Student Loan Truth: Blake’s Art Institute Story | Blog

After personal loss made him take another look at his life, Blake Baron decided to invest in his future and pursue a degree in graphic design at the Art Institute. But he quickly realized that the time he invested in the program and the money he was spending wasn’t worth the terrible education he was getting. Even after leaving the school without a degree, he still owes over $30,000 in federal loans.  This is Blake’s student loan truth. 

What made you want to attend the Art Institute?

Right before I made the decision to enroll, my partner passed away and it was then that I decided I wanted to spend my life doing something meaningful. I was working at a print shop at the time, and decided I wanted to go into graphic design.

The biggest thing that brought me to the Art Institute specifically was that the program was online. I was going to be working and going to school, so this made it super flexible.

 How was the education experience at the school?

When I started at AI, I didn’t get any books and never met any of my teachers. The school would only email me my teachers name and their email, in case I needed to contact them. There were no lectures, just online assignments that weren’t helpful. The whole thing was very impersonal. 

What was the financial aid process like?

When I signed up for the bachelor’s program, I didn’t know how much it would cost. The admissions rep said it was around $90,000 for a bachelor’s degree and I wouldn’t get any aid, but that an associate degree would be lower and financial aid would cover it. They told me not to worry, financial aid would take care of everything.So, I decided on the associate degree, thinking it would be covered, like they told me it would be. But it wasn’t. I would spend hours arguing with the financial aid department on the phone because of the bills I would get.

My days felt like I would argue with them for a few hours, do some homework, go shower, then go to work for 14 hours, only to come around and to the same thing again the next day. 

Did you graduate?

Between balancing work and school, I ended up failing out. I tried everything I could to focus on school while still keeping myself afloat, but they weren’t helpful or accommodating. And in the end, they still sent me a bill for $30,000. 

Did you ever try to go back to school?

I tried to twice. The first time, I tried to go to a different school, but AI used up all my federal aid. So to enroll I would have had to pay an additional $600 on top of all the AI loans I was paying off, and I didn’t have that money.But since then, I’ve successfully gone back to school for phlebotomy and EKG tech. I only have a few months left and I’ve been on the dean’s list the whole time. 

What has managing this debt been like? 

It hasn’t been easy, managing the emotional stress, as well as the financial stress has been difficult. My credit score has been messed up as a result, and I am met with crazy interest rates for big purchases. 

If you could tell the Dept. of Education one thing about the impact these schools have on student borrowers, what would you tell them?

I would tell them that I understand that they don’t want random people to apply for borrower defense just because they didn’t like their college experience. But that’s not what’s happening. These schools are taking advantage of students and there’s a reason these policies exist. It’s to help students who have been defrauded through no fault of their own.