Apollo Group/Axia College/University Of Phoenix Stole my Financial Aid from me!!! Phoenix Arizona

First of all my response is not directed towards the original report, just one of the many people that have responded to her. As for a FAFSA not being electronically signed you are very mistaken, I signed my FAFSA electronically as well as my MPN. Your financial aid will cover your class costs, it will not cover a class you have failed. When you fill out the financial aid part of your application with the university you do give them the permission to ask for however much money you put down when it asks you how much you want out of what you "could possible" receive. Of course this amount all depends on your dependency status and your family contribution. I have been through a similar situation with Kaplan before I came to UOP and when they recieved my financial aid they they only kept a fraction of what they received to cover the part of the class that I had finished and then returned the rest.

First I want to tell you that you are all wrong about the Financial Aid. This can be done by a college and it has been. I was the victim of a college that did this 20 years ago and am still trying to straighten it out. Many times colleges ask for income tax information, they have your social security # and they have access to every page of your Financial Aid. I have found all of this out.

The school controls how you get your financial aid and when. The Government only approves the aid and notifies the school and sends the check. From that time until you begin paying your student aid back the school is in charge.

The woman who owned the school that I attended was telling many of the students they were not eligible for the student aid and getting the checks and transferring the money to her account. When we discovered what was going on we went to one of the professors and she helped us to file paperwork with the Dept of Education.

The school was shut down by the Federal Government a few months later. None of us in my class have ever recieved our diplomas even though we had by that time completed our entire course of study for our degree.  She managed to destroy many of the records before they seized what was left. All of us who had filed against her, she destroyed our financial aid records at the school and also most of our transcripts and student information as well. She was prosecuted, went to jail and was ordered to pay back the money. When she got out of jail (only a few months later) she promptly filed bankruptcy and the students loans unpaid fell back to all of us students to pay.

It has taken me years and years and years to try to straighten out this whole mess and I am still trying to continue my education and unable to access financial aid because of what she did. I finally found who was holding what was left of the records and found out that out of two years of going to college there was only 2 semesters of my transcripts and nothing else in my file.

This woman ripped me off for over 6,000 dollars that I had no way of recovering. I am not the only person who has experienced horror stories like this.

If they really did file for financial aid without your permission then you need to contact the US Dept of Education and file a complaint against them. This is a federal offense and one that happens so much more than any of you posting to this thread would ever believe.

I continue to plug away at getting my mess cleared up. When this happened to me there was not the internet access to records like there is today so just keep calling and researching until you get answers. You can also go to NSLDS  and access all of your financial aid information to start.

I know many of you are going to say we should sue her but the school is gone, she filed bankruptcy and as a matter of fact she, her husband and son later started a business and embezzeled money from their customers and all went back to prison for that. She died of a heart attack in prison 2 months after she was sentenced.

The best thing I can tell you from all of this and what we have gone through is to make a copy of every document you submit, make a copy of every document on the web before you hit that send button and keep an extensive file and document everything....EVERYTHING! Good Luck!

An individual is in control of the filling out of the FASFA and any other loans or grants. No university can do this. Yes there is technical issues, duh, it is computers, sometimes it is simple, but other times not. If a person can not deal with these issues, then this person may not be suitable for education or work, because life is full of these same situations.

As a former student of University of Phoenix, I'm having serious trouble buying your story. Although there were a few times that I experienced technical difficulties with the server, you have all week to post. However, if you wait till the last minute like so many other students do, it is generally hard to get technical support because of the high volume of procrastinators they are dealing with. Also, you must agree when you enroll in classes to have and maintain the necessary eqipment to access the network and complete your coursework. You signed that agreement, or you would not have been able to enroll in classes. Don't go ripping on your university because no one is holding your hand and handing out lollipops and giving second chances like in grade school. When you sign a contract with a business, it is your job and no one else's to read the fine print and hold up your end of the bargain. Don't go crying when you drop the ball.

As for filing financial aide without your consent - seriously? Who do you expect to believe that? That is a federal crime. Why don't you go march your behind in and ask to see the FAFSA, and guess whose pen and ink (because that one can't be electronic - I remember because it was a pain to get done) signature will be on that form you probably didn't bother to read? That's right, yours.

I am sorry for your poor experience. It is no fun when server problems cause issues like this. There are certain steps that can be taken to cover these situations, and if done correctly, completely cover you.

A couple things: firstly, you could have restarted the classes after getting halfway through and still experiencing these issues. There is an established process for this through the academic and finance depts. Secondly, you should be aware of all policies having anything to do with money. Ever and always. Be responsible with your finances.

I'm glad you understood why everything should be posted in the classroom. Everything can be tracked there, while personal emails are not as easily tracked.

The final thing is where you said UoP had stolen your financial aid. Upon failure of a course, the student owes the school because the financial aid money does not cover failed classes.

You lost my sympathy when you accused UoP of filling out a FAFSA for you because that is simply not possible. Good luck.

I am sorry for your poor experience. It is no fun when server problems cause issues like this. There are certain steps that can be taken to cover these situations, and if done correctly, completely cover you.

A couple things: firstly, you could have restarted the classes after getting halfway through and still experiencing these issues. There is an established process for this through the academic and finance depts. Secondly, you should be aware of all policies having anything to do with money. Ever and always. Be responsible with your finances.

I'm glad you understood why everything should be posted in the classroom. Everything can be tracked there, while personal emails are not as easily tracked.

The final thing is where you said UoP had stolen your financial aid. Upon failure of a course, the student owes the school because the financial aid money does not cover failed classes.

You lost my sympathy when you accused UoP of filling out a FAFSA for you because that is simply not possible. Good luck.

I am sorry for your poor experience. It is no fun when server problems cause issues like this. There are certain steps that can be taken to cover these situations, and if done correctly, completely cover you.

A couple things: firstly, you could have restarted the classes after getting halfway through and still experiencing these issues. There is an established process for this through the academic and finance depts. Secondly, you should be aware of all policies having anything to do with money. Ever and always. Be responsible with your finances.

I'm glad you understood why everything should be posted in the classroom. Everything can be tracked there, while personal emails are not as easily tracked.

The final thing is where you said UoP had stolen your financial aid. Upon failure of a course, the student owes the school because the financial aid money does not cover failed classes.

You lost my sympathy when you accused UoP of filling out a FAFSA for you because that is simply not possible. Good luck.

I am sorry for your poor experience. It is no fun when server problems cause issues like this. There are certain steps that can be taken to cover these situations, and if done correctly, completely cover you.

A couple things: firstly, you could have restarted the classes after getting halfway through and still experiencing these issues. There is an established process for this through the academic and finance depts. Secondly, you should be aware of all policies having anything to do with money. Ever and always. Be responsible with your finances.

I'm glad you understood why everything should be posted in the classroom. Everything can be tracked there, while personal emails are not as easily tracked.

The final thing is where you said UoP had stolen your financial aid. Upon failure of a course, the student owes the school because the financial aid money does not cover failed classes.

You lost my sympathy when you accused UoP of filling out a FAFSA for you because that is simply not possible. Good luck.

After reading your post I certainly sympathize with your trouble and I believe it is entirely possible that the tech support issues happened as you stated. However, when you stated "They applied for financial aid through the government without me knowing about it and took the money they said I owed from that payment.", I had to suspend belief.

The reason for this is quite simple. There is no way for someone to apply for a Stafford loan without them knowing it. The UOP is very meticulous about obtaining all documentation related to the student loan process. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the student to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application For Student Aid) application online.

UOP has the FAFSA application process completely blocked at all UOP campuses and corporate offices. Additionally, when you apply for FAFSA you have to use your SSN which is not something that an Enrollment Counselor has access to on your application. This field is blocked from view unless it has to be reviewed by someone in the Finance department. Even then, UOPs compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations protect all applicants, current students and former students.
FAFSA also requires tax information which only you (or your tax accountant) have access to.

Like I said, I have no doubts you had some trouble with technical support and customer service. But please do not try to embellish details like the claim you made about the financial aid. All that does is discredit your true statements.