate
Tampa, US
Apr 25, 2009 3:57 pm EDT

CEC has bamboozled thousands of students and counting, and nothing seems to be stopping thier conniving tactics.

This group should help people understand what CEC does.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5604847490

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iaod_sucks
Toronto, CA
Mar 23, 2009 11:30 pm EDT

The International Academy of Design (IAOD) if a private organization, who's credits are not recognized by other schools - so even if you drop out - anything you have 'accomplished' in this school is a waste of your time and money.

This 'school' is not respected by anyone in any of the industries they claim to be training students for. If you're a graphic designer you may be able to erase this blemish from your record through sheer talent or hard work but it should be a footnote on your resume or use it a character building reference.

The instructors are usually former students, and if your instructors seems pissed off it's because they are giving you the same ### education they received, from the students become instructors like themselves before you. And IAOD is the only place that would possible hire them, this also help IAOD maintain some job placement percentage.

60 Minutes Did a story on how much of a scam this 'school' is http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/31/60minutes/main670479.shtml

The only honest people in this whole pyramid scheme of a school are the students who unknowing attend this school thinking that anyone of the advertising is true.

All the people who posted positive comments here are most likely not students - but if they are please post links to your portfolios so everyone can see the 'great' results that you must of produced while at IAOD.

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gini
Cleveland, US
Feb 08, 2009 12:18 pm EST

Wow. I have to say to the above listing that I DO NOT work for IADT! I have been taking classes with them since Oct 2008 with the online school of IADT. I am SOO happy with my classes, my professors, with the professionalism of everyone I have dealt with!

My questions from day one have been answered quickly, I did have one guy who was an ### but with the almost 20 or more interactions I've had with people at the school, I figure that's a pretty low number statistically.

I took Graphic Design at my local college and what I learned was good, but what I'm learning at IADT online is extraordinary.

About the comment regarding classes that you don't 'think' are part of your curriculum ... college and university classes include things other than your major to guess what ... make you a more well-rounded person! ALL colleges and universities do that ... it's been part of accepted curriculum since 'higher education' was developed.

I am sorry for those of you who have had negative experiences. I and all the classmates I have had for my now 6 classes LOVE the school and love our classes! Now, I will say that it is CHALLENGING. 16 week classes poured into 5 week sessions keeps me on my toes.

In my 8 years of college and university (been taking my own sweet time!) I have had MANY good AND bad experiences in EVERY school I've attended. This is my fourth school and I have to say that I've had far less bad experiences than in my previous 3.

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ninja_gaiden
Beaverton, CA
Feb 03, 2009 11:44 pm EST

The school (if you can call it that) is a complete scam and waste of money. I would not advise anyone to go to this school. I made the mistake of going and ended up with a $30, 000 bill and no job. So much for their so call placement to find you a job. Make sure you read the fine print. I had friends who dropped out because the whole program is a waste. THEY SHOULD BE SUED FOR MISREPRESENTATION. All the people that are posting positive things about the school are liars. They work for the school. They are not a recognized school in Ontario or Canada. Sheridan, Humber, Centennial, OCOD are real schools. if you are considering going to this school, make sure you do your research.

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Stephane
Hendersonville, US
Jan 23, 2009 2:19 pm EST

I applied to this school and went thru all the red tape and even attended some of the classes. Some of the teachers were really good and some were really bad. I even had a teacher that didn't show up for the online sessions and one teacher wouldn't allow me to make up work when my father died. With the three classes that I passes and the two that I withdrew from, I received the bill that was $10, 000 that I now owe. They told me that they were going to drop the charges for the classes that I wasn't able to make up (due to the death of my father) but they didn't. Extremely mixed feelengs here.

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cathy
, CA
Jan 22, 2009 8:27 am EST

I totally disagree with the above statements. I am presently attending the school and I am in my 6th term. I am very happy with the school. The teachers are all very qualified and are truly amazing. They are extremely dedicated.

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shelby
,
Oct 29, 2008 11:57 am EDT

This school sucks. They are just trying to sell you something that is overpriced. The lady I met with was late to the appointment and showed me around a poorly kept facility with absolutely no artwork displayed except for a poorly sewn dress that looked like a junior high home economics project. Since I have rejected this school, they continue to call me everyday, sometimes five times, and from different numbers to try and get me to answer. I would never wish this school on anyone. It should be closed down, and the space should be made better use of. I have since moved to the School of the Art Institute and am very happy with the service there. Don't waste your time or energy. People were sleeping in the classes and in the hallways. It felt like a half-way house...to say the least.

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Past iadt student
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Jun 12, 2008 8:58 am EDT

I was a student in the toronto school, i would be happy to sue them if i had the resources. There were countless exaggerations and blatant lies throughout the experience. The teachers were not "industry experts" upon graduation i recieved little to no help in my job search, except for the ocassional e-mail of a job advertisement in cities other than my own. My knowledge of the industry was severely lacking compared to people with a public education. There were lots of filler courses that were only marginally related to my area of studies. The "counselors" are more like used car salesmen.
For one quarter of the $20 000 i wasted i could have received a far superior education through public schools.
I think Janice is not a real student at IADT (probably a head-hunter), every student i talked to when i was there felt ripped off and was not happy with the school.

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janice
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May 28, 2008 11:07 am EDT

I am a current student at IADT Toronto; and they have done an amazing job. As well, they do not have a lawsuit problem, it is a private school with private school prices. Therefore, not many students graduate adequately due to the hectic payments ($5000/per 3month semester ) for the period of 18 months!
Due to a lack of sufficient enrollment and such fourth, they have to close.

The school does have a very good rep. for the Film School and the Fashion Department. The contacts are incredible, many of my colleagues have worked for Holt Renfrew Group, Chanel and Fashion Magazine. They have many university professors whom have taught at U of T, Ryerson, McGill, York and so on!

So you missed out! :)

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lala
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Mar 27, 2008 12:33 am EDT

IADT is closing its doors to almost all of the schools. They got too many lawsuits on them...there reputation is not that good...I was planning to go to the Toronto one but after searching them for online won't anymore, besides, they have closed the application process...