Corinthian College Students: What Do We Do Now?

So if you are an Corinthian College student, there is anywhere from 75,000 to 100,000 of us, you are probably not feeling very excited about who you chose for your college. I am not too excited about who I chose either, I am an “active” student at Everest. I am reading reports that they may not be open on Monday.

I started with Everest 3 years ago and I have completed 49 classes with them towards a Bachelors and I was/am 4 classes from graduating. Well, if the last two weeks of this term is finished, if not I will have 7 classes left. So what in the world are we supposed to do now?

Reports are clear, as well as stock prices, Everest’s parent company is going down. I do not know how quickly this will happen, however when it is announced that they may have close publicly, I suppose the chances are good this will happen. So, if you are like me, you may be freaking out, worried, unsure and a bit on edge. I was especially so, after I read on one article that it was likely no one would take my credits.

Well guys, I talked to an advisor from University of Phoenix last night and they seem willing to take the credits, although I may have to take a few classes that Everest did not have an equivalent for. The worse news is that I have to complete at least 10 classes to get my degree minimum for “residency rules.” So, it may not be all gloom and doom, however this will set me back another 9 months at their current full time load, as well as cost me another 18k, where my degree with Everest was only one more term from completion, around 4k. BIG difference!

So now that I know, all the double work I did was for naught, that time and the next 9-12 months will also be a waste, lets talk about money. Time is irretrievable, however money is not. So there is a big hoopla about getting these loans charged off. Sounds great right? Well, there are some big strings attached and many consequences that need to be taken into account.

First off, you have to make sure you are eligible, I will give you the link at the bottom. And if you have loans through Perkins or the Education department, this can be 100% charged off. Now here is the catch. If you finish your degree at another college, the charge off will be rescinded and you will have to pay it. Also if you go into a comparable educational program (though I can’t find an actually definition on that) you will also have to pay back these loans.

More strings as well, the charge off, say 20,000 dollars, will be considered an INCOME for the tax year in which it is discharged. So in a twenty percent tax bracket, this is going to be 4,000 dollars you will have to pay in taxes! Pretty big string if I do say so myself. This would be a good way to go if you are going to just throw in the towel and give up. Your time is wasted and so is the money that you will pay in taxes. All of this for nothing.

For me, my education will now cost 14,000 dollars more, as well as suck me for another 9 months of my life. So the question is, is it even worth it?

So now, what about the taxpayers that will have to eat the cost of these loans that are discharged? With our policies, the school will not have to pay back these tax payers, or the students for their mistakes. There is no plan or discharge for the excess money that will have to be spent on finishing somewhere else. The company will go bankrupt, so there will not even be a company to sue.

I was hoping to answer questions, although it seems I have probably added more questions instead. What do we do now?