My Student Loan Truth: Kristina’s Virginia College Story

Via the Project on Predatory Student Lending

This is Kristina’s student loan truth.

“I was focused. I had goals.”

When Kristina Jefferson enrolled in the cosmetology program at Virginia College last year, she thought she would have been proudly walking across the stage at her graduation with her cosmetology certificate this month, and prepared to take her cosmetology licensure examination, but the school failed her. Virginia College’s abrupt shutdown last year was just one of many instances where the school failed her and the rest of its students.

Thousands of students like Kristina have been left with no school, no education, and tens of thousands of dollars in debt by Virginia College and other schools owned by its parent company, Education Corporation of America.

If you were a student at Virginia College, Brightwood College, Brightwood Career Institute, Ecotech Institute, Golf Academy of America, or New England College of Business, click on this link to find out more information about the status of the schools and how you may be able to file a claim for a refund if the school has any assets left.

How did you hear about Virginia College?

Virginia College had a lot of commercials with people explaining their life struggles and how the school helped them. There was one commercial with a Black woman riding the bus that stuck out to me. She was homeless, and she had two children. She decided to go to school for Medical Assisting, and it bettered her life. After attending Virginia College, she got a job, her life improved, and she had more stability. She didn’t have to ride the bus anymore. I understood her struggle because I relied heavily on the bus for transportation, and I, too, wanted to better my life.

That was in 2014; I decided to go to Virginia College for Medical Assisting because I wanted to care for people. I know how it feels to be sick. I am a good listener. I wanted to help lift people’s spirits.

They never helped me get a job in the medical field. But I had taught myself how to do hair and had been doing it for years, so in 2018 I decided I wanted to hone my skills and get licensed. I had seen a lot of online advertisements on Facebook and I took it as a sign that I should do the cosmetology program, so I enrolled last year.

What did they tell you about the programs and getting a job when you started?

Both times they said we were guaranteed to get a job after we finished the program. It was not true, and all they did was send links of jobs from Indeed. I was living with my mother and was not financially independent. I had to take the bus which required me to wake up at 4am to get to school on time; I even had to walk on the highway. The school promised me that they would help me get a job and help me get an easier commute, but they did nothing.

Describe the educational experience at Virginia College.

We had to teach ourselves. The instructors didn’t want to help us understand or answer questions. For the cosmetology program, they only taught by showing us videos. The instructors also didn’t teach us certain skills they said they would. We were supposed to learn how to do makeup, but instead, the instructor gave us a paper printout with a face and we used colored pencils, our own makeup, or the school’s outdated makeup to color in the face.

They promised we would get jobs, help with our resumes, they would teach us, and that our credits were transferable. They didn’t keep any of those promises. They didn’t even keep the school open!

How did you get your student loans?

When enrolling I met with the financial aid people, but they didn’t explain anything to me. I didn’t know the amount of loans the school was borrowing on my account. They told me everything would be covered by student loans, but toward the end of my time at Virginia College, I was told I had a balance and wouldn’t be able to receive my certificate if I didn’t pay the balance. That’s on top of the more than $30,000 in federal loans I have because of them.

What impact has Virginia College and this debt had on your life?

They really ruined my life, and it’s not right. I had goals. The school closing just made it harder for me. I have to start all over now. I was told that my credits were transferable, but it’s not true. Basically, my transcript is worthless. It’s just a bunch of words. It’s not right.

Some policy-makers doubt that for-profit colleges are a problem – what would you say to them?

It is a problem when they are just trying to make money and don’t care about the students. Virginia College closed down and people are suffering. It is not right. They took our money and then closed and left the students to try to fix what they caused.

The Department of Education has refused to cancel the loans of thousands of former students of for-profit colleges. What would you say to the Department about the need to cancel these loans?

They need to be more understanding of situations like this and protect the students. It’s not right.

Sound familiar? Do you have a similar story to Kristina’s at Virginia College, Brightwood College, Brightwood Career Institute, Ecotech Institute, Golf Academy of America, or New England College of Business? Click on this link to find out more information about the status of the schools and how you may be able to file a claim for a refund if the school has any assets left.