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Vatterott College / Vatterott Educational Centers

3850 South Campbell Avenue, Springfield, MO, 65807, US
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Vatterott College / Vatterott Educational Centers - TERRIBLE POLICIES

This is all evening class happenings. You apply. They accept you. But what they fail to tell you; is that they change EVERYTHING ON THEIR WHIMSY. I know of several students that have either been started mid-course then when it came time for them to take the beginning of the course. . . no class in the evening so you'll have to go to day class, which working days you of course can not do; or they start you out in the proper class at night then 1/2 way through. . . . oh. so sorry. You'll have to go to day class, which working days you of course can not do.

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Vatterott College / Vatterott Educational Centers - Lies, Poor Education, Unqualified Instructors

I am a current student at Vatterott (I graduate in February), and since I signed up in December of 2010, I have had nothing but the run around with financial add, accounting, and the instructors.
I recieved the full pell grant, and quite a few scholarships ($25, 000 in all) but, because of their pricey legal program, I still had to take out a hefty student loan ($12, 000). I was concerned about the amount of money I would have to pay out but everyone I spoke to assured me that the program would pay for itself, and as far as accredidation goes? No such thing. No other college EXCEPT other Vatterott Colleges will accept their credits. However, I was not told that; I was informed that they are accredited by other colleges and other colleges would accept their credits if I chose to transfer.
As far as their instructors go, they have one instructor that teaches "intro" students and another one that teaches "advanced" students and they switch between classes to teach different subjects. I have had ONE teacher that has been constant (the head of the actual legal department who teaches "advanced") but a mixture of 3 others that have come and gone that were supposed to teach the "intro" students. In between the second and third teacher, we went a full month without being taught anything because the head of the department was being forced to run between classes in order to "teach". The current teacher we have that teaches the "intro" students is foul, rude, inconsiderate, and sexist. Myself, along with other students, have complained about his behavior, but were told each time by retention officers "It's not my problem to deal with your petty high school drama. Deal with it." (their words verbatim).
And their accounting office? I was told just today that, because an "unseen price increase in books", I have to pay $142.00 before I can even think about getting my diploma that I have busted my ### for the past two years to get.
I would never tell anyone to go here, ever.

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Really Nunyabiz
, US
Jan 20, 2016 7:34 am EST

I just withdrew from the Fairview heights location. Every time you look up new instructors, new director, teachers quitting and students who are not discipline that just run the school and bully staff and students. The cosmetology program was not good.

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Nameless2009
St Louis, US
Aug 03, 2012 9:32 pm EDT
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Seriously if you are not a Vatterott employee, of which I have staff from Vatterott to support my claims, before you make inane comments on someone's post you might try getting some intelligence yourself. Petty insults are the last resort of the despite, uneducated, defensive, and unintelligent. I stand behind my comment and as one who was not there with me your rambling nonsense has no meaning.

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seriously????2012
Little Rock, US
Aug 03, 2012 9:17 pm EDT

shaking my head... nameless--- i can read through your lies...lol .. go back to your Gen Ed classes and use spell check! dang,

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seriously????2012
Little Rock, US
Aug 03, 2012 9:12 pm EDT

You should of used one of those stipend checks to pay for the price increase in your books! Stop blaming everyone else... seriously people?

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Nameless2009
St Louis, US
Jun 16, 2012 7:47 am EDT
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I was a student at Vatterott for one course. Really the education to me was EXTREMELY substandard. Their job placement, they guarantied me was not even there until you were in the last phase of the Computer Technology course, of course after you paid all they could get from you. The Gen Ed was a complete joke, and how that passed for their accreditation I don't know. They claimed college credit transfer, but refused to transfer my credit from Meramec Community College until I was in the last phase, again after they got all the money they could, forcing me into worthless Gen Ed classes to which my instructor told me my knowledge was high than there kindergartner level book would teach. When I asked several times for an itemized bill for classes they refused with some of the lamest excuses I have heard.

My biggest problem and why I write here is to find out if anyone else had a situation of predatory lending from Vatterott? After signing up for classes, but before they started a death in the family caused me to suffer high living costs. I immediately expressed this to the financial services rep and strongly questioned if I would be able to repay the Sallie Mae loan, that was to start being repaid 6 months after the start of classes before you even finish. The answer I got was "Don't worry Sallie Mae will work with you." Yea, there way of working with you is a month off the payment which if I had a hard time paying at $130 a month, making it higher was not happening. Salie Mae didn't care, but they are a separate issue.

Curious if anyone else has had this?

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SuperSpook
, US
Apr 27, 2012 2:18 am EDT
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Duh! Does anyone on earth do their homework before signing up for these "shake-n-bake" schools? For God sake! Just Google for complaints on Vatterott College and the history is all over the Internet. Why is it that people think they can go down the same path as others who got the shaft and actually think things will turn out better for them? Heed the warning people. Most of these trade schools are a joke and there to get money from wherever they can. Guess who ends up paying for it? Sheesh!

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Vatterott College / Vatterott Educational Centers - Low Quality of Education

I went to this school from April of 2008 till May of 2009. And I must say, it is by far the worst decision I have ever made. Please, if you are intending on enrolling into Vatterott College's Computer Technology program think long and hard about your decision. Tuition is 23, 000 for the diploma (60 weeks) and 12, 000 extra for the degree program. Let me summarize what happened. In March 2008, I was interested in attending a school for a Computer Technology program with the belief that I would recieve an adequate education to allow me to find a good job in the computer tech world. So I went to Vatterott to see what their program offered. Now remember, being fresh into Computer Technolgy I was not aware of what most employers would require and whether or not Vatterott would give me the education to meet those requirements. But I thought that for 23, 000 they would give me a really good education. The lab fees themselves are $900. So based on the amount I was paying for the lab, I really thought It was going to be used.

When you arrive, an admission coordinator shows you a little presentation on his/her computer and gives you a tour around the school. Then they tell you that vatterott is "selective". I am assuming they tell you this to make you feel special about getting ripped off. They give you some little assessment to see how smart you are. I got 35 out of 50 right, when they accept as little as 12. The only reason I did not get the others right is because I ran out of time and never got to the other questions. They were simple questions, and judging by some of the other students in the class, they will pretty much accept anyone willing to shell out 23, 000 to the greedy Vatterott family.

The course is split into 6 10 week phases in which they try to cover material that in a regular college can barely be covered in a semester. 2 and a half months is not enough time to cover most of the material, but they try to accelerate the program for some stupid reason, so you end up with a worthless diploma and a subpar education. I am not saying the professors are that bad, they are pretty good actually. However there were times when the professors would just read out of the book and not really teach the material. I do not feel that was fair, since I could have read the book on my own for a much lower price and recieved the same education. In fact one professor had tuesdays and thursdays off and hired an adjunct professor to help on those days. In one phase, that adjunct professor did not have the knowledge of the subject that qualified him to teach it, and so half of that entire phase was wasted. Also, it seems that most jobs that can be found posted on the internet want you to know some programming language and the closest Vaterott gets to teaching any language is HTML. That is unacceptable. The labs were never covered very well by the professor, and I applied for a job last week, had an interview and was told that I did not have enough knowledge for the position. It was going to be either a tech or sales position. If after 60 weeks and 23, 000 dollars, I don't have enough knowledge for a low level job in a local computer repair shop then I feel that Vatterott owes me my money back. I feel justified in asking for a full refund, a cancellation of all loans and a return of all grant money. Since I don't believe they will refund my money, I know that what I can do is help others to not make the same mistake. So if you are hoping to attend Vatterott, please don't. Please research your chosen degree and see if a local college offers a better option for a lower price as they do in Springfield. That is the route I should have gone, but now looking back I wish I would have never stepped foot in Vatterott. I owe over 14, 000 in loans now, and if I can't find a good enough job, I will be in serious debt and probably unable to pay it off.

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nolongerajanitor
, US
Jan 30, 2014 9:54 pm EST

- I worked as a janitor from 7AM - 330PM (Mon-Fri)
-I attended Vatterott College, Sunset Hills Campus HVAC/AOS (Night Class) equals 4 1/2 to 5 hours sleep every night.
-I ironed my uniform, shined my boots, drove to school and ate while I studied/reviewed in my old pick-up truck at the parking lot of Sunset Hills Campus.
-I paid attention to my instructors took notes, asked for clarifications, read reading assignments, etc/ (Terry, Leon, Jeff, Frank, Mario, to name a few)
-I was the first one to start lab, and the LAST one to leave. 9PM to 1030ish was the best part, Instructors mentioned above would show and tell real world "service calls" situations based on their experiences. As part of Lab Time, they would purposely place system operational and mechanical faults. Then, I would troubleshoot the system based on the fundamentals as they stood behind me, guiding me thru the process. My sheet metal instructor (Mr. "J") challenged me to fabricate intricate duct works, My brazing instructor (Mr. "T") was extra critical, he made sure my braze looked good and did not leak!. My Boiler Instructor Mr."M" guided us on how to disassemble, clean, install additional radiant heater, and re-wire the Low Pressure Boiler Systems. in addition, Mr. "M" taught us how to MIG Weld just in case we needed it in the future. Mr. "F" paired me with "Red" (He is my Hero!) and we installed a control board retro-fit.
-After I received my EPA Universal License I asked my instructors if they needed an apprentice when they perform side jobs. Under direct supervision, I was trained on how to conduct a complete tear out and installation of a residential heating and cooling units and apartment Low Pressure Steam Systems.
-Even though I was scared $#!%less I forced myself to attend every Mock Interviews held on campus. It is the best time to make mistakes! At least a job is not at stake.
-I struggled during the AOS portion of the program I was 47 years old at that time and my Algebra skills sucked @$$. I asked my instructor for some help. So, I ate at the parking lot then got some help on adding 2(x+4)+9=4x+...what the (explicit)!
-I graduated HVAC AOS in 2012. After numerous interviews and "zero" call backs. I was desperate. The time to repay my student loan, rent, car payment, etc. is almost here and I can not afford it on a janitor salary.
-Before each interview I would go to the rest room and motivate myself a bit by looking at the mirror and telling that reflection... I have done all that I can...and hope my accomplishments while in school would help me get a second chance. I went all in, before each interview, I would take my resume to the Vatterott front office and had them criticize add/delete information, I practiced what I learned from the mock interviews, practice, practice, practice. But I believe, showing my prospective employer all of my Perfect Attendance Certificates (from day 1 until AOS graduation), Directors List Certificates (from day 1 to AOS graduation), Student of the Phase Certificate, enabled me to get a second interview...a third interview...(lots of qualified competitors) and finally a job offer.
-Fast forward to November 5, 2012, approximately 7 months after graduation, I started my job as a Maintenance Technician for a local hospital, I work on oxygen Systems, Vacuum Systems, Air Handlers, Fan Coils, Pneumatic Controls, Radiant Heaters, Electrical Motors, Steam System, MIG, Stick Weld, etc.

-Once again...Thank You! Vatterrott College, Sunset Hills, MO. for laying out a plan on how I could achieve emotional security, financial stability during tough economic times(even at $10.10 minimum it is impossible). Even though it was the path with the MOST Resistance to succeed in life, I took a chance and I am grateful.

-A special thanks to my good friend and classmate "Steve E" (use to work for AB) for motivating me to do better in class, lab, Algebra (ugh!) and most of all... life. Mr Steve E is now a very successful Maintenance Technician responding to service calls to banks, admin buildings, medical offices in South County, Jeff County.

"Today is the first day... of the rest of my life. I better not %#@& this up.

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ALL MONEY
Belleville, US
Jun 02, 2011 7:03 pm EDT

Just dont go to vatterott, the school will tell you everything you want to here. After 20 weeks you find its a waste off time and money. If you look at vatterott talk to the people in there 40 or 50 weeks. you wont find a person saying something good about it. I went to sunset hills for hvac its a joke. I was told i will have all the tools i need to do the work by the time i left school. I left school with a meter gages and screw drivers sounds good until. You find you need so much more. My falt i looked at diffrent schools, and they were less money and gave alot more tools. MAKE YOUR TIME AND MONEY WORK FOR YOU DONT GO TOO VATTEROTT...

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Jason0170
, US
Apr 20, 2011 9:42 am EDT

Vatterott College is a COMPLETE waste of money. They should be closed down. I honestly don't know how schools like this are allowed to operate. The government should shut them all down and forgive everyone's loans who were taken by them. I am in the same boat as everyone else who posted here. I attended Vatterott in Sunset Hills MO. in 2001, and went through their computer technology program. I searched for a job for 3 years before giving up and going in another direction. Over the course of that time I sent out tons of resumes and had a total of 4 job interviews, and was turned down for every single one. I even volunteered at a place for no pay to work in their IT department for 6 months just to get experience on my resume, and still nothing. I was told by their placement department that it was a "tough time" for the IT field, but the jobs would come around eventually. That never happened for me. My student loans came due and I had no job and no prospects, so i started doing bartending and other restaurant work so I could pay my loan. I owe over $26, 000 just like the other people who posted on here and couldn't be more unhappy with my decision to spend my money at that joke of a school. They boasted placement at the first meeting I had with admissions. My meeting was with a very nice looking woman, very flirtatious, showing me on paper the percentage of graduates and their salaries. This was nothing but a sales pitch to get you to sign on the dotted line. I graduated with a %98 GPA and didn't miss a day of school, and still no job for me. The classes and instructors were mediocre at best. Most of the instructors didn't really seem to care whether you got the material or not. Again, a HUGE mistake. I can't put all the blame on them though, I should have done my homework before signing the loan paperwork on that school, but I was in a desperate position at the time and easy prey for them. Makes me sick to think about it, but I have to when I make that $250 loan payment every month. If I continue to make the minimum payment every month for the next 16 years I will have paid around $45, 000 for this. I wish there was a way to get my money back from them, but I know that is probably not going to happen, so the best I can do is maybe enlighten anyone who is considering making the same mistake I did. DON'T DO IT! Go to a real four year university and get a degree in Computer Science or Information Systems. You will get much farther with something like that.

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convict88
Saint Louis, US
Feb 03, 2011 2:08 am EST

im currently attending the Vatterott in Sunset Hills Mo. im doing building maintence and i believe that im not being taught everything my teacher tells just show up sign in and you can leave theres no stucture in the class this is my 7th week and man do i hope things get better but thats all for now i figured i would share my storie that pretty much already compares to the rest and im on in my 7th week

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tee r.
Des Moines, US
Dec 16, 2010 11:35 pm EST

I had to agree with the angry person, I myself attended Liar-Rott(Vatterott College) from December 2001 to Aug. 2003, and didn't learn much. No, I didn't cheat myself, I read everything in the book they gave me. Yeah, I took there little test before attending, a 5th grader could pass it. When I completed there 60 week program, I thought wow, I got an associates degree, soon to find out later that there Associates Degree of Occupational Studies in Computer Programming and Networking System Administration was full of Bull***t. A lot of IT jobs and job places I applied at said they never heard of Vatterott College and there credentials are non transferrable, meaning its not a regconziable school. I live in Des Moines, Iowa. When I got interview for my first job for an I.T., I told them I gradauted from Vatterott, they said to me, 'What is that, some make-Believe school'. Isn't that something. Now I'm stuck with a $22, 000 student loan and I ended up working in a factory with 6 others who went there. Vatterott should be burn down. I have nothing against the professors, but just the way they do things. COBOL is obsolete, but they still teach it, everything is widows base, no linux. They don't teach enough, to me it was just self taught. If I known it to be like that, I would stay home, do it myself, and save $27, 000. Another thing was a lot jobs that I applied for said I lack the skills, but I didn't understand that. All they teach was basic Visual Basic, HTML, little bit of java. The place was at 6100 Thorton Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50321, now its moved again for the fifth time. Its a fraudulent school, check up on it first. I should have stayed at Des Moines Area Community College, but I didn't feel like taking the extra curriculum classes. That screwed me up BAD.
Well my name is Tee R.

spikesurge83
spikesurge83
Saint Louis, US
May 24, 2010 12:37 am EDT

I graduated from the Sunset Hills, Missouri campus in August of 2008. I agree with angrystudent here. For two years I have been trying to get pc technician jobs and help desk positions only to be told over and over countless times that I do not have enough experience. Hell even when Vatterott tried to help me they would e-mail me job postings that I was not qualified to do. Every job I interviewed for required a ton of other things that Vatterott didnt cover.

The problem is the first two classes we all were forced to take should no longer be taught. Is it really important that I know how resistors, capicitors, and diodes work. Don't get me wrong I'm glad to know it for [censor] and grins but a total waste of time and money. Then they have an entire DOS class which was hell for me to learn. I did recieve A+ Certification which helps. But despite the fact that I have over 7 years with computer hardware and configuration...hell I've build several PC's and still that can't convince employers to hire me. I only got my degree of AOS Computer Systems and Network Technology so I could get an entry level IT job.

You know what? My Vatterott degree is complete crap the education was lousy they're job assistance sucks and the lectures were severely lacking in up to date information. They spend way too much time on "old" technology and nothing up to date. They're so called state of the art facilities are crap at least in the CT program. Hell the PC's we broke down and rebuilt were probably torn down thousands of times. I agree its good to learn the old stuff as you will deal with machines that use IDE hard drives for example but why not learn SATA why not learn the lates in memory technology why not let us learn with Solid State Drives.

I hate to say it but Vatterott was a total waste of time and money that I will be paying for years to come. To this day $26, 000.00 in student loans. I will say my instructors were awsome and I liked every one of them. It's not them that I resent, it's the entire program. Don't even get me started on they're general education program I had to go through. Most of that consisted of stuff that a 5th grader could do. More on that some other time. To all of you that got screwed with Vatterott I totally feel for you and wish you the best of luck. I'm going back to what I'm good at...Sales. And maybe later in life truck driving

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BurnedandFuming
, US
Mar 30, 2010 12:03 pm EDT

I have a son in the same situation. They didn't teach any usable technologies. No languages, other than HTML. No operating systems. It wasn't a matter of what he put into it. It was a full failure on their part to offer any training that could translate to usable skills for the marketplace. When it came time to "assist" him in finding a job (they tout that they will help you find one), all they could help him find was a job filling ink cartridges. Now there is a real IT job! And no, it wasn't a matter of not projecting the right image either. He couldn't even get interviews. I asked a friend who received his resume for a job opening. My friend told me his company won't even look at people from schools like Vatterot because they don't teach any usable skills.

So now my son is unable to find suitable work and is in default on his loan.

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Bnae
Atlanta, US
Aug 11, 2009 5:20 pm EDT

The origianal vatterott in St Ann missouri, told me that I wouldnt do go ### a paralegal, but ### a secretary, and when they foun out that i was in default on my student loan well that interview with them went out off the window instead of telling me how 2 get on of default. they did me a favor. I was young and naive then, I glad some one was watching over me Good luck

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E.Fudd
, US
Jun 03, 2009 3:58 pm EDT

onsecondthought I started in IT in 1977. I have some working knowledge of Vatterott and its Computer Technology curriculum. Any "so called" college level institution that in the year 2009 teaches Windows 2000 as current technology, fails to teach linux and fails to provide learning benchmarks that are related to working technology is way off target. This school is simply a cash cow and it uses every avenue and angle to squeeze state funds, federal funds, grant money. parents and students. The only way Vatterott gets that money is to keep its learning standards low, thereby insuring that as many students stay enrolled as possible. That school is a farce. There are scores of former instructors and students who are well aware of this.
If you honestly believe that this school teaches contemporary technologies or actually gives a hoot whether its graduates are top notch competitors in the job market, I would encourage you to enroll and spend your money and see if your opinion remains the same. Vatterott college is one big snowjob.

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onsecondthought
Nevada, US
Jun 02, 2009 11:49 am EDT

You only get out of education what you put into it, if this job did not find you qualified for the position maybe you didn't project your qualification very well in the interview, or maybe you just interview poorly and this was a "nice" way of them telling you that you didn't perform in the interview how they needed. It sounds like you are disappointed in yourself and are displacing your anger on to the school you attened. I came from a 4 year state university and had teachers that read out of the books I also had to take a lot of classes that did not pertain to my major, which from what I understand your school did not require of you, which cuts the time you have to attend down. While you have every right to feel "cheated" maybe you should reconsider the reason why...where you "cheated" by the school or did you "cheat" yourself by not fully utilizing all the resources offered?

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