In Lawsuit, Students Claim College Deceived Them
NPR,org
August 21, 2010
A for-profit college is facing a lawsuit filed on behalf of students who say the school ripped them off. It's the latest in a series of hits the for-profit higher education industry has taken recently.
Earlier this month, investigators showed members of Congress that some schools use high-pressure sales tactics and deceptive marketing to lure students.
Krystle Bernal, 25, says that was her experience at Denver-based Westwood College. Bernal is one of the lead plaintiffs in the class action suit.
In 2005, Bernal vowed to become the first in her family to get a bachelor's degree. She met with a representative of Westwood College who, she says, acted more like a salesperson than an adviser.
"I was really hesitant — she could tell — and she just told me, like, 'I don't think you want to better your life. I don't think you want to better your future. If you can't commit to this, you can't commit to school,' " recounts Bernal.
Bernal says she was told that with a fashion merchandising degree from Westwood, she'd pull down a $65,000 salary after graduation in three years. The cost of the degree was a bit of a shock — $75,000 — but Westwood helped Bernal get federal student loans.
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