Medix College Medix School Unethical business model Etobicoke Ontario

I worked at Medix School/College as an Admission Counselor.  First of all I needed a job right away and needed something to fill the time until something better came along.  I showed at their Etobicoke campus....well, when I say campus....I meant a shopping mall located in the Lawrence Square shopping centre.  I sat in my car confused, perhaps thinking I got the address wrong.  Why was school inside of a rundown mall located in a shady section of Etobicoke?  Looking around it was clear that the area had geared-to-income housing around it.  Looking around the campus as I entered, I didn’t see that image I first had of walking into a medical career college as they describe themselves as.  There was no picturesque imagery of the college life I had imagined.  I felt like I was on the wrong side on tracks.  I felt like Michelle Pfeiffer in that movie Dangerous Minds.  Although this story doesn’t end up like that.

It didn’t take me long to figure out what that school stands despite their rather remedial programs they offer to people who want careers in health care.  Medix opens up campuses in shady areas of town on purpose.  It’s what they have been doing out of their U.S./Canada offices for years.  Right, think about it.  Smart students go to real college or University.  But what about Dabreesha living in the ghetto near the Lawrence square mall.  Dabreesha is 26, is a single mom of two kids, and has no skills.  No way Dabreesha is getting into University of Toronto.  Dabreesha doesn’t even have a high school education. What does Dabreesha do?  Dabreesha goes to Medix School/College.  Dabreesha qualifies for OSAP quite easily because of her circumstances and that’s exactly what Medix loves.  Do you get it?, They open up schools in locations where a majority of the potential students will qualify for grants, a school close to publics transportation bus terminals, a school where you can finish a certain program in less than a year.  

The whole business model that they offer is catered to making money from government loans and grants, and offering the students an entry level career into the healthcare field.  Their programs at just that, entry level.  What backfires on this whole sad story is that the students themselves can barely pass the entrance exam to get into the school, they drop out, they don't qualify for loans because they already owe, and they get fired from their placements for not showing up.  It’s just a complete train wreck from the start.  But it’s an expected train wreck, it was designed that way.

Meanwhile that student has now an inflated OSAP dept. that they have to pay back, and all they have to show for it is a diploma as a PSW.  They make 13.00 an hour.  That OSAP loan will never be paid back.  That student's credit will be forever destroyed.  And Medix wipes their hands clean of everything.