How to Qualify for a Brown Mackie College Refund via the Lawsuit & Student Loan Forgiveness Program
As a former student of Brown Mackie university, you should know that there are two U.S. Government programs you can use to receive student loan forgiveness, and even potentially qualify for a refund.
These two programs are called Borrower’s Defense To Repayment (BDAR) and the Closed School Loan Discharge Program. I can assure you that these are legitimate opportunities to wipe out your student loans, and, in fact, they’re two of the best Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Programs on offer.
In this post, I’ll explain how each of these programs work, including going through each program’s eligibility requirements,, as well as how to write a convincing application to increase your chances of being approved for a discharge.
If you’re a former student of Brown Mackie College who’s seeking student loan forgiveness, then you’ve come to the right place.
The Brown Mackie College Lawsuit
A while back, the US Justice Department won a $95.5 settlement against Brown Mackie’s parent company, Education Management Corporation.
The source of this lawsuit and lawsuit settlement was rooted in EMC committing several counts of fraudulent behavior, specifically tied to the way that they advertised their Brown Mackie College.
In fact, it’s basically a false advertising case, where the school made false promises or false claims, in order to lure students into taking out loans to attend their higher education programs on the belief that they were more valuable than they truly were.
In the lawsuit, EMC was accused of using deceptive, high-pressure recruiting tactics to generate more enrollments, and as as result of the settlement, each one of EMC’s schools was appointed an independent administrator to monitor recruiting and enrollment practices, ensuring that the illegal marketing activities would end.
But Before I Go Through the Details of the Lawsuit…
Let me first explain that while this is a great opportunity to get rid of your Brown Mackie loans, and while I absolutely do suggest filling out a BDAR or Closed School Discharge Application, you need to be aware that the Department of Education is taking up to TWO YEARS to respond to applicants, so if you need immediate financial relief for your loans, then you’ll certainly need to look elsewhere.
If you're truly struggling with student debt, then you should also consider paying a Student Loan Debt Relief Agency for help. Why? Because the people working at these companies deal with student loans all day, every day, and they're your best chance at figuring out how to get your loans back under control.I've interviewed all sorts of debt relief agencies over the past 10 years, talking to all sorts of so-called "experts", and I can tell you that in all honesty I've only found two companies I trust to offer actual financial relief to people struggling with student loans.
For help with FEDERAL Student Loans: Call the Student Loan Relief Helpline at 1-888-906-3065. They will review your case, evaluate your options for switching repayment plans, consolidating your loans, or pursuing forgiveness benefits, then set you up to get rid of the debt as quickly as possible.
For help with PRIVATE Student Loans: Call McCarthy Law PLC at 1-877-317-0455. They will negotiate with your lender to settle your private loans for much less than you owe, then get you a new loan for the much lower, settled amount. NOTE: McCarthy Law can ONLY help with Private student loans.
If you do decide to call one of these companies and you have a bad experience with either of them, PLEASE make sure to come back and let me know about it in the Comments!
Two Ways to Discharge Brown Mackie College Loans
As I mentioned, there are two loan forgiveness programs available for former Brown Mackie students, the Borrower’s Defense To Repayment program and the Closed School Loan Discharge program.
Since you can’t apply for both programs at the same time, you’ll need to read through the information that I’ve provided here very carefully and select the program that offers you the best chance of achieving student loan forgiveness.
Let’s take a closer look at how each of these programs work so that you can decide which one will be best for your unique situation.
Discharging Brown Mackie Loans via Borrower’s Defense Against Repayment
The Borrower’s Defense Against Repayment program was designed to help students eliminate student loans that never should have existed in the first place, because students only borrowed the money based on lies or deceptions (essentially, fraud!).
The reason former students of Brown Mackie are eligible to have their student loans discharged via the Borrower’s Defense Program is that the school was proven to have committed fraudulent marketing activity and forced to pay the $95.5 million settlement I mentioned above.
Because the school was hit with this huge lawsuit settlement, and because other former students of Brown Mackie have already had their loans discharged, there’s a precedent for getting yours forgiven as well.
But here’s the most important thing you need to know if you want to use the Borrower’s Defense claim to get your student loan discharged: in your BDAR application, you will need to link your claim to the $95.5 settlement, explaining that you are one of the people Brown Mackie defrauded and that your loan was only created because you fell for their deceptive marketing messages.
The good news is that if you follow my instructions, and you fill out the Borrower’s Defense application correctly, then your loan servicer will basically be forced to approve your request for a discharge, and you can walk away from the outstanding loan balance without having to pay another penny!
In fact, if everything goes perfectly according to plan, you stand an excellent chance of not only getting rid of your student loan burden, but also of receiving a refund for any payments you’ve already made toward the Brown Mackie debt.
How to Write Your Borrower’s Defense Claim
First of all, the most important thing you have to do with your BDAR application is emphasize the fact that Brown Mackie did something that they shouldn’t have done, and that they did it to you, personally.
You need to explain that Brown Mackie committed fraud against you by lying to you about the value of their higher education programs and making promises that they couldn’t keep.
Secondly, you need to stress the fact that you never would have agreed to take out a student loan to attend Brown Mackie had you not been lied to, and that it was only because of the lies they told you that you thought it was a good idea to borrow money to attend the school.
In other words, you need to explain that Brown Mackie convinced you that their program was the best thing ever and that you were going to be able to get a great job upon graduation, and that you wouldn’t have taken out the student loan to attend their school had Brown Mackie not engaged in fraudulent business practices against you, personally.
The fact there was a $95.5 settlement against the school will make it easy for you to prove that you were a victim of fraud. However, it isn’t enough to just point out that the school got into trouble with the law. You will need to be specific about what the school did to you personally that encouraged you to take out the loan, which means you have to share some details about what was said, promised, explained, etc.
Let’s take a look now at what specific types of fraudulent activity the school was engaged in that resulted in the $95.5 settlement. As you read through the list of things they were proven to have done, think about whether or not they did any of these things to you.
If you did experience any of the following illegal activities, then your student loan should be forgiven via BDAR, and you really should submit an application ASAP.
What Fraudulent Activity has Brown Mackie Been Accused Of?
Brown Mackie has been accused of paying recruiters enrollment incentives and exaggerating the quality of their academic programs.
In other words, they engaged in deceptive, misleading, and fraudulent business practices. This is why there was a $95.5 settlement against the school.
But remember that it’s not enough to simply point this out on the Borrower’s Defense application, because while you should mention that you’re aware they got in trouble with the law, and there was a huge settlement against them, you need to specifically claim that they did this to you, personally.
Here’s the list of specific illegal marketing activities that Brown Mackie allegedly committed:
- They were using incentive-based compensation to pay their recruiters based on the number of students they enrolled, basically, treating them like salespeople
- The more students Brown Mackie’s recruiters enrolled (ie sold), the more money they made. This led recruiters to use the kind of high-pressure sales tactics commonly seen in used car dealerships
- They exaggerated the quality of their academic programs and told students that they wouldn’t have any trouble finding a good job upon graduation, which they had no evidence to prove was actually true
- They inflated their graduation rates to make it look like the school enrolled only the most qualified applicants, which was far from true, as Brown Mackie enrolled anyone who could qualify to borrow enough money for their tuition
Does any of this sound familiar?
Remember, if you directly experienced any of these illegal marketing activities, then you should qualify for a student loan discharge, and you need to fill out the BDAR application immediately to ensure that you’ll be put in line for consideration.
Where Can I File My Borrower’s Defense Claim?
You can apply for the Borrower’s Defense To Repayment program by going to the official US government website.
This site offers a wizard that will walk you through the application process, but if you want to read the forms beforehand, simply click “View Form” at the bottom of the link above.
Whatever you do, don’t file a claim anywhere else! There are all sorts of scammers floating around who are claiming they can help you file a BDAR Discharge Application, expediting the process, ensuring you’ll be approved, etc., but you really don’t need anyone’s help with this, as it can all be done entirely on your own.
If you’re feeling entirely lost about how to deal with your student loans, and are totally unsure of whether or not you may qualify for a discharge, or whether you should try something else, then I recommend calling the Student Loan Relief Helpline at 1-888-906-3065 to see what they think you should do.
Checking The Status of My Application
The Borrower’s Defense applications are taking quite some time to process, and I’ve received comments from several people who claimed they’d been waiting over a year just to get any response from the Department of Education.
However, do not let that stop you from applying for a BDAR Discharge, because if you satisfy the eligibility requirements, you will get your loans discharged, it’ll just take a while to get through the approvals process.
But you need to apply right away, because our Secretary of Education (Betsy DeVos) has been fighting to close this program down since she first took up her role at the Department of Education, and she is the reason why it’s taking so dang long to get a response on BDAR Applications.
While she may successfully kill the program at some point in the near future, if your BDAR Application was submitted before that date, you should be grandfathered into the program and receive an approval for a discharge even if they close up shop, so be sure to get your app in right away!
Receiving Forgiveness via the Closed School Loan Discharge Program
The Closed School Loan Discharge program is another option if you don’t feel that Brown Mackie defrauded you.
The nice thing about the Closed School Discharge is that it’s much simpler than the BDAR Program since it’s a simple yes or no answer, meaning it won’t take over a year to find out if you’ve been approved for the discharge.
The Closed School program was designed to help student loan holders who were studying at a school at the time it closed, or who left the school no more than 120 days prior to the closing, and like I mentioned, if you satisfy those conditions, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get approved for a discharge that wipes out your remaining student loan debt.
You may even qualify for a refund of any money that you’ve already paid toward your Brown Mackie loans, so if you satisfy the eligibility requirements listed below, I would highly recommend applying for this program.
Eligibility Requirements for Closed School Discharges
I’ve created a page on my website where I go through the Closed School Loan Discharge Program in extensive detail, covering every little aspect of it, but for the purposes of this post, let me first introduce you to general concept of how this program works.
If you were studying at Brown Mackie when it closed, then you qualify for a Closed School Loan Discharge.
If you were studying at Brown Mackie within 120 days before the school closed, you would also qualify for the discharge (even if you voluntarily withdrew from school!).
The only things that could stop you from qualifying for the discharge would be if you already transferred your Brown Mackie credits to some other University, or if you completed all the requirements of your degree program before the school shut down.
If you satisfy these requirements, then you should definitely apply for the Closed School Loan Discharge program because you’re basically guaranteed to get approved for forgiveness.
How Do I Apply for a Closed School Discharge?
Applying for the Closed School Loan Discharge program is easy.
All you need to do is download the application, fill it out, and submit it to your loan servicer, who will then walk you through the rest of the process.
If you’re not aware, your loan servicer is the company who you send your monthly student loan payments to.
Every loan servicer has a slightly different way of processing these Closed School applications, so I can’t tell you exactly what you’ll need to do after submitting your paperwork, but your loan servicer is obligated by law to explain that process to you and to help you through it to ensure you get the loan discharge that you deserve.
Which Program is Better? Borrower’s Defense or Closed School Discharges?
They’re both good programs in that they can both get rid of your outstanding student loan debt, and each also has the potential of refunding the money you’ve already spent on your loans, but I would lean toward using the Closed School Loan Discharge if you qualify for both programs.
Why? Because Borrower’s Defense Applications are simply taking too long to process, and because the approvals process for BDAR claims is somewhat subjective: it’s based on convincing whoever receives your application that you really do deserve the discharge because you were lied to.
With the Closed School Loan Discharge, you don’t really have to convince anyone of anything other than that you were a student of Brown Mackie’s within 120 days of their closure, so it’s basically a yes or no question rather than a subjective thing.
Therefore, assuming that you are one of the lucky few people who qualifies for both discharge programs, I would suggest that you first pursue the Closed School Discharge simply because you probably won’t have to wait as long, and your odds are much better of getting the approval to come through.
Ultimately, the choice is up to you though.
Will I Owe Taxes on Forgiven Debt?
You, unfortunately, you will have to pay taxes on whatever amount of money ends up being forgiven.
Forgiven student loan debt is considered taxable income by the IRS, and the worst part of their rules on forgiveness isn’t just that you have to pay taxes on the amount forgiven, but that you have to pay it all at once in a single, lump-sum payment.
Let’s assume that you use one of the two programs I’ve discussed here to discharge $100,000 of student loan debt. If your taxable income rate is 30%, then you’ll end up owing the IRS $30,000, and they’ll want you to pay that all at once!
Nobody I know has that kind of money laying around, especially people who are having trouble making their monthly student loan payments, so I’m fairly certain that this is going to create a massive problem for most borrowers who receive forgiveness.
Because I know people will need help with this massive debt that the IRS slaps on them, I’ve created an entirely new website called Forget Tax Debt where I offer the same kind of advice I provide here about student loans, but specifically for IRS debt.
If you’re having trouble with the IRS and are looking for solutions on what you can do to get rid of that IRS debt more affordably, you may want to start by reading these articles from Forget Tax Debt: Filing & Paying IRS Back Taxes, IRS Tax Debt Settlements, The IRS Fresh Start Program, and IRS Tax Debt Forgiveness.
Where Else Can I Ask Questions?
If you have any other student loan questions, be sure to visit other pages of my site where I cover Private and Federal student loan debt in extensive detail.
If you need Federal Student Loan Relief, try visiting my pages on Federal Student Loan Forgiveness, Student Loan Bankruptcy Discharges, Student Loan Delinquency, Student Loan Rehabilitation, and Student Loan Wage Garnishments.
And if you need Private Student Loan Relief, you’ll want to look at my pages on Private Student Loan Forgiveness, Private Student Loan Consolidation, Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Discharges and Private Student Loan Defaults.
If you have other questions about the Borrower’s Defense Program or the Closed School Loan Discharge Program, visit the official U.S. Government pages for each of these programs, which you’ll find here and here.
Finally, if you have any other questions that you just can’t seem to find the answers too, please post them in the Comments section below and I’ll try to get you a detailed response within 24 hours.
Thanks for visiting, and if this page helped you out, please share it on Social Media or email it to your friends, family members or coworkers who you know are struggling with student loan debt of their own!
Disclaimer:Information obtained from Forget Student Loan Debt is for educational purposes only. You should consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions. This site receives some compensation through affiliate relationships. This site is not endorsed or affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education.
Hi I attended Brown Mackie San Antonio Texas 2014 2015 and was going for criminal justice. They sold the school pretty well it was the fall where everyone I I graduated high school with was in college but I didn’t want to do the whole college thing so I don’t really remember but I know I was contacted about this school very late in the day actually and was scheduled that week so soon to go and tour the “campus” . Same day I was enrolled and everything happen so fast actually. I attended for about 4 months until I just couldn’t believe of how a joke that school was everything was so easy but also didn’t really stick to what I was going for each month was a different class that didn’t pertain to the degree and supposedly I was gonna graduate in 10 months and get an externship but seeing as how the school was set up I could tell something was off. Now 2020 I’m still paying them back through wage garnishment and they take my income refund and this has going on for about 3 years. I heard I could get my money back but I want to be in contact with a legit person that can help me possibly get my money back and or get rid of this debt.
Hi Ryan,
You may be able to qualify for a Borrower’s Defense to Repayment Discharge.
Hello,
I attended brown Mackie College in findlay Ohio from 2012 to 2014. I graduated with my medical assistant diploma. However, the little Grant’s that they offered I did meaning that I took out 6,000 each time I could…and would get a lump some of that money the entire 2 years i was there I’ve only received a little under 1000. That the rest would go to paying off my loans. Turns out that was a huge lie. Non of that extra money went towards paying my students loans off. The school stole that money from me! I eventually graduated and it took them 2 years to send me my diploma. They told me I had to pay $1000 to get my diploma. While attending that college they promised so much that they were the best college around that they had a 99% graduation to job rate in the field you were going for. They hyped up the courses so much and made it out to be fabulous and nothing was up to what they had said. They make the school and programs sound so good and amazing but in the end it was a huge waste of time and a huge debt alot of students cant pay off. Nothing like paying a boat load of monrt to a school that was sued for fruad! $40,000 for student loans & the rest of the money that was supposed to go towards student loans that they kept for themselves.
Hello, I too am Victim of Brown Mackie fraudulent schemes. My story is a little bit different seeing how I had only been a “student” for 2 months before being forced to withdraw. Well, I have epilepsy and I ended up having a severe seizure that prevented me from going to my classes. They had a policy that if you missed more than 4 days in a month you are dismissed. Well obviously I thought my medical situation would be understood. Especially since I had papers from the emergency room showing that I was in fact in the hospital with a brain concussion and 2 swollen black eyes from my fall. After recovering I ended up going back to the school to find out this devastating news, (seeing how i was just beginning so i was in still in the optimistic stage!) As I questioned my options and provider the “advisor” with my reasons I missed my days she stated I would have to Pay a readmission fee. which was almost as equal as the tuition fees. So I was completely discouraged because i didn’t have the funds to pay to reenter nor did i feel obligated to pay for something because of a disability i have no control over. NOW here I am trying to figure out my options from removing this debt from my life. I filed taxes a few years back and they took my entire federal tax refund. So this year I am planning to file but I do not want to be garnished of funds I worked hard for because of a school who has been sued and no longer exist!!! What can I do to expedite my situation? please if anyone see this and has any suggestions!
There’s no way to expedite the situation. All you can do is apply and hope it works.
I used my GI Bill to pay for my schooling at Brown Mackie. Do you have any insight on where I would go to get those restored? I’d love to use that benefit at a real school this time… Thanks for your help
Hi Isaac,
It’s really difficult to get GI Bill Benefits reimbursed, but you may be able to do it with a Borrower’s Defense Discharge.
Would I qualify even if the student loans are paid off? I was swindled by these people, they’d harass my phone, constantly calling to get me to enroll, I was working three jobs at the time and they used that information to lead me to believe that going through their program that I would get a great job upon graduation, so I was enrolled after much pressure via phone and email. (I still have the emails from 2010 enrollment). I never got a job in my field upon my 2012 graduation. I was swindled by being told to pick up the book list I needed for class from the library, just to find out they had already “purchased” my school books for me, and it was taken out against student loans with no way to refund. I also still have the email that said if I know any former Brown Mackie Student to tell them to go back to school.
Basically I have the evidence needed, I’m just wanting to know if they’ll refund loans already paid? I paid mine all off while in school and a couple years following.
Hi Lindsay,
No, if your loans were paid off then you won’t be eligible.
Hi I completed july of 12 didnt have graduation till Nov of 12 but had been promised job placement once graduated and needless to say I never received help wit a proper resume and i only received one call on jobs after I graduated and nobody was ever around when I would call to ask bout other jobs that were close to me I’ve not received any Bill’s over my loans which I’m sure are delinquent or worse status and the one time i had talked wit someone bout my loans and getting them forgiven since it had been over 5 yrs from graduation and had not gotten work wit in my degree come to find out the people i was talking to were scammers whom i had given my info to before learning this and had got me for $600 so I’ve been hanging up on anybody who calls bout forgiveness and been to scared to talk to anybody else but need to do something bout this I dont want to be stuck wit a bill for a degree that never got used
Hi Juanita,
If you were promised job placement, then you may be eligible for a BDAR Discharge.
I attending Brown Mackie College in 2008-2010. Was informed my credits would transfer to other local schools if I decided to further my education. Well turns out they lied because no other colleges will accept Brown Mackie’s accreditation. Now I am forced to pay for classes I need to retake since no credits will transfer. Also when I signed up for Brown Mackie they told me tuition would be a certain amount, after graduation my loans added up to be double! I have applied to the BDAR and when I checked on the status it states as being closed??? Any suggestions?!
Hi Jennifer,
If you were PROMISED credit transfer then you may be eligible for BDAR. You should contact DOE to ask why your application was closed.
I graduated from Brown Mackie in 2015 with a Business Degree and now I feel like the school’s reputation is the reason that I haven’t found a job. I have enrolled with the only school I could transfer my credits to and now they just informed me that they no longer will be accepting Federal Financial Aid. I don’t know what to do about this situation but I am definitely going to seek relief from my Brown Mackie Loans. Do you think I should seek the same with my current school if I can’t afford to stay enrolled due to the fact that they decided not to continue accepting financial aid?
Hi Crystal,
Yeah, so even if a school does have a bad reputation, that won’t be enough to get a discharge. You’re going to need to come up with a stronger argument for the BDAR discharge against them.
I don’t give a lot of advice about the other end, on taking out loans, but my advice would be to try and avoid as much debt as possible.
Hi Tim
I attended Brown Mackie in Phoenix Az. for my Associates in Health care Admin. I was told upon graduation , possibly earlier I would be placed in a lucrative job. I was also told Brown Mackie Credits would Transfer to ASU, and Brown Mackie would transfer my Military credits over. Not only did they accept checks from the VA ( which I had to pay back) reporting me as in school when I was temp dis enrolled for a deployment, They took excess VA book funds which was supposed to go to me after all my books were paid for. When they were taken to court I had only one class left. They contacted me saying my program changed and I now had nine classes left. I fought this and won. I was placed in an externship . my program was education program was complete but Brown Mackie dis enrolled me from my externship right before they went under. I was not able to complete and they argued back saying I didnt meet the requirements I get no degree but am on the hook to BM and Fed Student loan. Which program do you suggest i use for forgiveness.
Hi Gage,
I think you could make a compelling case for a BDAR discharge, but you may need to review my Guide to see the types of stories you have to tell in order to qualify for the benefit. Yours might work, but it’s not all that bad really.
I went to Brown Mackie in South Bend, IN and was told I had a Pell Grant because I was going through a divorce and had 2 little kids I was trying to raise by myself. I was also told they would have a joined up for me when I graduated as a Paralegal Assistant. I maintained a B+ average dispite all I was going through. Then after about 14 months of being there, they pulled me out of class one day and told me they felt I wasn’t doing as well as I should be doing and I needed to take some time off from school to work through my problems and then I could come back and finish. When I tried to go back, they would not allow me to and I received a bill for 30,000.00 in student loans. I was devastated that they would prey on someone going through such a difficult time. Especially when I was trying to get a good job, so I could take care of my children and give them what they deserved out of life. Is there anything I can do to get rid of this loan?
Hi Abby,
Are your loans Federal or Private?
Same thing happened to me at the Bedford Campus.
I electively quit my job after 10 years to get my degree as a Surgical Technician.
I failed one algebra class and per Brown Mackie I had to sit out three classes. The counselors told me by doing this I could align back up with my classes.
Each time they would have me sign an Absent not Attending and then I would pick my classes back up after I had taken a month off .
The last month of my sitting out they told me to sign a discharge and the following month they would have my schedule. I was excited that I had finally completed all my prerequisites and was getting ready to start my major.
I had a schedule emailed to me with my upcoming Concentration classes.
Then, I get a call from the counselor 2 weeks prior to my start date saying I was denied re-entry since I withdrew. I did what the school counselors advice me to do. I was on the deans list , A/B student and never missed a day of class. The dean would not even speak to me to answer any questions and the staff was clueless to what was happening. So my time at Brown Mackie was a waste of an investment in my future education. Everything they promised were lies. Now they want me to re-pay student loans and no degree. I had no choice but to go back to work and now have this student debt over my head and my salary is the same as it was before.
If I had know the school was going to shut down I would of never enrolled.
M, Villegas
Hi Maria,
It sounds like you might have an argument for a BDAR Discharge here, but you’ll need to explain what went wrong VERY clearly, including making it obvious that the school’s advice is the reason you failed to get your degree.
Even with that said, this may not be enough to get the discharge. Try reviewing my Guide to Successful BDAR Applications for other ideas on things that make you eligible for a discharge, and see if any of those specific arguments apply to your experience.
Hello,
I attended Brown Mackie in North Canton Ohio in 2009. At the time of coming to check out the campus and talking to enrollment staff, I was told that they had a Medical Sonographer program, and that I had to sign up under Medical Assisting because that program had to be completed first. I was enrolled for 3 months before I found out that that was a LIE. They had withdrawn over 9,000 dollars of school loans and Pell Grants for that period of time. I knew I had to leave before they took more money under my name.
They didn’t even hace a medical sonographer program!
Hi Victoria,
Hmm, this MAY make you eligible for the BDAR Program, but I would probably review the rules and look for a stronger argument. I’m not entirely sure that this alone would get you the discharge.
How do I figure out which of may loans are Federal and which are Private? also, am I able to consolidate either?
Contact whoever services them and ask. The servicer is whoever sends your bills.
I am a 2008th year student in brown mackie and I have experienced the frauds done by brown mackie and I was selected for the course even though I haven’t passed the entrance examination by a recruit. Am I eligible for borrowers defence program . Please help me.
Hi Swarupa,
Well, your point about not passing an entrance examination does’t sound like fraud, but if you have other instances you can point to then you might be able to qualify for a BDAR Discharge.
Hello. I just graduated from Argosy in December 2018. Planning to file for Borrower’s defense but not exactly sure what to say on my application. Could you help me?
Hi Ashley,
Check out my Guide to the Borrower’s Defense to Repayment Application, where I walk you through the types of arguments that help increase the chances of getting your loans discharged.
Hi! I attended Brown Mackie in Akron between 2007 and 2009. I was a very naïve kid, and bought into all that was promised to me. I ended up finishing my degree in June of 2009. Only to find out after graduating my transcripts were not transferable or recognized from Brown Mackie. I was not told this upon enrollment, and it took me about 4 years to get a job related to my field after graduation. I am currently on IDR and PSLF plans through Fedloan. Can my debt still be discharged? Total I have about 50,000 in loans on a two year degree….. I am ashamed. Any idea if I will still be considered as I am currently on a PSLF and IDR plan? Please advise.
Thank You
I don’t understand you story here. You graduated from the school, but were then told that your transcripts were not transferable or recognized by the same school?
Why were you trying to transfer transcripts after graduating?
If you make this your argument on your BDAR application, it will fail. Read my entire post and look at my suggestions for writing your arguments.
Hi, I graduated from the Brown Mackie College in Birmingham, AL in November of 2013. I was told I would be paying $50.00 per month on my student loan. Well, I got the bill after I graduated from my loan provider for $378.79! I asked them why I was being charged this. They told me I only would pay $50.00 if my loan was below $4,000. Brown Mackie took out a loan close to $40,000! The school closed two years ago and I’m still struggling to pay back this loan. I feel like I was lied to by Brown Mackie. What can I do to fix this problem?
Hi Lois,
I would look into the Borrower’s Defense to Repayment Program. It definitely sounds like you got swindled with a bait and switch here, where they promised you a much lower price than they ended up charging.
I attended Brown Mackie North Canton, Ohio. The Sallie Mae ( 2 ) loans were given and sold to Navient who charged me 8.6 % interest and 6.8% interest. I talked to Dept. of Education and paid via credit card to have the loan dismissed by the sum of $ 900. They said that my loan was dismissed and not to reply to Navient. I now am receiving a Garnishment of Wages. I am not paying back 63,000 for a worthless piece of paper ! They were legitimate as they knew my past education for Medical Assisting which I did not disclose to them and paid the entire amount. What can I do to rid myself of this burden. I believe the fraud to be Sallie Mae and Navient, as well as Brown Mackie North Canton, Ohio.
Hi Patricia,
If the Department of Education says that your loans were dismissed, then it sounds like there’s a mixup here. Try contacting the Student Loan Ombudsman Group to see if they can help you resolve the legal issue. This is a FREE service offered by a group of Government backed attorneys, and they may be able to advocate on your behalf.
You know what irritates me is not only am I $49,000 in debt from these lying pieces of crap, but I wasted almost 3 years of my life that I will never get back. I was a single mother trying to survive as it was & couldn’t do it then. Here I am now, trying to go back to school and now just finding out that, the school isn’t accredited & that nothing I took counts towards anything. I’m beyond pissed.
Hi Kate,
If the school wasn’t accredited, but claimed to be, then you should be able to qualify for a BDAR Discharge against them. That’s fraud.