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  • Report:  #1162707

Complaint Review: Al Collins Graphic Design School - Tempe Arizona

Reported By:
Chadwick - Gainesville, Florida,
Submitted:
Updated:

Al Collins Graphic Design School
Tempe, Arizona, USA
Web:
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Categories:
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It has been so long now, i cannot quote to you the exact year I had attended Al Collins Graphic Design.  I can say that I was there before the name changed to Collins College, and before they had a computer graphics department, which was under construction at the time.

I was under age to receive a loan on my own, so I had to have a co-signer, my father.  I also had to send $200.00 and a portfolio of my art and skills before being accepted to this school.  That, at the time, seemed to me to feel like a good school.  The idea that they were scanning through applicants, to see who was actually skilled in art, and who were not.  $200.00 fee ment they had a large number of applicants, and wanted to weed out the more serious ones from the less skilled.  My father and mother had just divorced, and that left my father in some serious debt, let alone, his credit was shot.  As I talked to a recruiter, he had told me that they had a program that IF my fathers credit score did not pass their requirements, that i was still eligable for some sort of loan, and that I was still on track to attending their school.  I sold my car, packed my bags, and Am Tracked it to Arizona from North Carolina. 

 

Now, When I and the recruiter were talking, I had said, "I am already skilled in art, drawing, painting, ect.  There is not much you can teach me there, however I would like to learn to put my art on computers.  Be it Video Games, or Animation.  He said they had a graphics arts department, and that would be right up my alley.  I was out of state, and was placed in some appartment complex, with 3 other roomates.  I was lucky, I guess, from some of the reports I have read on here.  We all got along great, and were some of the best friends I had at the time.  However, 2 of them were into some real heavy drugs.  Not something I would have wanted in my HOUSE.  But enough of that. 

 

I had started my classes, and within 2 months i had began to realize a ton of things were very wrong.

ONE:  Remember that $200.00 review fee for a art portfolio?  I looked around my classroom, and to my amazement, only ONE kid in all my classes could actually draw.  He was doing Comic Book art.  Every other student could have been out drawn by a kindergardener.  And I am not exagerating.  AWFUL.  Completely disgusting artists. 

TWO: The classes I was attending were things like "Lettering", "Coloring", "Advertising"  Nothing at all to do with graphic art.  In fact, the coloring class, I had been asked to teach MY techniques for a week.  I had some of my art on the table, and the teacher, (great guy, BTW) saw them and said they looked as though I had colored them on a computer, photoshopped or something.  When I told him that it was only color pencil, he said "Will you like to show us how next week?"  I was excited, sure.  Always loved teaching, however, here I am paying them money for me to teach them how to color.  That's when my bells and whistles went off.

THREE: As I am sitting with my buddies at lunch, outside, I was looking over at a building that was under construction.  Plastic, scafolding ect.  I had asked "What's that going to be?"  Someone responded, "Oh, that's the graphics arts building." 

"Wait, you mean thats an extention for it?"

"No, that IS the building.  The courses are not here yet."

"Well what the hell am I taking?"

I looked over my degree, and lo and behold, it was some crap degree in advertising.  Let me warn you, I hate advertising.  I hate those who advertise, I hate the entire industry.  There was no way I would work for a degree in that dispicable field if I was paid to take the classes.  The lump sum of my degree would have come out at $45K, not including intrest. 

I marched up to me recruiter, and asked him what the hell was going on?  I thought I was here for graphic arts, and here I find the building is not even finished.  So I am in some advertising degree.  This degree would set me in some feild like magazine covers, CD covers, and so on.  I told him to go to hell, and packed up, and headed home.  I withdrew, broke my lease, screwed my roomates in the lease, and rent, and went home with a scar of $4,000.00 in loans.  Now, keep in mind, my father was paying these loans, not me.  I am not eligable for a loan. 

Months later my father had to file for bankruptcy, and upon that moment, I was of age, 21, and the loan sharks came after me.  My father already wanted to sue the recruiter for lieing, let alone, break his legs for sending him so far into debt, and lying. 

Years later, and as I grew up, I wanted to go back to school, a real school, and get a real job.  Dream Job, in robotics, or areospace.  Again, Lo and Behold, I find I am in default.  Default to a scam of a fraudulent school.  I had talked to all my roomates for years after that horrid school, and they all dropped out, because the degrees they were going for were crap degrees.  LET it be known, we were all bright students, and were the head of our classes.  All but one guy, but he had a good heart.  We did not leave because we could not hack it.  I joined the service after that crap.  I was top of my division in boot, top of my class in A, B, and Sea/C Schools, and was the fastest to gain rank in Pearl Harbor Hawaii in 15 years.  from E2 to E6 within 4 years.  I served on a submarine.  I LOVE school.  I love learning.  I watch only Discovery, History, and other channels of the sorts.  I spend hours opn youtube learning stuff from air brushing to streatching canvas.  I cannot stop learning junk. 

This School, Al Collins, has to be sued, even though they are closed now.  Someone has to pay for the number of lives they have ruined.  Although I was only 4K in debt, the intrest over the years has sent my credit to BAD, and is now defaulted.  They have tried to garnish my wages, but I have avoided them every step of the way.  I do not owe anyone anything for a all out money scam. 

I have read on WIKI that "Collins College" has been investigated in their loan department.  That alone should tell everyone that something went wrong here.  If there was a case against them, I have not found it.  If it is still pending, please count me in.  If it has already been pressed, what can I do right now? 

I went under a program with the governments Education Dep.  and paid $50 per month for 6 months consecutive, and am still in default.  I want my life back.  I want A life.  I want a real job.  In this day and age there is NO room for such scams. 

 

I need help.

 

 



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