Heald College

I too am a victim of this college. I have recently graduated with honors and an AAS from the medical assisting program. I began my education with Heald in Concord. After I completed my first quarter, I transferred to Stockton Campus and completed two quarters there. In the beginning of my third quarter there (which was my fourth quarter altogether), I was forced to transfer back to Concord, which I re-enrolled. Concord didn't tell me the they had no land classes and gave me online classes without telling. I was surprised with this when the quarter had began and I received my schedule. I was furious. I gave the online classes a try, however, I am a hands on learner. Online classes are NOT for me. Needless to say, I dumped the online classes, sat my fourth quarter out and waited to start again the following quarter so that I could have land classes. Before the quarter began, I worked things out to go back to Stockton, which wasn't agreeable to my husband, being that Stockton was careless with the excess funds due to me each quarter. Somebody carelessly before I ever transferred out, sent all my funds back to the lender and closed out my account. And being that I began one week of my third quarter in Stockton, what I also wasn't aware of, was the $1, 700.00 I was charged out of pocket for that week. So instead, I transferred to Fresno to begin my fourth quarter. Fresno financial aid also held my excess funds to the point I was kicking and screaming for it. EXCEPT for the period that I owed the $1, 700.00. They made certain that I had my money on time and I would receive calls at 10;00 at night before I even knew that I owed this money, harrassing me to make the payment which I didn't have the excess funds yet in my hand to sign over to them. They got those checks to me quick and made sure I wasted no time in getting them their money. I did pay the entire amount through my excess funds. Once that was paid off the money came in and they would sit on it for weeks. Then I applied for Cal Grant and was approved for several heald college's except Fresno, so I could not get the grant money. Fresno heald has too high of a student default rate and was denied new cal grants, however, those already receiving the grants would continue to get it. I should have dropped from the program then. But odly enough, I wanted to finish what I started. The staff will come in from career services and "woo" the students with promised and wonders .. But if you were to walk past any of these people outside the classroom in the hallway, they walk past you as if they never saw you. They are dry and rude. Now, lets skip to my externship in my seventh quarter. They sent me to a small little place where the student who externed there the last quarter was hired. There was no chance of getting hired and there was little there for me to do because of the overcrowding of M.A.'s as it was. So I figured being that they sent other students to hospital settings and other places, where alot of them were hired, that they would keep to their job and send me some good job leads. And so they did, they sent my resume' that THEY checked over and felt was in good enough standard to land me a job, to 3 places, right before graduation but after the last day of school. I also sent 2 of my resumes out. Not a single phone call from any. So, I began to inquire as to why they stopped sending out my resume, because now, they send me online job openings for temporary staffing agencies and other places where you apply online and when you're done, the application will do just what it's supposed to do and just float around in cyberspace. They had washed their hands of me and I knew it. They continued to help other grads find solid job leads and they were getting hired. In the meantime what I got was .. an invitation to a graduate luncheon to fill out online apps that I already fill out at home online from what they send me, an invitation to a job fair with absolutely to solid job lead, just a trip to their job fair to hear about how wonderful some of the hospitals are, apply to them, and hope if theres ever an opening, that they might call me, (which I still applied for the positions in reference to the job fair's, just didn't drive an hour to do it up there). The next one and most important .. I received a phone call from the young lady that was supposed to be working with me at around 4:30 p.m. on a Thursday, telling me that I needed to apply for a position that she just sent me the site to and when I had filled out the app, drive there and drop my resume off. I filled out the app that late afternoon and knowing that most places close by 5:00, I had decided that I would drop the resume off on Monday. Friday and Saturday I had dental work, as my front tooth was seriously chipped and other serious issues. Monday I went to this place, first thing. There at 9:00 when they opened. It was a temporary Staffing Agency and the position I applied for required 2 years experience as does almost every position she has sent me to apply for. They also informed me that basically, my resume was a mess. It had to be re done. Again, thanks to fresno career services, I did just that. However, I felt that I was passed on to a new place so that fresno could be rid of me once and for all. I expressed my concerns to my mother, who in turn, called the vice president. I told her she would be wasting her time, because my husband and I both have tried contacting this man several times in the past of the rezoning of the parking area and he refused to return any email or phone calls. She continued and continued to call him, until he finally had no choice but to answer. She explained my dilemna with career services to the VP and of course, he told her how wonderful I sound and that he wants a student like me on his team because I earned presidents list and highest honors for several quarters and have perfect attendance, with the exception of 4 days straight, as I had no choice, I became homeless. I was then ready to give it up and quit. But still I didn't .. So, of course, he told her all these wonderful things and he would "get to the bottom of it, " and "spend the rest of the day working on this issue alone." I told her not to get too excited, because when he calls her back, he will sound alot different because the staff of heald will stick together no matter what. I was right. He called her back and told her that I didn't "show up" for three "interiews." I then became confused. What interviews were those? I was never set up for any interviews. I was invited to a job fair, and grad luncheon and was told to drop off my resume at a temp agency for a position that requires 2 years experience. It is my guess that there was never a job opening there, this was done to get my foot in that door so that I would accept a job working "assignments" at a temp agency. Is this what I risked $27, 000.00 and 2 years of hard work for? I hardly think that any of these classifies as an "interview." The young lady supposedly working with me has repeatedly failed to communicate with me on all levels in regards to any of this. This is not the worst part .. When a student is in their last 2 quarters, career services will begin to request friendship with the students. Of course, I obliged. I accepted the young lady working with me and another lady, who both requested friends. I have nothing to hide and proudly show several photos of my family and my outdoor life. My husband is a retired minister and I am proud of the facebook I have set up. Unfortunately, the VP expressed further to my mother, that there was a photo on my facebook that was being questioned by the school faculty as to my style of living and that if a "potential employer" were to see this "offensive" photo that suggests me to be a party girl, it would damage any chance I would have of getting hired, being that facebook isn't a private site. I was furious again. 3 of the photos in there were of my husband and I on my birthday last year (2010), at a restaurant in San Francisco. There is a photo of him and me holding a glass of wine and sitting close to the bottle of wine he purchased with dinner another one of me and him and one close up of me .. a silly photo of me holding up a glass of wine and crossing my eyes .. I will not explain myself on these other than to say I am a grown woman and like sooooo many others, I had a bottle of wine on my birthday and this in no way, out of the hundreds of photos I have on my page, displays me to be a party girl. I have several heald students on my "private" page that are very young and have very explicit photos of heavy partying. Two of the three students are working at good places and with the help of career servivces, by the way. Which I expressed in a very detailed email to the young lady who accused me of being a party girl and told the VP this is why they are no longer helping me look for employment. First of all, my page is private and nobody can go onto it, not even a potential employer, without first requesting friendship. Im not sure why they are doing this, but if anyone has any advice, I would certainly appreciate some help. I wasted my time and now I have a loan to pay back that I cannot afford. Also, I have not stopped looking on my own for work. This is an outrage and I regret going to Heald College and any of you out there thinking about it .. Dont expect employment when you get out .. at least not with career services. Get in, Get out, Get Ahead? that is nothing but crap .. Thanks for nothing Heald .. I hope I can find an attorney that will sue the crap out of these people for discrimmination ... I have read some of the other complaints and I have been through almost everything some of these other students from heald are complaining of .. This school is a waste ...