Chamberlain College of Nursing Arizona- Enrollment/Adviser Issues!!!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

Hello!

Got all my transcripts submitted, finger print card, cpr card, passed the HESI exam.. etc. I had an AWESOME experience with my enrollment adviser "S". Met my student adviser "R". He was okay, straight to the point, nothing exciting.... He gave me my financial estimated plan, and my schedule.

My class schedule and the financial estimated plan needed to get updated, because for some reason they misplaced my official transcript and I needed to get another one, but he said I can just email him a copy of my unofficial transcript so that way we can update everything sooner, as classes may get filled.

Sent my unofficial transcript the following day via email to both "S" and "R". Got a response from "S" saying she received my email and she'll follow up with "R" to make sure he too received the email.

A couple days passed, I didn't hear anything from "R". I emailed him again. Nothing. after two days... I called and left a voice mail. NO RETURN CALL. After the fourth or fifth day of trying to reach my adviser, I FINALLY got to talk to him! (YAY!) And all I wanted to know is if he received my original email. He said "You're schedule and financial estimate should be updated this Friday" Cool. I was a happy camper. Friday came. NOTHING.

Went to school and dropped off my official transcript (NOW I realize I should have seen him when I dropped it off, but of course I didn't.)

A week passed. After calling and emailing him without any response I get an email with my updated schedule and financial estimate. BUT now... my financial estimate was changed to a higher amount, when originally he calculated this without the classes I took and it was thousands of dollars lower. So I was thinking this should have been lower than the original amount since now it includes the classes I've taken.

Finally I scheduled an appointment with my enrollment adviser because I didn't want to talk to "R" anymore. I just feel like he doesn't care at all, and just continues to make excuses about not getting my email/call. He never answers my questions of why there was a huge change in my financial estimates. Hey, it's MY future and MY money right? Why would he care?

I told my enrollment adviser everything and she couldn't believe it. She shook her head, and apologized and went straight to talk to someone in student services.... I was also requesting to have a different student adviser, but unfortunately this was not possible.

Saw "R" again (keep in mind he did not know I was coming, because I made an appointment to see her. "S" updated him with what was going on, while I waited in her office) He had my financial estimate prepared and my schedule updated within 10 mins. 10 damn minutes!

Again when I asked about as to why my financial estimate are all different. This third one wasn't as high as the previous one nor as low as the original one. It was in the middle of the two. And I'm still clueless as to how he got those numbers. His explanation was there was probably a wrong input in data. UM OKAY? And now he told me I was no longer approved for the Pell Grant. When originally I was.

Now I don't know if I should still invest my future in the hands of this adviser whom I will surely have to meet with every class schedule or financial questions I'll have. I was thinking of talking to the dean.....

The end.

lol thanks for reading my looooooong story!

Any advice? Words of wisdom?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I don't know all of your specific, but based on my own knowledge of how commercial schools operate in my neck of the woods - and tales of woe from their students - here's my $.02.

The "advisors" for commercial schools are basically salespersons - they are financially rewarded based upon how much tuition they sell. "Bait and switch" is a frequent occurrence.... prospective students are coerced to sign financial agreements as part of their 'admission paperwork' only to discover at the last minute (too late to take actions to get into a different program) that they will actually have to pay a much higher amount. At the end of each term, they are auto-enrolled into the next term, frequently without even talking to any type of academic advisor. The only 'paperwork' that is never lost/misplaced are the loan agreements and invoices for payment. If they fail to pay on time, everything is withheld, including access to course materials, final grades or transcripts. When they complain, they are referred to the fine print on their initial agreement.

If you are getting jerked already and you haven't even started yet - you have a pretty clear idea of what is in store for you. If you decide to stay the course and remain in the program, keep records of everything. Communicate in email or by letter, so you will have clear documentation of all correspondence. Take names, and record dates / times of all discussions.

BTW, many commercial schools are not eligible to participate in Federal loan / grant programs because they have exceeded the default rates (on student loans) that are permitted. Do some investigation, and you may see that this is the case. Basically, if you choose to attend one of these schools, you are throwing away ~ $20,000 in "free" money that you could have received by attending a different program. You'll have to make do with private loans... there can be HUGE financial consequences for this decision, including continuously increasing interest rates in future years. Even if you don't complete the program, the loans are still there until you pay them off - they cannot be discharged by bankruptcy.

If you want a clearer idea of the chicanery that permeates commercial schools, take a look at this Frontline documentary College, Inc. | FRONTLINE | PBS

I wanted to include this link also http://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/arizona/chamberlain-college-of-nursing-arizona/#.U1pUuVVdVPE Please scroll down to see the estimated total loan cost - and the projection which indicates you will need an annual income of $134,000 to be able to pay those monthly payments. Good luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Sorry, duplicate post

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hey! Thanks for your reply! After thinking long and hard, I emailed the director of admissions saying I'd like to withdraw my application from their school. I immediately get a call back from the student services advisor supervisor, asking me if I had any questions. Of course they call me now! This is the same supervisor that said I couldn't switch advisors. I didn't return her call. I also got an email from the director of admissions wanting to follow up with me if I talked to the student advisor supervisor. I didn't email her back as I already stated everything I wanted to in my email.

This school might have worked for other people, and kudos to them, but once something didn't logically make sense and when my instincts were telling me to not go with it... I finally said to myself nothing is worth it if I'm not happy nor getting the support I need.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment