Westwood College left me in debt with a worthless degree. Fort Worth, Texas

I got a 2yr degree (AAS) from Westwood's Fort Worth campus in 2009. It was a struggle due to the way their classes are structured. I had to quit my job at Verizon Wireless where I was making really good money just to do it. There tuition is so high I should have just went to TCU. On top of my student loans I was paying them almost $400 a month but hey, I'm dedicated to getting an education.

Before Graduation I began speaking to a national recruiter for Westwood College. The plan was to go to the South Denver campus to get my BA. They didn't offer it in a brick and mortar campus in DFW at the time and I wasn't to keen on online classes. This national recruiter was supposed to have everything set up for me, enrollment, financial aid all that he said was ready to go. When I arrived in Denver no one on that campus even knew who I was or why I was there.

Finally I get into classes but I need to work so I took a term off (Westwood doesn't do semesters), found a job and tried to register for online classes. They wouldn't let me with out a co-signer even though I paid them in full from my own pocket in Fort Worth. The only campus demands a co-signer. So after being in Denver 8mos and completing only one term. I come back to Texas.

Still determined to get an education, I go back to the fort worth campus because they now offer a BA program. Just as the term is about to begin they tell me that one of the classes I need is now offered online only and that they will register me. The next day I'm told that the brick and mortar campus can no longer register students for online classes. Students must enroll themselves and guess what, the still must have a co-signer to do so.

I was 38yrs old at that point. My mother's retired and on a fixed income. My father died when I was 20yrs old. There is no co-signer for me.

A friend suggested I try UT Arlington. He became outraged when I told him what I was paying Westwood over and above my student loans. He told me about lawsuits and legal disputes against Westwood College and that I should never had attended in the first place. Then he told me that when he was at UT Arlington he actually got money back at the beginning of each semester after his tuition was cleared. I was convinced.

I'm a senior now at UT Arlington with only 2 semesters until graduation and now my financial aid has reached it's aggregate limit thanks to all the worthless time I spent at Westwood College.

I think the government should stop allowing Westwood and schools like it to use federal funds i.e. loans and grants until they are recognized by a regional accreditation board. Westwood throws the word national accreditation around but that accreditation doesn't give value to any degree you get there.

Months away from a real accredited BFA in film and now I'm out of money cause it was wasted in the wrong place.