Please help!!!!....Im in need of it:(

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Here is alittle back story.....

I moved to Colorado FOR nursing school I was accepted into a OVER priced private school(around 25) and decided it was the best thing to do because I was getting older(yhea I was 24 then and now that I am about to turn 26 I have to laugh about this comment!) and I was tried of waiting and didnt want to do it anymore so I was looking for a FASSSSSSST option

Well I started school and was a GREAT student I think :yeah: I was completely dedicated TOO nursing school and spent my life eatting and breathing it.

Well after I finished my 2nd session and was on break going into my 3rd session my younger and only 15 y/o sister was killed in a car accident:cry: It of course took me by surprise....I guess no one guesses their sister is going to die a month after her 15th b-day.

Well I immediatly flew back to be with my family. I also called my program director in the lewl of all this(I still have NO idea HOW I manage to call her!) and told her I needed to be put on a LOA. I had been a great student and this horrible accident just happen to happen durning our Memorial Day break so I left a message and told her several ways to be able to get ahold of me.

Well when I returned home I called the school and was told I was DROPPED FROM THE PROGRAM INSTEAD OF PUT ON A LOA:no:When I asked why they told me they didnt exactly NO why:no::no: Well after some digging I found out it was a clarical error and when going further the DON told me it was probably better because I would of been in NO STATE TO RETURN TO SCHOOL!!!!

I was told I would have to reapply and go infront of a board and tell them my story....

well I did and to say the least I was told it I could re-enter the program

Now the hard part......

In the mist of all this the "school" I went to sent back to loans and then the balance that WAS owned was but in collections....keep in mind THIS happen because of a ERROR that was THEIR FAULT I was that even thou my price would go up(yhea you got to LOVEEEEE private Nursing schools!!!) to 30k for my LPN that the remainding balance would just roll over and I WAS OK with this because I was almost done with my schooling and I just wanted to finish my last 3 sessions!

Well to find out that is NOT true and I have to pay 4k now before I can even START back in school and I am just devasted :stone & on top of that I figure and was told by a rep at the school by the time I COULD come up with that type of money(keep in mind I have OTHER loans I took out to go to this school) the price of their LPN program would most likely be around 33k atleast...

I feel like I am/was being punished for my sister being killed in a car accident :cry: & to just add to the pain I already have I feel like my dreams of being a nurse:nurse: has been ripped away from me!!!

I have come to a few conculsions and I need help deciding what to do!

1.

I pay them the ammount and re-enter the school I was at. Realisticly I CANT afford it to be honest I would be putting my family in a really hard place, I figure on top of the 4k I would have to pay I am going to have to take out additional loans and make payments to the school and I am figuring those could be around 500 a month atleast....there are some people that pay 1200. If I got lucky my payments would be maybe 300 but that is probably NOT going to happen and because they raise their prices every 1-2 new sessions they are not even willing to give me a ballpark price.

I will also have atleast 20k in student loans to pay off when I am out of the program.

I also hate to say it I am bitter toward the school....

2.

I found a school in the area that is willing to let me "test out" of all my pre reqs other then ENG 121 which I would have to take at a community college. There program is 11 months and I would have to start from the beginning. There program is only 5k and has a great reputation. I could MAYBE get into the Septemper 2009 class but realisticly I am looking at September 2010 which means I wouldnt be out of school till 2011:imbar

3.

I have thought about another option which is probably the hardest one for me the grasp even know it could be a good one. Most of the BSN programs in the area do NOT have a wait list and I could apply to one of them, but it is hard to realize that I wouldnt even be working as a nurse till I was atleast 30 and that is if ALL the cards fall right and I pass all my classes and get right in to the 1st class I can!

4.

I could try to get into one of the over price private schools in the area for my RN which would set me back atleast 50k from what I have seen and heard:banghead:

5.

Get on a wait list at one of the CCC's in the area which for LPN's and even worse for RN's is looking about 2 1/2 yrs-3yrs IF You have all your pre reqs(remember I did my pre reqs with the private school I was with and they WoNT transfer!) If I am willing to move out of Denver I might be lookign at 1 1/2 yrs-2 yrs but my husband has already moved for me across several states for me to go to nursing school and has a great job and I dont feel like I can ask him to do this again for me even thou he probably would:redbeathe

ANY AND ALL ADVICE IS WELCOME I FEEL LIKE I AM BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE AND JUST NEED SOME HONEST AND STRAIGHT FORWARD ANSWER!

Thanks in advance:wink2:

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Is this school accredited by the NLN? I would report them. I might also seek legal help to force them to correct their errors.

I am so sorry to hear about your sister, that is a terrible tragedy for your family. Please don't let these stupid clerical mistakes deter you from reaching your dreams. If you don't make it to full on nurse status until you are 30 so be it. You won't be the oldest nurse starting out and you only get wiser with age.

Honestly, I wouldn't stay with that school after all of their mixups and insensitivity. I would go with the reputable local school. While you are waiting to get in you can take courses that will be required to go on to your ADN and your BSN so you don't feel like you are wasting time.

:icon hug:

Best of luck to you.

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I hate to name the school but it is Concorde and from what I have seen and heard I am not the 1st nor will I be the last to have them "mess up" and the student have to pay the price. I feel like it is almost my FAULT because I had heard some of the horror stories and I still went there because I knew I could get in and done fast....I guess that is what happens when you try to "cut corners"

What just really sucks is I tried soooo hard and put my all into it & to be honest it was one of the few things I have ever worked THAT hard to do.

I just hate how I got screwed :(

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Im sorry for the loss of your sister.

I too lost a sister this past January in an automobile accident.

I had just started LPN school (private) and this terrible tragedy happened. The director of the program was understanding and I had a LOA for a week with out being penalized.

I cannot believe your school was that insenitive to your situation.

I am 37 and will graduate in December.

Only you can make the right decision.

You have invested so much money and time to this school but they seem to be in it for the money.

Take care, do what you think is best

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Specializes in Hospice.

Because your school didn't process the LOA correctly, your account was audited as a drop, and all loans the school was NOT eligible to keep based upon your attendance were sent back to the dept. of ed. So, Ed should be o.k. with the situation as far as paying back your loans, hopefully you didn't take out any private loans. It sounds like you didn't. You have a few months to re-start school before they demand repayment. I'm sure you will so that's probably a moot issue.

As far as the SCHOOL is concerned, once they did what's called an 'interrupt audit' they returned the FA they weren't entitled to to the government, and are now going after you for the balance.

They don't have to do that. You need to write a letter to them, sent certified mail..to their corporate office as well as to the 'Director of the Business Office' (sometimes called the 'bursar') And explain in detail what happened to your sister, who you called and when as far as your LOA, and that you know that it's up to them to determine how much you owe, and that in light of their error, you should owe nothing. This is simply bad business, and they are perfectly able to waive your balance in light of their mistake.

Once you've done this, then contact the attorney general in the state where you live immediately. Don't wait or threaten them. Simply tell them that you've forwarded copies of your correspondence to the attorney general, since they are a private business, as well as the accrediting body of their school..and to the Fed. Dept. of Ed. And then do just that.

I was the person solely responsible for graduate and interrupt audits when I worked at a private school. The Dept. of Ed. has the same process for all schools receiving title iv funding that governs how they manage the money they receive. Your situation has happened to kids who went to school where I worked at, and the director of the business office, after approval from our corporate office, was fine with the charges being waived if someone had made an error.

This is serious issue, and because they are a privately run business as opposed to a public institution, they're treating you like a business matter and if you don't handle this accordingly, you'll be raped.

I'm really sorry they did this to you and that their school is run so poorly in this area. It shouldn't have happened.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I am so sorry to read about the loss of your sister.

From what you have written I would start doing pre-reqs and investigate community colleges in your current area. Different ones often have different criteria for admission. Mine was strictly based on gpa and the scores on an entrance exam, no waiting list. I drove 90 minutes each way to my LPN program at a CC but it was worth it.

Unfortunately schools are not obligated to grant LOAs so I would pay whatever you owe them and just move past that whole awful experience. In a couple of more years I bet you look back on 26 and think it sounds very young also. Wishing you all the best. Jules

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Specializes in Acute Mental Health.

I like what OhDaughterof.... wrote. Sounds like good advice and certainly couldn't do any more harm.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I don't understand how someone could tell you that you wouldn't be fit to come back after a leave. Everyone deals with grief and loss differently. They should be ashamed of themselves for not going the extra mile to be supportive. :icon_hug:

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Specializes in Hospice.

Unless specifically mentioned in the contracts you sign, schools are obligated to grant LOA's if they say that they offer them, and you fit the criteria. If they say 'we'll only give you one if we feel like it' then, that's fine, and YOU have to abide by that.

However, this is frowned upon the dept. of ed. and if it's made a habit, they'll be audited for it. Which happens on a regular basis, and is VERY VERY thorough.

If nothing else, the steps you take right now will probably give some one a heads up to audit them which, for a school that isn't on it's toes..is a nightmare.

I'm so sorry for what you've been through.

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Im sorry for the loss of your sister.

I too lost a sister this past January in an automobile accident.

I had just started LPN school (private) and this terrible tragedy happened. The director of the program was understanding and I had a LOA for a week with out being penalized.

I cannot believe your school was that insenitive to your situation.

I am 37 and will graduate in December.

Only you can make the right decision.

You have invested so much money and time to this school but they seem to be in it for the money.

Take care, do what you think is best

I am sorry about your sister too I wish I could say that I dont know how you feel but I do. The "boy" who is was responsible is going to trail or will be offered a deal this month and it is bringing up as if we are going through it for the 1st time almost:crying2:

I have to thank you ALL for all the great advice I am DEFINTLY going to write a letter I was told to do this(well to write a letter but never really WHO too) and I always felt like I was UP AGAINST A WALL almost. I will say as silly as it sounds I was almost scared of them I didnt want them to take anymore from me I seriously felt like for awhile they had taken my dream of being a nurse away!!! I know that isnt true now but it has been hard to grasp to be honest

I contacted Concorde(the school) and asked for STRAIGHT answers about how much it would be EXACTLY to re-enroll and finish. . I have a hard time understanding WHY some of these private schools its sooooo hard to get answers from!!! I also requested my transcript WHICH I have to have them FIX because they had the NEVRE to say I failed all of my 3rd session classes & clinicals.....I NEVER attended any of them I have proof I was in several states away(my sister was killed on our Memorial day break and I never came back) I dont want some other school thinking I failed a WHOLE session!!

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