Do you qualify for loan forgiveness or lower monthly payments?
CALL US TO FIND OUT! 800-820-8128

2020 Guide to Brown Mackie College Lawsuit

Brown Mackie College Loan forgiveness is a debt relief program for victimized students of the university. The program will get into effect after Brown Mackie College Lawsuit settlement, which can cost the university more than $95 million. The for-profit universities around the United States had over 100 thousand students till now. They exploited those students and forced them to take the loan, whether directly or indirectly. But right now, the tides have changed, and those universities should payback for their illegal actions. Through Brown Mackie College Lawsuit, the graduates of the university will be able to apply for student loan forgiveness and take their chances for whipping out the debt amount.

Brown Mackie is obliged to pay back the loans by 2022. Besides those loans, the students who left the university during the first 45 days of the academic year, will also be granted the loan forgiveness. We will discuss eligibility factors later, but for now, let’s mention the most important one. Only the students who attended Brown Mackie College from 2006 to 2014 will have an opportunity to apply for loan forgiveness. Along with Brown Mackie College lawsuits, other for-profit schools will go through this procedure. Some of them are DeVry University lawsuit, South University, Art Institutes, and Argosy University lawsuits. In this guide, you will find the available options for avoiding the loan debt and also the possible ways to get a refund from those fraudulent universities. Before diving into that, let us expose Brown Mackie University’s history and see why it suddenly closed.

Classification of “for-profit” Universities?

For-profit universities are the ones that are owned by private corporations and who ask for very high tuition fees. So, the students who want to attend those schools either should be wealthy or should take student loans from them or other private lenders with high-interest rates. For-profit schools differ from other counterparts not just because of the high tuition fees but also for their profit-seeking nature. In standard colleges, the tuition fees are collected for paying instructors, administration of the school, and operating the school programs. For-profit schools have managers, CEOs, or board of directors that get profit from student’s tuition fees. That is the main reason why they see the school as a business entity and try to make money from the back of college students.

Why Brown Mackie School Closed?

The very reason why Brown Mackie college lawsuit started is the same as the reason that led to the downfall of the college. The university got closed because of its illegal practices towards students. By saying illegal practices, we refer to the spread of misleading information, giving empty promises, claiming falsified evidence regarding the job prospects of the potential students, and so on. The general attorney of the state Iowa stated these facts about the school and decided the best case scenario for students would be closing the college and working on the student loan forgiveness programs. Besides these, another triggering factor that led to the closing of the Brown Mackie College was that they were offering vocational programs to students over the years. Though those programs did not have any needed accreditation, and they simply taught it without an official license or professional working experience in those fields.  

Brown Mackie College Lawsuit in Detail

Former students of the college were forced to pay back for the loans which they should not take in the first place. The first amendment by Brown Mackie College came in 2015. In 2015 they agreed to forgive $100 million student loans that were held by almost 80 thousand students. Consumer Fraud leads to other court settlements for the College. In 2016 eleven more graduate students of Brown Mackie filed a lawsuit against the university. What were the claims of those students? The students argued that because of the inadequate training programs that Brown Mackie provided them with, it led them to unemployment.

As they studied for four years in the university, they could not get the training programs that could make them capable of working in respective spheres. The State Nursing Board investigated the university in 2015 and found out that the faculty of the college is not qualified for this job. For example, in medical programs, the faculty used veterinary supplies to teach the students how to take care of human patients after they graduate. This is absorbing. There were several such cases in which unqualified instructors made tons of mistakes, while victimized students did not have a clue about what was happening.

Let’s list out some of the factors why Brown Mackie College Lawsuit started.

  • The college used unethical and aggressive marketing techniques to get the students to enroll. Those requirement techniques are illegal and should not be used by any professional entity.
  • Intending to recruit more students, the college started to misinterpret information regarding their academic programs.
  • They lied to students about flexible credit transfer and made sure that it is straightforward to transfer schools effectively. Of course, this was not the case.
  • Besides, they misinformed students about available curriculum and classes. The school spread the falsified information, which was stating that they have many courses and degree paths. In reality, they did not have any of those.

The lawsuit results were in favor of students as they defeated the multimillion corporation. The final result of the debt settlement forced Brown Mackie College to apply the student loan forgiveness for those students whom they harmed. The reason for this type of outcome was that almost all of the students did not want to attend this college before they used falsified ads and misinformed them about the university’s perspective, employment and graduation rates.

It cost $ 100 million for the college to compensate those students and payback for both federal and private student loans.

How can you get rid of the student loans from Brown Mackie College?

brown mackie college lawsuit

There are two available options for students to wipe out the debt amount from student loans. Those options are:

  1. BDAR
  2. Closed School Student Loan Discharge

At the same time, students cannot apply to both programs. So, they need to choose one. We are going to introduce both of the programs to you, and you can make decisions according to the eligibility criteria and choose the one that appeals to you more. Let’s take a closer look at Borrower’s defense against Repayment.

BDAR Discharge

The BDAR program is designed to help students who suffer from student loan debt. The very aim of this program is to eliminate the loan debt that students should not have if not for dishonest acts by for-profit schools. The Brown Mackie College Lawsuit was adequately investigated, and the school found out to be guilty. So, that is the main reason why students of this school are eligible to apply for Borrower’s Defense to Repayment program. Fraudulent and forced marketing techniques of the university led them to pay back the $95 million. There is a high chance that the Department would approve your BDAR application of Education because the school was found guilty, and till you, thousands of students got forgiveness.

What do you need to know to file a successful application?

The most crucial thing that you need to be aware of is about a $95 million settlement. You need to clarify the case and write down reasons why you were one of those students who got the chance to get student loan forgiveness. Only, in that case, you can file a successful BDAR application for student loan borrower discharge. You need to prove that, if the college did not send, spread exaggerated messages to the public, and led fraudulent marketing activities, you would not attend Brown Mackie College. If you struggle to pay for the loans, do not worry because by following this guide and writing down the application forms, you will have a great chance of succeeding. In fact, if everything goes just like you planned, there is a chance that you may get a refund from the college as well.

How to write a BDAR claim?

First of all, keep in mind that you need to emphasize how Brown Mackie College did illegal actions that changed your mind about attending their university. You need to explain every detail about how the college committed fraudulent acts against you and talk about your case. You need to highlight their empty promises about:

  • successful education programs
  • the employment rate of former students
  • and the success rate of those students, etc.

Secondly, you need to clearly mention that you would never take the student loan if not for attending the particular school. It was the only legitimate reason for you to choose the loan and pay for Brown Mackie College tuition. In other words, you need to explain how the college convinced you and why you took the credit. The personal reasons are significant. Although Brown Mackie accepted all the fraudulent acts that they did against students, it is not entirely ensuring that you will get the loan discharge. There should be personal evidence that shows exactly how the college deceived you. If you experienced any of those fraudulent practices towards you, you need to file an application for BDAR discharge immediately.

Where can you file your BDAR Claim?

You can apply for the BDAR program online by just clicking to the US government’s official website. You can then select the view from the bar and look at the needed procedures. It is the only credible source from which you can file a BDAR claim. You need to avoid the scammers who are floating around and searching for victims. Those scammers argue that they can fix the issue and you need to pay some percentage for them. SO, do not believe those people because the only reliable place for filing applications is the US government’s website.

If you need more information and guidance, you can always use the Student debt Relief Helpline. You can call them via 1-888-906-3065

How can you check the Status of the BDAR Application?

It can take quite some time for you to get a concrete answer from the DOE regarding your BDAR application. Some students get it immediately after submitting; others might wait for at least one year after submission. Though, do not lose hope because of that. Although the approval process may take time, at the end of the day, if you are eligible, you can get a complete student loan discharge, which will be worth it. Betsy DeVos, who is the secretary of Education, is not a fan of Borrower’s defense against Repayment Discharges.

The current government does not like this program, and they can take action against it anytime soon. So, you need to be quick and apply right away. If your application was sent before the time when the Department of Education cancels the program, you would still have a chance to get a loan discharge. Though, if you were late, you will not get an opportunity for student loan discharge, at least from the BDAR program.

Receiving Student Loan Forgiveness through Closed School Discharge

brown mackie college lawsuit

It is another opportunity for students to get loan forgiveness. The closed school discharge is simpler than BDAR. The reason for that is the application process goes quickly. So, students do not spend one year while they wait for the answer from DOE. The eligibility factor for this program is:

  • students should be studying when the college closed
  • or students left the school 120 days before the college closed.

If you meet these conditions, why not give a shot to this program? Before the Brown Mackie College Lawsuit, thousands of students suffered from illegal practices of the university towards them. As a result, when investigators found it, the Brown Mackie college closed immediately. Through this program, you may receive student loan forgiveness. Besides, there would be refund opportunities for students as well.

How to apply for this program?

It is effortless to apply for a closed school discharge program.

All you need to do is go to the official site of the US government regarding the federal loans. After that, you should download the application form and then fill in the blanks.

After you fill the application, you need to send it to the loan servicer. Who is your loan servicer? If you do not know your loan servicer, you can ask the regional VA. Another way to find them is by checking the emails about monthly debt collection reports. He servicer is the company that works with your loan and sends you those reminders from time to time. The procedure can vary according to the loan servicer. Do not worry because asking for help from a loan servicer is your right. They are obliged to guide you through the process. 

Which Program is better?

Both Borrower’s Defense against Repayment and Closed school discharge are useful programs that can help you to some degree. Each has its own advantages. Either the first or second option has the potential to get you a refund besides the forgiven debt amount. We would recommend using a closed school discharge if you are eligible. Why? The BDAR can take more time, and you may end up with extra debt amount from interest rates. Also, you may need to pay for the loan debt until you get complete loan forgiveness.

The eligibility criteria for BDAR discharges are harsh. That is another reason why you have considerably less chance of getting loan forgiveness. Instead, the Closed School discharge takes less time and has fewer qualification criteria for students. You do not have to prove anything in this option. All you need to do is show that you were the student of the college before it got closed and that’s all. Ultimately, the choice is yours, and you need to choose the one that fits your condition. 

Final thoughts

If you are one of those students that suffer from student loan debt, then you have come to the right place. In this guide, we tried to explain to you things that you need to do after Brown Mackie College Lawsuit. All the students of that college from 2006 to 2014 are eligible to apply for BDAR, and the students who had active status in 2014 can apply for closed school loan discharge. Whichever option you choose, hopefully, you will succeed and get approval from the Department of Education.