Complaint Review: ITT Technical Institute - King Of Prussia Pennsylvania

ITT is not a real school and I hope the government will close them down. My boyfriend was interested in one of their programs. We visited the school here in Houston, Texas on Blue Ash Dr. Of course they promised him all kinds of BS about making large amounts of money after completing their Electonics Technology program, and because he was on furlough from work at the time(this was right after 9/11) they told him about all these great loans he could get. After I asked numerous times how much the program was and never could get a straight answer, she finally told us, almost 45,000????? HA what a laugh, I told her he could go to University of Houston and get a BA in General Studies for that amount of money. Of course the SALES person was not too happy when I told my boyfriend, that was a 100% RIP OFF and I got up and left and he followed me. My ex husband had a degree in Electronics Technology that he obtained in public Vo Tech school in Louisiana. Of course this was 20 years ago ,1987, but even with that said his tution, books and supplies over the course of the 2 year period ran no more than 4,000 , if even that much. The same program can be taken at North Harris County College for possibly 10,000. My ex husband was trained properly, interned at a reputable company and to his delight ended up working contract for NASA on equipment for several shuttle missions. NOW, for Sallie Mae. I attended broadcasting school and because the school was considered private, they only offered loans through Sallie Mae. I applied and received my paperwork. After reading through it all, including FINE PRINT, I called and cancelled the loan. They wanted me to pay back almost 12,000 on a 5,000 loan. I applied for a personal consumer loan through my local bank, covered the rest of the tuition with money from my savings account, and a small scholarship I was able to win. NEVER EVER DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE. THEY ARE LIKE A PAYDAY LOAN COMPANY, Remember the loan shark "Big Daddy" on Good Times? They remind me a lot of him. My boyfriend ended up going to Houston Community College, changed his mind on an electronics career and trained in Welding and Machining. Tuition and supplies ran him about 7,000. And he is happy with his job, salary and education. Unless a school is offering something really specialized, most communty and 2 year colleges and public vo tech schools (if offered in your area ) offer the same career training, for much less and most credits, unless considered clock hours are accepted at all state colleges with almost no questions asked. As for the woman in Pennsylvania, I hope your daughter who wasted all that time at ITT will be able to secure a decent paying position, but as a MOTHER, you certainly should have done your homework on the school, loans, and financing. just because someone says they are accredited means ZERO!!!! I could open a school in my home and file for some sort of accrediation, but it does not mean what I teach is any more crediable than basket weaving, nor does it mean that any company is going to look at it as a reputable education. Most employers will always prefer real 2 or 4 year college education.

Since my initial complaint, I contacted a lawyer who sues for fraud and he told me that he couldn't help me, because he charges $250.00 an hour and even if we won $25,000.00 in court (and my daughter owes over $51,000.00 for a worthless 2 year associates degree), that I wouldn't gain anything. That's how ITT Tech and Sallie Mae get away with ripping off students because they can't afford to sue and wouldn't benefit if they did. My daughter and I found out that she has 3 separate private loans which she didn't know she had. She thought she just had Stafford loans. These 3 private loans are at 15.25%, 16.25% and 16.25% and they are a variable rate and Sallie Mae won't let you consolidate them with a fixed rate. My daughter's total payments for her Stafford and private loans are now at $800.00 a month, up from the original $700.00 a month which she couldn't afford. Currently, I'm getting ready to send a complaint to the PA State Attorney General's Office and The Federal Trade Commission. That probably won't do any good either, as ITT Technical Institute is a federally traded company on The New York Stock Exchange, with close ties to many banks. They'll never prosecute them or make ITT Tech or Sallie Mae stop their illegal bussiness practices. More and more people will just keep being ripped off and having their credit ruined. The only thing ITT Technical Institute has been forced to do since my daughter saw their advertising, is to put in small print at the bottom that credits will probably not transfer. My daughter was told that her high honors (GPA 3.83) associates degree would get her an entry level job in her field. That her credits would transfer to another school if she wanted to pursue a bachelors degree or higher and she signed for Federal Stafford loans and was told that they would have about a 6-6.50% interest rate instead of the 15.25 and 16.25% interest rate that she has on 3 private loans they signed her up for. Nothing was ever explained to us in Financial Aid and we were assured that they would take care of it. We would have Stafford loans with an affordable interest rate and low affordable payments. ITT Technical Institute lyed to us the whole way around, both on the education end and the financial aid end. How can the government allow these people to do bussiness???? Does anyone have any ideas as to how we can close them down and get them to make restitution to their contless thousands of victims???

You learn your lesson. These schools are nothing at all. You will never pay off your loans, your not going to get anything at all but the same bologne. All you will get is a piece of paper. Its your fault for signing up to a disaster. Hope your proud of yourself.

In regards to the last response to my complaint about the ITT Tech in King of Prussia, PA's Multi-media program. What part of my daughter has applyed for positions she should have been qualifyed for and was not considered for due to a lack of proper education by this campus of ITT Tech in the Multi-media field don't you understand??? She was specifically told by her interviewers why she was turned down, this isn't something I'm making up myself. The one prospective employer even told her that they had hired a couple other people from the Mechanicsburg, PA, ITT Tech campus Multi-media program. They were taught at that campus two programs which were standard in the field and which they used there, that my daughter had not been taught at her campus. Because of the lack of this additional program knowledge which they said should have been taught to her as well, she couldn't be considered for the same entry level position which they had been hired for. How would you like to apply for positions which you along with other applicants should be considered for to find out that you weren't as qualifyed as the other prospective applicants from the same instution just Mechanicsburg campus instead of King of Prussia campus, when you graduated with and had high honors each and every quarter of the program. You were told that the education that you received at King of Prussia was lacking in programs that others from the Mechanicsburg campus were taught in thier education at ITT Tech. Because the education that you acquired at the King of Prussia campus didn't have all the neccessary programs that the Mechanicsburg campus graduates had, that is why you weren't being considered for the position despite your otherwise impressive resume. With being told that, you are very angry and very humiliated. You feel stupid and extremely ripped off which is understandable. Then, when you want to pursue your education further, you are told that your crdits from ITT Tech won't transfer, as the school was not Mid-States accredited. So, you have to start all over from square one all ready $48,000.00 in debt for nothing. My daughter breezed through ITT Tech King of Prussia campuses Multi-media program because she knew the majority of it all ready from taking classes in high school and teaching herself several programs. She all ready did business cards, band posters and cd cover designs for a couple local bands on the side before going to school and the admissions department was told this and shown numerous displays of her art and advertising work when she applyed. She even one an award at a local art/media show before she ever attended ITT Tech. Since ITT Tech she was selected as an example of extreme talent in art design by her current place of employment and an example of her work is featured in their advertising. However, her lack of a complete education keeps her from acquiring an entry level position with her current company in her field. My daughter went to ITT Tech solely for that almighty piece of paper the associates degree which would allow her to be qualifyed for an entry level position in her field. However, once she earned that associates degree without much additional knowledge on her part, she finds out that it won't allow her to achieve what she went there for in the first place. This is because, the King of Prussia campus Multi-media program 2004/2005 first year campus program was in adequate to what other campuses of the same institution were teaching. So, it left it's students with an unusable education with enormous debt through improperly handled financial aid at the school besides. I wouldn't be surprised if at least this particular campus wasn't getting kick backs from Sallie Mae when students would have had less debt had they had all of their education put through on Federal Stafford loans as we were told they would be. My daughter didn't know what she was signing and nothing was explained to her. She did not know that Federal Stafford loans were not credit based and she thought that Sallie Mae and Federal Stafford loans were one and the same. No body ever explained to her, her options or anything financial. All she was told was that the loans would be in her name. When they had her sign paperwork each quarter, she thought that Stafford checked her credit for that quarter to make sure she would be granted the pay out to the school for that quarter. She thought this was just a precaution on their part to make sure that they felt she was qualifyed to pay it back when she completed her schooling. When repayment time came she was shocked tp learn she was paying 14% interest instead of about 6.50%. Also instead of having one Stafford loan for each of her two years, which she could have consolidated together she ended up with several private loans through Citi Bank and Sallie Mae at 14% interest each and she can't consolidate all her loans together. The reason for this is they are different types of loans instead of one Stafford loan for each year of her education as we were told originally. So, since there are several types of loans each with there own 14% interest rate, she ended up with an absurd $700.00 a month payment for a worthless piece of paper. If I would have known that the school financial aid department was going to lie and defraud her this way, I would have applyed for a home equity loan to pay for her education instead. I sure wish I would have, but we thought she would end up withone consolidated loan at about 6.50% interest instead of the mess she has now. My next step if this venue doesn't produce any results in and of it's own , is to forward a copy of my complaint and subsequent replys to rebuttals to the school it's self and the PA state attorney general's office. If the state attorney general's office does no good I am considering a class action lawsuit against ITT Tech King of Prussia campus on my daughter's behalf. I would love to hear from former students of this campus, especially those from the Multi-media program.

I went to I.T.T. Tech in Oxnard, California. I started in June 1999 and graduated in Dec 2000.There were great teachers and great counselors. They also taught us that a degree wont just open the door, but our interview skills. They taught us this too. I landed a career with Adelphia Cable Before I even Graduated as a Desiner/ Drafter making good money. Now Im a designer engineer with an engineering company in South Carolina and making great money with a great company. The problem I see with most graduated from I.T.T., they think they are going to be handed a beefy career on a silver platter with a degree from i.t.t. It aint gonna happen even with a bachelors from a real university unless you dig the trenches. you got to do work and go out and get that career and not wait for it to find you or knock on your door. can a piece of paper speak for you? of course not. it doesnt even have a mouth. you must speak and sell yourself for the thing you seek. now on the flip-side, sallie mae is a big ripoff. I had to file for bankruptcy to clear my citybank loan for i.t.t. after it was discharged, salle mae bought it, which it it illegal for them to do it, and now wants the loan paid off with installments of 1200.00 monthly. that is absurd! 1st it orriginated thru citybank and was on my bankruptcy so it should have been cleared. now i have a second loan called usa funds from sallie mae for more money. that is my complaint.

Mr. Hanlon, In my complaint, I clearly stated that my daughter had applyed for two different jobs in her field of study - Multi-media. In both cases, she was applying for actual job openings in the field. The first one she applyed for she was specifically told that despite her highest honors associate's degree, she was turned down because she had not been taught two of the programs that they used there. Then they told her that she should have been taught those programs, as they had hired two people from the Mechanicsburg ITT Tech campus and that they were taught those programs at that campus. They also told her that they were standard programs for that field. In the second case, she was turned down again due to lack of standard program training in the field at a place she is all ready employed at in a different department. In this different department she is an assistant supervisor. I didn't expect her to get the entry job in the department of her field of study because she was an assistant supervisor in another department. I expected her to at least be considered for an entry level job in that department because her honors associate degree should have made her a qualifyed candidate. However, we found out that she wasn't considered again due to lack of a complete education for the associates degree she got. In plain words, both of these places in directly told her that her education and degree were worthless. If nothing shady was going on here, why did they replace all the brand new 1 year old computers in that class and change the curriculum for the next year which was the second year of the program at that campus? Mr. Hanlon, I wish you the best in your experience with the ITT Tech King of Prussia campus and in future job pursuits. But in my daughter's case, I feel I have a legitimate complaint. I certainly hope they didn't charge you $48,000. for a worthless piece of paper. Also, I'm not alone in my anger at ITT Tech, if you check the site and have listened to the news, Itt Tech has been sued in other parts of the country. While my daughter went to school, she worked a full-time job at which she was a manager and a part-time job also. She commuted 2 hours back and forth to school alone, not to mention her commute times for her jobs. She still found time to study and graduate with high honors at ITT Tech King of Prussia campus. Plus she also found time to hang out with friends. Since she has graduated she has gotten a full-time job at a place where entry level jobs in her field of study become available. One of the turn downs was there, for an entry level job in a department in her field of study( because she wasn't properly qualifyed due to her poor ITT Tech education). She is very well liked in her current department and in 1 1/2 years with the company she was made an assistant supervisor. However, this is not what she wants to do for the rest of her life where she is now. Also, she's not using anything she paid to go to school for in her current department. Because of her poor education at ITT Tech, she is not qualifyed for what she should be considered for just an entry level job in the other department of her field of study. IF THIS WAS YOU WOULDN"T YOU FEEL RIPPED OFF??? Oh, by the way my daughter is still working part-time besides and will undoubtedly end up filing for bankruptcy due to how the financial aid was handled besides. After all, how many people do you know who are making student loan payments of almost $700.00 a month on top of their other bills for an associates degree??? I know recent college graduates who graduated with a worth while bachelors degree who didn't have to pay $48,000.00 and $700.00 a month for their bachelors degrees. My daughter busted butt all through school to earn that associates degree and now no matter how much butt busting she does she won't be able to afford to even pay for the lousy education she got. So, on top of everything else, she'll have her credit ruined also by this poor excuse of a school. I THINK MY DAUGHTER EARNED AND DESERVES MUCH BETTER THAN THE WORTHLESS PIECE OF PAPER SHE GOT AS AN ASSOCIATES DEGREE FROM ITT TECH KING OF PRUSSIA CAMPUS ALONG WITH THE $48,000.00 OF DEBT FOR THAT WORTHLESS EDUCATION!

I am a student at the ITT Tech in KoP that this report was filed on, and I feel a response to this is necessary. I am not in the multimedia program, and instead am a CNS (Computer Networking Systems) student. I chose CNS over multimedia due to the job market. Computer multimedia artists are amongst the hardest jobs to acquire, regardless of where you went to get your education. Although it is from my research where ITT's training is the least successful, a good amount of that has to do with the market at hand. I can only speak from what I've witnessed, but I've seen a good amount of students in my CNS program getting jobs paying $40k-$50k a year starting out, which for an associates degree is quite a large amount of money. 055 ITT also pushes for students to get into the field as soon as possible and attempt to get you your first job in the field by your 7th semester. I'm not sure if things were different when the filer of the complaint's daughter graduated, but as of 2007 most ITT students have an opportunity to start in the field before they even get their degree. The career service's program is in good standings with mega-corps such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, as well, and have placed students with them. You don't get in cahoots with companies of their caliber by not preparing your students for the field Generally the best show of qualification in the IT field is experience. Experience shows more than a degree or certification ever could. If this would have been the complaint filer's daughter's first job involving multimedia, than it would make sense that someone would say she's not qualified due to her lack of experience in the field. Her being a superviser at her other job has no bearing on getting a job involving multimedia if her other job doesn't deal with multimedia. Many IT students from school's all over the country get turned down from their first jobs because they're "not qualified." As I said, this has more to do with actual job experience and less to do with degrees and certifications. My interactions with the staff at KoP's ITT have been nothing but positive I'm an extremely bright student who has always had problems with work ethic, and I failed out of Montco twice due to a lack of motivation and not doing the work. The staff at ITT actually has me motivated to do my work. I always had problems with attendance at school, but since going to ITT my attendance has been nearly perfect over the past year. This school has turned around the lives of many people, just like me. As far as a turnaround of teachers is concerned, when you're hiring people who for the most part are IT professionals and not traditional teachers, you have a much higher probability of someone who may not be a good teacher who needs to be removed. However, I've had the same Program Chair my whole time at ITT, and I've seen the same professors since I started. Overall, I would say the problems stated in this complaint are more based in the field of study than the school itself.