Westwood College - Lai review: Have been pressured into taking high interest loans! 76

I went to Westwood from 2010 till 2014, graduating with my Bachelor's. I can honestly say that I'm disappointed with the Construction Management classes that they had implemented. Some of the professor didn't have the knowledge with this curriculum and showed favoritism to some students. I am a single mother that have pushed through school with a GED, IT Certificate of completion, and now my Bachelor's. I was told during enrollment that this was a Regionally Accreditation, but later into my classes, approximately within a year there were staffs interrupting classes, making announcements saying that Westwood is no longer Regionally Accreditation but National Accreditation. I was stunned and felt betrayed. I had only an year to continue, so therefore, I was stuck. I was told that I would have a job when graduated, but it didn't happen. I work so hard with very little knowledge with this curriculum, but insisted on showing everybody that hard work does pays off. I trusted Westwood to have programs set up for internship with the curriculum, then possibly I would be able to grow with the company. Westwood did not have that available as promise, and they tried to offer me work not related to my career choice. I was furious with this; trying to understand, how can you add on a curriculum and not have the tools to prepare? The labs were not there and constant changes of professor were prolonging issues which cause delays with taking classes in order. I and others at Midtown had to skip some classes and then go back when a professor were able to teach or transferring to other locations where professor were at for that particular class. We had stay on track to be able to finish on time, but this caused conflicts with the Financial Aids . I'm now told that I owed a substantial amount that I don't believe should be my responsibility. The misleading and incompetence of Westwood all over the states, should be held accountable for this mischievous act. I'm too looking for an attorney here in Georgia to filed a class action suit, this is only right and should be reprimanded to us, also. ZL

I started at Westwood College in August 2010, after 3 semesters there I transferred because the LAI campus truly screwed me over big time. I was living with roommates at that time and had no other way to get home so when my roommate's mother was admitted to the hospital I dropped everything to go with her, mostly because i was the one that was called cause her phone was dead. To make a really frustrating story short I was dropped then put back into the class, then the teacher refused to give me the missed homework or even grade my papers because she didn't believe that I could catch up, I did three years of high school in six months, I could have done three weeks of work in one. When I transferred out of Westwood I was told that I suddenly owed $3, 000 that had to be paid that day. After my father screamed for them for an hour they did some checking and found out that it was incorrect and that I only owed the $900 dollars to be paid at my own convenience.

My girfriend recently took a course from College Of The Canyons in Valencia California . She took one German course for 90$ and Williams and Fudge called saying she owed 22, 000 dollars when she just barely finished the course. I don't anything about westward, but williams and fudge definately is preying ... What should we do if they claim legal action? Have they actually taken anyone to court?

Im a former graduate of Westwood, Los Angeles CA campus. Maybe the other campuses are different, but I feel Westwood ripped me off.

Before anyone says I didnt work hard enough or that I just "showed up" I went before I owned a car, and it took me 2 hours to get there and 2 hours to get home by bus. I spent as much time on the bus as I did in a classroom. So it cant be said I didnt WANT it.
I had some of the highest grades in my core classes. I went above and beyond the requirements of the projects assigned.
Not once could I find someone in their "Career Services" department. Usually noone was even there. Even a month before my graduation I hadnt been able to find ANYONE from "Career Services" to talk to. I graduated Westwood without ever speaking to anyone in "Career Services" and it wasnt for a lack of trying.

I had teachers cut class time in HALF half the time because they had other places to be, or other things to do. Plenty of students complained about this but administration didnt do anything about it, they told us we should talk with our instructor about it.

No one from my class, the class before me, or from the class behind me got any kind of "Career assistance" that didnt boil down to them sending people to the local BestBuy to apply.

Westwood (los Angeles CA) is a joke and should be ashamed of themselves for what they have done and the financial hardship they have brought on their "students" who wanted nothing more then to try and better their lives.

They also tried to pull the same UNDERCHARGE BS with me

Its sad that so many people are going through similar situations. I graduated from American Intercontinental University in 2002. That school went through 3 different financial administration departments while I was there and I started the school in 2000. I was given the same story about how my federal loans no longer covered my costs, and that I would have to take out a Private Loan if I wanted to graduate, and of course being young and ignorant to how these loans work I agreed to it, despite the bad feeling I had in my gut. Fast forward 8 years later and I am paying the price. I was able to keep up as long as I could until 2007 after that I lost my job and it has been hard getting financial stability ever sense. Now my loan is in Default, and yes, now the property of Williams & Fudge, who I believe are pretty shady. They tried to make an arrangement with me, and when I told them what I could afford to pay in order to close the account they stopped contacting me and started harassing my cosigner for more money threatening to take further action. My advice; know your rights its the only thing, along with prayers & faith, that will get you through this. Private Loans have a statute of Limitation, meaning they can't collect from you after 5 or more years, every state is different. This website www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org has also helped me to know how to fight against unfair tactics. Bottom line Research, Research, Research. I wish I had done that in my early 20's, everything is a learning experience. God Bless!

it is rediculous how this institution have gone long enough corrupting the system making money and destroying american lives all for their own benefit. We have to write a letter to the president asking him urging him to please stop this instution. Before it is too late we are going bankrupt the whole country again because of instutions like this. You know its bad when you can find a job because of the economy i know but its even worse when you see private colleges take it to a whole new level and charge people with huge rediculous amounts and tell them that they cant even persue more education and are left stuck with the bill no job to support yourself, they do this to single parents too. All those people who back westwood college better look real hard at what they are backing because corruption has a double edge sword it will strike back at you when you least expect it. You already seen what happend when mortgadge lenders got stiffed with the bill back to them for lending more then they should they lost their jobs as well, and looked like monster because of it. Dont be a monster because our society crushes does that look like act like monster to the innocent.

I am currently in my third term at Westwood. What can I do at this point to stop anything else from happening? I have good friends who are worse off than me, and I told them about the Facebook page.

Hello

I go to Annandale campus in VA and I just had something like this happening to me. My familly member got extremly sick and I had to fly over sea and I ask to be excused with a LOA (leave of absence) and went and talked with financial Aid and ask them if everything is ok and if it was going to affect anything, and ofcourse they told me no everything is ok we already recived the money but we will return them back since you wont be in school. So I went to my program director and she made me sign some paper saying that I had emergency and I left. The idiot drop me off school and that is when everything began!i got letter that I owe the school $ 1208 and I was flaged with FASFA for giving wrong info because other financial aid person put in my tax return and put wrong info, that I had dependent child and I was independent and blabala.. they gave me on collection ruined my credit history and since may till today I can get my loan stright and everyday new problem comes out. When they were enrolling me to school everybody was very quick to get your money and tell you if you need help come to them but now since there is huge problem you cant find them. I am emotionally drained and I don't know what to do any more. Any one has a idea?

Thanks

SG

Help me...I have just recently been accepted to Westwood, and feel like im in for it. I need to know how I can get out of this with all my grants and loans so I can go to another school before classes start. They start the 13th of oct. Im taking online animation. I have not seen one success story anywhere on the web about westwood. With reading all this I want out. I have been lied to many times by my advisor. Someone PLEASE GUIDE ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION! Email me lisabryan937@yahoo.com

I am a former employee (admissions rep) of Westwood Joke-of-a College...it is a total sham. I can say that without one ounce of hesitation or reservation, and 100% honesty. I am interested in speaking out in your defense in the lawsuit and maybe even joining it myself! my email is tltomber1986@hotmail.com...contact me! PLEASE...esp. if you know the law firm out of Florida that is looking to sue the Atlanta campus now...Thanks.!

If there is a class action law suit I would like to get in on it. I have pretty much the same story as every one else. The student loans are screwing me over in every part of my life. PLEASE HELP. Im tempted to file bankruptcy and I don't want to do that but it's getting close with all my medical bills also. please e-mail me at mulnix_a@yahoo.com

I was just inquiring about Westwood college. Thanks everyone for posting your experiences on here and warning people like myself . I don't understand why our Government, Congress, States Attorney office, the Mayor allow these schools to be in business. I suggest that people send their complaints to our elected officials. That's why we voted them in. Let's get rid of these ### schools once and for all.

Anyone that wants to share their story should go to

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=50916897553&ref=ts
or
http://www.jameshoyer.com/problem_westwood.html

They have been so helpful with getting people's complaints heard and being able to possible use them in the lawsuit they have going against Westwood. If you have graduated in the past 3 years please contact them because if they win it could possibly effect you. You have already been burned it doesn't hurt to put your feelings and stories so that others can hear them too. Anything and everything we have against Westwood should be brought to James Hoyer's attention!

Took you 2 years to graduate, thousands of dollars in tuition, it is not hard to take 10 minutes to tell these people your story and make sure no one else gets hurt by this school.

Although I have no issue with owing the school money I would like to share my horror story with everyone. I graduated from Westwood in Illinois in March of 2007. I was in the Criminal Justice program. I already had my Associate's degree so I shouldn't have had to take the general education classes which means I shouldn't have had to be in the program as long. We specifically asked this question and was told that I would graduate a few terms earlier than the other students starting from scratch. After I was into the program for a few terms I found out that this was not true because the program had just started at this campus 1 term before I started. So, basically we were on a structured program in which I couldn't take higher classes because they weren't even offered yet. So, I had to wait for classes to be offered before I could take them which meant there were some terms where I only had 2 classes or so. Well this interfered with my loans because you have to be at least a 3/4 student to keep the loan. Thankfully my program director at the time was able to help me out with this buy substituting some "general" classes for me.

Then about halfway through the program a girl in the program went to a law school to start applying and soon found out that our degree was not accepted by that law school. After further searching, every law school she tried would not accept our degree. That arose the issue of the accreditation. The whole CJ program was in rage that this was happening. We found out that the Illinois State Police and Chicago Police Department did not accept our Bachelor's degree which meant we couldn't work for them. As students looked to switch schools we all found out that almost no other schools would accept any transfer credits from Westwood. So, if we did switch schools all this time and money would go down the drain. That is why I chose to stick through it and thankfully the graduate school I'm attending now did accept the degree for my admission. I know a few people who were trying to do some class action lawsuits against Westwood because of this but I don't know what ever became of them. The lady at the school just kept telling us that they were in the process of becoming regionally accredited but 2 years later nothing has happened.

Another problem was that Westwood aired some commercials saying that you can become this or that by getting a degree from Westwood. There were some with the Criminal Justice program that weren't true. You couldn't become those things with just a CJ degree, you'd need an accompanying degree or you'd have to start out at the bottom and work your way up. It was false advertisement. They quickly took those off the air once word got out.

Like I stated before, I personally didn't have any issues with money with Westwood, but a friend of mine did. Somehow his loans DOUBLED and they couldn't tell him why. Plus, he was told that he hadn't been making payments so he was delinquent on his account. He was told by someone in the financial aid department at this school that he did not have to make any payments while he was in school. Apparently he was wrong and he got penalized for it...big time. So he got screwed left and right in this case. Needless to say when he found this out he left that school immediately.

There are just so many problems with this school and I would not recommend this school to anyone. In fact, I tell people to stay far away from this school.

Actually, Westwood IS Nationally accredited. But that means nothing as they are NOT Regionally accredited. The regionally accredited schools are the important ones and most dont accept credits from nationally accredited schools. I am a graduate of Westwood and I am not proud of it. They charge too much to obtain a worthless degree. While I had some tuition reimbursment from my employer because FAFSA recognized the school, I have to start from scratch to further my education at a regionally accredited school. They definitely misled me and I am currently searching for a class action suit already in progress. I don't want any extra money, I just want my student loans paid off so I don't get get depressed EVERY time I make a payment and remember that I am paying for a degree that is useless.

I also attended Westwood in [protected] and am paying back a Sallie Mae loan of over $11, 000 while Westwood won't release my transcript saying I owe the school over $5, 000! How is it that I got a government loan yet owe the school that amount of money? I have been trying to get a financial statement sent to me and noone will get it to me. This is causing trouble for me now as I am trying to go to a Junior college and they need my transcript from Westwood.

Common Sense~
How dare you have the audacity to talk to anyone about things you know nothing about. There are so many different situations that different people are in. I dont know where you get off saying "you people" like we are a bunch of idiots. When we met with admissions reps they do some of the same things when you are visiting a university and have the accreditated. I chose to go to a tech school because I was doing graphic design. I had friends that went to SMU and they did not learn enough in the programs so I wanted a specialty school that could teach me more. They are accredited you dim whitted jerk. Go online and look up the facts before you start talking crap to people that you have no concern even saying anything to and these people know it has the accreditation. 67 students filed a lawsuit a few years ago and won. Things were supposed to have changed since then, how were we supposed to know that they hadn't. Most of the people who are having issues with loans didnt mind taking out the loans and "investing in their future" but the tuition was supposed to be a huge margin lower than they claimed. But once you have gone half way through school you have to keep going or it was not worth anything. Then half way through you need more and more and more money. You might say that that is not unusual, but when you can't get a breakdown of classes and how much they were and once you sign the Enrollment Agreement you are stuck. Some of these people are 18 years old trying to do something they love, but you just diminshed them to idiots. You say they loans are taken out as an investment, but then you say we are lucky these schools are there for people like use. You are contradicting yourself because the problems are with the loans and how much the school was overcharging. A Class Action Lawsuit has been filed against Westwood and we will see who needs to put his/her in their mouth when it is all said and done.
I just don't understand how someone can be so condesending to people when you really don't know their situation. You need to stop reading through everyone's complaints if you dont have one. I thought this was complaintsboard.com. Get a freaking life and find your manners before they escape you permantly you arrogant jerk.

i read alot of these emails, and i cant stop and laugh at you people for not doing your homework. I mean are you serious? who doesnt look to see if the school is accreditated and by whom before they make their choices. Also its clear that people dont do their research on financail aid either. School is not free, grnats and scholarships are not going to completely pay for your schooling. Are you an athlete or an academic scholar? no? then get over it... and take out loans like everyone else... the thing people dont understand is, its an investment in your future. Most of the people on this tread will take out a 10, 000 loan for a car that depreciates as soon as you drive it off the lot, but are scared to take out a loan for school when its only going to help you in the long run.

Also no offense to people talking to depaul and other better schools.. NEWS FLASH, you cant get into these schools you dont have the neccessary requirements.. You are lucky these schools are available.. it helps people like you better your lives.

I know there are plenty of other complaints on this board, but I recently went through something similar in the last week. I was nearly done with my first semester in pursuit of their paralegal program and they withdrew me two weeks before completion on the grounds that I owed them a third of a years tuition...based on a quote I have in email form from my financial advisor at the institution.

Hey guys~

I actually have had some success in resolving some issues with Westwood. I was contacted after posting my story on this dicussion group on Facebook. The woman who is runnig the page is an attorney and is trying to get all of your problems fixed. Trust me, if you need help, go here:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=50916897553&ref=mf

If this link wont come up, when you log onto facebook, search:

Warnings about Westwood College!

You may not be a member of Facebook, but my suggestion is to get an account just for this reason. They made my Apex Loan (the one thru Westwood not Sallie Mae) disappear and Westwood's corporate office actually contacted me (Alta Colleges) not the individual schools so I know they are taking us a little more seriously. The woman who runs the sight, Jill, is very helpful and listens to your story. You should really tell her your story because it is fuel for the fire for lawsuits they are coming up with.

Good Luck everyone! If you cant figure it out, you can post here on contact me via email:

miller_jessica7@yahoo.com

concorde career institute is also one of the worst schools ever someone i know who is very close to me attended there she had to complete 160 hr of externs which she did and was signed off for everything ready for graduation well they tell her the day before graduation that they have ?s concerning her hours even though they were signed off then when she ask them for all of her papers that were signed they told her no she couldnt have them so if there is anyone who knows an attorney in texas or an attorney she may talk to please email and let me know how do she go about even filing a lawsuit or what can she do
email me at farledge@ymail.com

hello i recently heard that some students filed a lawsuit against westwood well i attend/attending concorde and they have done some messed up things to us like taking or money and were not learning anything them having extern hours on paper but not being giving credit because of something someone said then when ask for copies of all paper work turned in that denied to give paper work which i know is against the law i just need to know what attorney or do you know of any attorneys that handle cases like this and how do i go about filing a lawsuit please send me a message at farledge@ymail.com if you can help anyone and everyone who plans on going to concorde career institute please go somewhere else especially the arlington, tx campus

EVERYONE needs to check out this article.

http://money.aol.com/article/company-to-pay-7-million-to-resolve/436212?icid=sphere_searchsphere_news

We need to do something now or never. They are reporting to my credit for the $5295 at the end of the month...there goes a downpayment for a car or house anytime soon!

I am looking into attorneys right now. Please contact me via email if you want to do something about this and are very serious. There are complaints all of the internet about Westwood and no one really putting OUR legal rights to good use.

miller_jessica7@yahoo.com

Thanks

I'm a Westwood Graduate from 2003.. I know there has been a lawsuit in action already against the school.. but I have no idea to persue it with them. That school has put me and my family in so much debt with their nonsense and my degree doesn't get me anywhere! The classes were poorly instructed and I know I even had failed my math coure but sometime around graduation time that didn't matter.. I was passed!? Anyhow, I have tried to call them to get the papers on my loan, but they will not return calls nor give me my own information.. what is with that? I don't recall signing for 3 different loans.. and that is now what is has turned into. I get calls from Sally Mae, Ed Fund, ACS, and Williams and Fudge. I am in debt by over 50k! Just for an AAS! We need to find out how to get involved with this, that school needs to be shut down..

I just got on the phone yesterday because Westwood College Online's Collection dept had sent me a letter that I owed $5295 NOW and if I did not pay $150/per month then it would be on my credit report. I have been on the phone and communicating through email and this is the only response they could give me:

Attached you will find three documents that pertain to the issue at hand. First your account summary which will show all charges and payments (loans, grants, mailed in payments, credit card payments, etc) that you accrued while in school here at Westwood College Online. Second you will find the Enrollment Agreement that you signed upon entering school, on the first page underneath your information you will find a box with an x through it, which explains the charges that you would accrue for the program selected. On the second page of the Enrollment Agreement you will find the State Of Colorado Refund Policy, in sections 5A-E you will find the basis of how school is charged to you. This statement makes no provisions for the sole use of grant and federal loan money. The Enrollment Agreement simply states that you are responsible for all fees you accrue while you attend Westwood College Online regardless of the amount of grant and federal loan money you receive. Lastly you will find the Early Estimated FASFA results, I gather this is what you were referring to yesterday when you told me you were told your loans would cover the whole amount of your schooling. It clearly states that if you were to receive the amount allotted then you would be required to pay the remaining balance of your schooling. Since this is an Early Estimated FASFA it does not have the exact amount of what you did in fact receive but the premise of the document unequivocally states that you would be responsible for all charges regardless of your loan/grant amounts. If you have any questions please contact me or my boss Jenn Jones at the following number.
1.877.817.9525 x 11560
Enrollment Agreement link:
http://edocs.westwood.edu/mail/200000000D_000EJY2QVM8H

AQ
Student Account Specialist
Westwood College Online
Toll Free: 877.817.9525 EXT. 11560
Email: yabdulqadir@westwood.edu
www.wolbus@westwood.edu
www.westwoodonline.edu

Naturally I went over all of the paperwork just as I had done when I enrolled Online for just 2 terms. I went to Dallas campus and have $42, 000 in loans to the Campus and $7000 in loans to the Online classes. So now they want $5295 more b.c I skipped a term and the financial aid did not go through the second time. The problem is that I never received any notification or documents that my loans were not going to cover that term. If i had known I would have waited until Sallie Mae let me get another loan. Westwood Online's Business Office is just telling me that since I attended classes I have to pay. This was the only response I had:

I have read the documents you have sent to me. Here is my last concern on the Enrollment Agreement. If you see on #4 where I initiald:
"If financial Assistance is applied for, neither the amount nor any payment schedule can be determined at this time. As soon as the amount of financial assistance has been determined, a payment agreement will be executed which will disclose a schedule of payments for tuition and fees not covered by financial assistance, in compliance with state and federal law."
What I needed was the documentation supposed to be provided where it states:
"As soon as the amount of financial assistance has been determined, a payment agreement will be executed which will disclose a schedule of payments for tuition and fees not covered by financial assistance, in compliance with state and federal law".
Please let me know if you have the documentation of the payment agreement.

If there is anything anyone has done about a class action lawsuit or anything please let me know. I am going to be in debt forever for an overpaid, unrated degree that has gotten me nowhere. I am not working in the graphic design workforce, have not heard from the school until now that they offer a bachelors degree when I have contacted them several times in the Career Development Dept. It is truely shameful how this "school" has done this to people.

Thank you

J.M

Same her Westwood College in Tucker Atlanta. In 2005 they made me take a 8, 000 loan with them and said it would be pay arrangements per month. However three months before Graduation they said I need to pay off total balance in full before i can graduate or recieve my transcript. I adv them i can finish paying per month but cant come up witgh money in full, so they are actually holding my transcript.

Westwood College needs to be shut down!
ITS A TOTAL SCAM!

My time with Westwood was a very similar experience, I'm not surprised though to find that there are hundreds of other students suddenly being pounced on with fees. I was 2 weeks away from receiving my two year degree and suddenly buried with letters stating they needed to re-look at my financial aid. I filled the forms and talked to the office several times to find myself blocked from my classes. They said though the paper-work was fine, but that it would not be processed in time to pay for that term and I would need to take out a 8, 000 dollar loan. I already had 7, 500$ sitting from my state and a 3, 000$ private loan all waiting for their confirmation before the could be applied to school.
They said they could not touch the state and the 3, 000 would have to be raised. Unable to have a co-signer for the higher loan I had to watch myself fail and never returned to their school again.
I was holding a 3.6 average until the forced fail and now am suddenly receiving bills for a 5, 600 loan. I took out no other loan with them, but what I am guessing is that because I failed their term my aid did not cover so they took out a loan in my name to pay the fee of the classes I had taken. I'm thinking of taking legal action before my credit dive-bombs into the gutter. This school should be closed and not allowed to steal such large amounts of money and time from eager people willing to learn.

What can we do about all of this? I really am worried...and Extremely pissed

i need serious help... they promised i would be able to pay ($45k) my student loans after graduation within a year... and that they would help me get a job within the field, and I'm still unemployed owing sallie mae about 70k... i dont even know how it jumped up to that ridiculous amount... now i have debt collectors calling me 24/7 in regards to the private student loans.. i should not have gone to Westwood College and just waited for USC or UCLA to get my education. The biggest regret in my life.

I want to jump in to that class action lawsuit against them. Anyone who knows how to get out of this mess, please help!

I was a student at Westwood College in Woodridge, I am on disability and the state was paying my tuition to rehabilitate me so I could work and get off disability. Westwood college forced me to get student loans on top of what the state of Illinois was paying and now has lost (stolen) thousands of money sent on my behalf. The school is accredited by a second rate accredidation plan and no other college or work place will accept credits transfered from Westwood. I have found hundreds of other students in similar situations. WEstwood is a scam and someone needs to investigate.

I was strongly urged by the financial aid Department to take out laons to pay the tuition until the government checks came through: Government checks take several months. The loans were to be at a 2% rate and would be paid back once the government paid. Turns out the loans were more like 4-6.8%. Westwood claims the state never paid on some of the terms so I am now responsible for the outstanding loans at 6.8%. I had to quit Westwood before I graduated because the state would no longer pay until Westwood found the money that the government sent (the same money WEstwood says they never got). I have been working with the Illinois State Rep. Patricia Lindners office for over a year now. State Reps office supplied WEstwood with copies of the checks and WEstwood still claims they never recieved. ALong with tall of this are my Federal Loans they strongly urged me to take out at 6.8%. Sallie Mae has sent me proof that they sent money to WEstwood and Westwood claims a much lower Dollar amount was sent.

Both Sallie Mae and the Illinois State Comptroller Claims to have sent money on my behalf an Westwood claims to not have received all of it. I believe that approximately $12, 000 is missing that Sallie Mae is charging me for.

I am stilll disabled, with no degree and thousands of dollars to pay back for an education I didn't get. The school has to keep it's accredidation by keeping a certain amount of student within a certain GPA. How they do this is by giving us all the answers for tests. It was more like a highschool education.

I am also extremely interested in getting into this lawsuit, if someone has more information or has continued action against this horrible school please email me! I served about two terms at Westwood and i found that there teaching/standards were below my High school and decided to stop studies. I have copies of my disbursement papers yet the school is saying i owe them an excess of 5000$ despite the fact that the loans more than covered this amount and that they are moving the balance to a high yield loan account with an APR of 18%! This school is a scam and should be brought down so that future citizens can avoid this hassle completely.

I am very intrested in getting into this lawsuit, if someone can please email me, I started attending westwood in oct of 2006 up untill jan 07 i stopped going, and i get letters saying i owe saliemae 3000 which i was told was fasfa and i wouldnt have to pay that back, then i get a letter and calls, from a collection agency talking alot of crap saying that, i owe 20 grand included is a 9 thousand dollar penalty, i am not going to pay all that when i didnt even attend more than 3 months or so, the news is very depressing, especially to my credit score, i have called the school numerous times asking about a break down of everything, and they yet to return my phone calls, and messages. I was told i will be served with law suit papers, and sent to court, but i need help on what to do, i already filed a complaint with the bbb.org and i just need help. Thanks, sorry i wrote sloppy i am in a hurry.

Wow. Interesting how I got in the same situation. I'm trying to find a copy of the paperwork westwood had me sign that gave them the right to give me a student loan at 18%. Anyone have one? I'm not trying to get out of paying this debt off, just trying to figure out how the hell I can own 12k in less that two months of schooling.

Thanks!

I actually had to leave Westwood due to a surgery. I was supposed to take off two weeks to recover, but the school wouldn't let me. After the very shoddy courses I dropped out. Now I'm not proud to say I owe 30, 000 dollars with both Westwood and Sallie Mae, grouped in with my other loans. I'm barely making it by thanks to these people!

I am too one of the victims Westwood is preparing to claim. I was told that my Associates Degree would cost just $12K. That's what made me say, Ok lets go for it. I was 20 at the time and just wanted to get my education going. A couple months later I get a paper from the Loan Agency SallieMae, (which somehow i was approved for with no co signers), and it reads that I owe them $15K! I then called Westwood to get the news that the total cost would be $42K for an Associates Degree! This is an outrage! I asked them how come I never received any billing or total cost each month, They responded saying that this is only by student request...Shouldn't this be mandatory? Like a receipt? Now I am getting ready to drop out, but I have been going through a depression after getting this bad news. I want to join the lawsuit, thi school should be closed down!

my email is : lyndell187@gmail.com

WOW SAME EXPERIENCE as most of these victims. No need to go into detail but I am currently in collections and i was threaten with the same scare tactics as most described. It is currently effecting my credit report. I as well have asked for a detailed statement like many other people here have done and have received no correspondence! I looked and looked and finally found a place with the same type of victims. PLEASE LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS! My email IS... NIEDEDPI12@yahoo.com

I cant believe some of these stories. This has caused me great damage and its time to ACT i have been dealing with this over 1 year!

I took the entry test and paid the $100 application fee just today. Now I'm reading all of this. I did not (to my knowledge) apply for any loans as my parents are going to help out with tuition. Now I'm worried they are going to try to charge me even if I back out now before getting started! I will send a letter tomorrow that I am no longer interested in enrolling. Could they have enrolled me today (I was there for hours) without even realizing it? OMG, I'm worried. Anyone familiar with the school have any advice?

I would like to Also plead a case against Westwood College not specific to the loan repayment but with the misconception of school merit and credit given with your hard earned degree. I was a Michigan resident who had a situation where I needed to make a decision with my life. At the time I had been considering classes for computer science due to my technical background building and consistent maintenance of home computers I had a telemarketing call come in one afternoon and was met with friendly individual who had all this wonderful news about "Westwood college " I thought I would let the man speak so he went on to ask what my interests are and what it was that I would like to do with the rest of my life and I explained my history and he had even gone to the lengths of confirming this may or may not be a career I would like to do for the rest of my life. I than explained I was a devote video gamer and that I had dabbled with 3D Animation and Video Game "Map Building" with a couple different popular engines that were out at that time. We both agreed that this seemed to be a passion for me and not just a job. He than went into to great detail of the available "on campus" equipment that would be specific to a 3D Animation Game Development degree field and that we would have this available to us at any of the Westwood Campus' nationwide. This my friends seemed like the ticket for me, and I being a vulnerable young adult took it hook line and sinker. Oh wait there is more he also explained to me that this was in fact a Regional Accredited College or "HLC Accreditated" which stands for Higher Learning Accreditation. This accreditation is very important to the consideration for a graduate program and any transfer of credits to a college that even offers a graduate program. Also I have spoken with direct Human Resource supervisors at three different game development studios and confirmed that the degree from "Westwood college" would not have the same integrity as a degree with HLC accredited college or university. I had been faced with some financial difficulties while in attendance at the school and was ultimately removed from the program with 5 months served. In those 5 months it was promised to me that better equipment and resources would become available and that the level of in field teachers or certified instructors ...i.e staff would increase and become better. However this is not the case and I lost hope in a successful career with this school being my vessel toward a degree in this field. I had confirmed 3 months into the program that the school was not in fact accredited as promised and I believe this has happened to others if anyone has a link or url to an open class action lawsuit vs Westwood College please post...

I have been attending westwood college since August 2006, took a break for 4 months, started receiving calls from william & fudge saying I owed them $3, 000...I told the guy I can't pay it and he said "this will go against your credit" and I simply put "i dont care, I have bad credit anyways, that's why I get student loans and when I graduate, get my job and pay it all off the rest of my life" he was like "ok, it's your life" and hung up on me. Sometimes they still call but I don't answer it..i'm not paying any $3k or NOTHING tilli 'm graduated. You are'nt even supposed to pay any school loans till 6 months after you graduate to help you accommodate yourself in finding a job and saving up the mulah to pay for your student loans. I am currently in debt with Sallie Mae for over $30k and my course is a $70k web design course...the pale grants help with about $2k per semester, which isn't much, especially since i'm low income single mother with state assistance. It's a joke really that they don't offer anymore help to students that are "starving" to get an education. They can do whatever they want, they aren't getting their money till I either graduate or they kick me out. I'm scheduled to graduate in March 2010.

I do have to say though I have learned alot taking the classes, I am actually a web master for the college's game design club, it's really fun and will give me a great portfolio.