Ashford University Beware of this school! If you transfer, you will not get financial aid release for another school! Clinton Iowa

Something that caught my attention.  You said you are trying to get a degree as a paralegal.  I didn't even know they give degrees in that field.  Also, Ashford does not have any control over your financial aid.  You can stop it at any time.  Sounds like you just didn't do your homework. 

From my experience with loans for school, the student really needs to read and research prior to signing and attending. The way the MPN works and the financial aid works is the main reason for these complaints, and I never see the person complaining take responsibility for their part, rather, they place blame on whatever institution they have been "ripped off" from.

I have had loans for several schools. I had the advantage of parents and friends to help. If a school enrolls you for several classes at once, then they are tying your money up. That is the reason you cannot go elsewhere for awhile. You end up in what they call overlapping. If a school has you enrolled in 1 class at a time, and you are considered full time because of the length of classes, then, the institution is only taking out money for the one class at a time.

It seems to me, and correct me if I am wrong, this person really did not prepare herself for what she got involved in.

First and foremost, check out the accreditation of the school, and read comments from ALL schools. There will always be people with complaints.

do your research.

The reason Ashford is able to do this is because they were given permission to do so when you signed a Master Promissory Note. This basically allows them to take out yearly loans on your behalf for the next 10 years after you authorize it.

For them to stop doing this, all you have to do is close the MPN by contacting them in writing, maybe even electronically, no strings attached.

I'm trudging through the details of the enrollment process now, trying to catch any undesirable elements before I commit, and whether or not Ashford was acting dubiously in this case seems fuzzy here. In my experience it's standard for loans to be taken out for the year in full, in advance. The truth of this lies in whether you missed a deadline, whether you weren't properly informed or something like that.

I'll be drilling them about their financial aid process and practices, and since this is the area where I've seen the vast majority of complaints, hopefully I'll learn something useful. Most universities have confusing financial aid systems, but so far I'm getting the impression that Ashford's isn't anything unusual in that respect.