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Go"Kaplan College - Watch Your Ledger Card!"
Read about my experience first, and if you decide to enroll, my best advise is for you to watch your ledger card very carefully! After earning my Associate's degree, I decided to return to school to finish my Bachelor's degree. I decided to go to Kaplan for two reasons: I received an ad promising to give me $1,000 and waive the technology fees, and my employer has a partnership that provides a 12.5% discount off of tuition. With an anticipated bill of $30,000, the 12.5% discount made a big difference, especially since books are included. I am now close to graduation, and the past two years have been a constant battle with Kaplan's Financial Aid office. There have been many problems, but the two that have been the worst have been the incorrect billing and fight over the promised $1,000 tuition credit. For the first year, Kaplan tried to send me to collections after every term (every 10 weeks). Turns out they submitted my federal loan information as a "freshman", which meant I received less money, and they never applied the 12.5% discount. After repeated calls and emails, I finally filed a BBB complaint. Kaplan promptly applied the 12.5% tuition discount and promised that in my final term they would credit the $1,000 in response to this complaint. You would think that after the BBB complaint, they would bill me correctly, but every term I have to call and email repeatedly to get my tuition rate corrected to reflect the 12.5% discount. If I wouldn't have checked so diligently, I would have paid thousands of dollars in excess tuition. This isn't just an inconvenience - calls to Financial Aid get routed all over the place, people hang up on you, and when you do get to someone they tell you it will be fixed and then don't fix it. I tried emailing my Financial Aid officer, but most of the time he never responded and nobody will tell you who the FA Manager is. When I was finally able to get this person's name, even that got me no response. I found the Assistant Director, and those emails also often go unanswered. Also, I was awarded a "Success Scholarship" which was to be paid $400 each term, up to a maximum of $3,000. This too was never applied and I had to call each term to get it corrected. In March of 2009, it wasn't applied, and when I inquired I was given so many different responses. First, I was told that I never applied for the Scholarship and so wasn't entitled to it. This, after it has already been applied in multiple terms. Then, I was told that my grades were bad, but I never got below a 3.8 in any term (you had to maintain a 2.5 or something ridiculously low). Then I was told that it was fixed, but it wasn't. Then I was told that it was because they had already paid out the max of $3,000. When I added up the amounts on my ledger card, it added up to $2400. When I questioned this, it was finally applied. I am still fighting for the $1,000 credit. I am in my last term, but Kaplan now says that they won't apply it until I complete my degree program. The Assistant Director of FA promised a response yesterday afternoon, but I still haven't heard from her. Kaplan markets itself as a school for busy professionals, but you can't talk to anyone except during the day when most busy professionals are working. So - if you are considering Kaplan University - watch your ledger card carefully. I haven't had a single term where I was billed correctly. Prepare for a frustrating battle if you have to talk to Financial Aid. And be prepared to only talk to people during "normal business hours". Great if you don't have a job, not so great if you do.
