ARTICLE RESPONSE 2/3/2019

                                              FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE SCAMS

              For years, colleges have provided students the ability to gain degrees to further their credibility in their wanted field. However, in the college field, a snake in the grass known as 'for-profit' colleges have been draining the life force of students, and their pockets. It's a trap essentially, to promise students a glorious class filled with the knowledge of life, and leave them ensnared in thousands of dollars that will loom over their life no matter they do. It's cruel corporate greed and manipulation on the colleges part, and the further students fall into this trap, the worse it will be. This is why it is extremely important to be conscious of where you apply, and who you give your trust to when it comes to cold hard cash.

              These for-profit colleges have a funny way of targeting their victims. Imagine, you are a single parent who struggles to make ends meet, and a stunning, beautiful college swarms you with advertisements, promises of loan help, and statements such as "Make your life better!"  or "Get up and do something with your life.". It must be hard to deny that, especially when it's an onslaught. Statistically, they mostly lean towards African-Americans, Veterans returning home, and single parents, says Adam Harris in his article, "The Lifelong Cost of Getting a For-Profit College." Another author of an article exposing the greed of these colleges agrees, Gillian B. White states they use "savvy persuasion" in order to grab in desperate students.
              That barely scratches the surface of the scam and artifice of these colleges. After taking these often expensive classes, the student loans are the most damning things to ever be seen on this planet. White says in her article, that "the amount of debt owed by those attending for-profit colleges has grown from $39 billion in 2000 to $229 billion in 2014." Those numbers are most definitely outrageous, and most of the time, students cannot pay the debts they've accumulated by the end of their graduation. That would be expected, however, with the average salary of graduated student simply will not make ends meet. With the high cost of rent, food, driving, and general living expenses, it is most likely that those students will remain tied to this lethal debt. And when those schools close? Loans must /still/ be paid off! Due to the fact these organizations are for-profit, there is little to none loan forgiveness. One organization that closed, Corinthian College, has over 10,000 students still swimming in that debt. And to pay to who? A closed school that went bankrupt. Not to mention, kiss your degree goodbye! It's usually nullified, and reduced to a simple certificate of shame.
             
              As for my personal take on these colleges? I was way in over my head when I sent in my email and phone number to one of the many out there. Unfortunately, it is true that they spam your email and phone. I had over three emails after the second day of signing up, asking me to call an adviser and book a date to visit the campus. Which was quite insane, when I only requested additional information about cost that was not listed on the website. It truly did try to lock me in, and I'm very glad that I have such an astounding teacher who warned me about the dangers of these colleges (Thanks, Ms. Licata!). I'm appalled by greed, but I also must take the fact that there must be decent ones still out there. However, these articles definitely made me make the decision to choose a public college.

              In the end, it's wiser to choose a public, trusted school that is non-profit, than a money-grabber that has the chance of closing, and your degree becoming nothing. It's much safer, and as shown above, a way to save your mental stability, and your wallet, to be conscious of your college choice.