On The Contrary

The pride and the ignorance.

     When pride is present, so is ignorance. People who are proud are too blind to see what is really happening. They announce their arrogance and deny the correct knowledge. They refuse to understand the whole story. Only bits of information that they are ignorant about are accepted.

     This is something I learned the hard way. I did not know what was happening. Because I was on medication growing up, I could not remember what I learned in school. I was in between jobs and next thing you know I was going to college.

     Granted it was something relaxing to do when I was not working. I lost my job at DirecTv after three and a half years. I began working for Qwest. This was where I was introduced to the other part of our failing economy.

     When I mention anything about this, people speak condescendingly to me. "Well, you are the one who enrolled," they say in a snarky tone. The only mistake I EVER made was give Univeristy of Phoenix my phone number. I was just looking around for colleges that may be interesting. I was not aware of what was about to unfold.

      "University of Phoenix Attack," is a video on YouTube that pokes fun the college's enrollment tactics. This was exacly what they do. They called me many times. I received many e-mails from them. I did not have much time to think about it.

     When I did need time, they asked, "How come you don't want to better your life?" Everyone wants a better life. I never knew that creating a burden of debt was a better life. I thought a better life was a better paying job and less debt. I told them on a few occassions that my job with Qwest may not last long. I was failing the assessment and I knew they were not going to keep me. Again, "How come you don't want to better your life, Jennifer?"

     Enrollment was a blur. I did not understand any of the documents. Nobody discussed with me about how much it was going to cost. I thought I was going for six months and that would be it. I was told in the beginning that it was covered, but nobody told me for how long.

     I lost my job with Qwest and got a new job. Two months of nothing to do between each job. I wrote papers when I took a break between submitting applications. I was thinking of other things besides the mortgage and applying for unemployment.

     I did not understand what was going on until I saw Algebra classes appear. I called and asked to see how long I was going to be going. I had to call. Obviously, nobody told me. She told me that I was going to be attending for two years. I was infuriated. I began to lecture them on their tactic, "I told you people my job was not stable." I asked who was going to cover the second year. I was told that I would be responsible for the second year and that I made too much at DirecTv to have everything covered. At that point, I knew I was screwed.

     I had no choice, but to keep going. Whether I quit or not I dropped out or not, I would have had to pay. I dropped my IT class temporarily. I was stressed because I was stuck into this new mess and I was renting rooms to a bunch of lunatics.

     I split my Algebra classes. As I continued to work hard to complete college and never attend again, the tuition was raised during my last year of college. This is a big fat mess. I had become a paricipant in society. I had turned into one of the sheep.

     By the time I was done with college, college debt reached $3 trillion dollars. College enrolled so many people, there is not enough work to support all of the degrees. They still try to feed you rhetorical devices. Wells Fargo stated, "College debt is good debt." How is it good debt?

     If you do not pay it, it makes an impact on your credit. They can take you to court for not paying a student loan. They can garnish your wages. You cannot waive a student loan with bankruptcy. The only things that will waive it is if you are a volunteer, teacher, or if you die. They call this good debt? They are taking a serious situation and wrapping it with a smoke screen. Here, drink poison, it's good poison, good sheep.

     There is more to it than meets the eye. University of Phoenix began singing a different tune in 2009 when Frontline broadcasted an expository on their tactics. This is footage and University of Phoenix denies this footage with a passion. They show an enrollment person telling potential students lies about what the degree will do for them. This was no where close to what they did to enroll me, but they were crooked nonetheless. Every time I complained, they act empathetic as though they never harrassed me.

     The only time they were the opposite of empathetic was when I complained to the manager. He tried to convince me it was a good idea to enroll for another degree. I told him that there were not enough jobs that paid enough. Why would I want to create a larger bill for a make-believe job? His rebutal was that life was hard. Are you kidding me? My life was already hard, I did not want anymore hardship! The keyword was "NO MORE!" University of Phoenix was ignoring that.

     Even when I was looking for scholarships, they were harrassing me. I received several emails each time I applied for a scholarship. Someone told me that I should have been looking for a scholarship before I enrolled. Really? I never planned on going and it does not matter anyway because colleges are calling you nonestop when you are looking for a scholarship. This made me more angry.

     I would look for another job, University of Phoenix was harrassing me to enroll. I received many phone calls after applying for a job at AT&T. University of Phoenix would call and did not leave a message. They stopped calling after I threatened a lawsuit. Every time they tried calling me, I began placing complaints.

     To top off this fiasco, they do target people. This did not occur to me until I was listening to a report on NPR. An individual mentioned that University of Phoenix began as a business school. My thought: Sales. This was exactly where they get their sales tactic and that is the reason why they enroll people without blinking an eye. University of Phoenix is manipulative. The people who are proud of being a phoenix ignore this information and scold the nay-sayers.

     In this report, he told how University of Phoenix targetted homeless and disabled people. How is a homeless person going to pay back a student loan? How do they expect someone who may be incapable of studying to pass? I began to see more and more what type of school University of Phoenix was. If you fail, they profit. If you go into default, they profit.     

     Lastly, they take a huge chunk of the dispersment money. I would occassionally receive a check for about $200 to $500. University of Phoenix embezzles money. I met students who were attending different colleges. They were receiving way more money from disbersement.

     I would not even refer my arch enemy to this college. If I were to enroll in college again, I want one that is honest. I do not want a wuss for a school. University of Phoenix can dish it, but they can't take it. Just look at their response to Frontline's report.