By 2016, I was encouraged to advance my education and pursue my BSN. That’s when I heard about Chamberlain University. It sounded like the perfect fit — I was told I could finish in as little as six months, that I’d only pay one semester at a time, and that there would be no out-of-pocket costs. The admissions team made it sound like a streamlined path forward. It wasn’t.
Eighteen months later, I was nowhere near graduation, and my debt had ballooned by another $45,000, bringing my total student loan balance to $75,000 — and I still didn’t have a degree. Every time I asked how close I was to finishing, I was told “just another semester or two.” The promises felt endless, vague, and increasingly disheartening.
What’s worse: before I even began the program, I had emailed asking about credentialing in my state and clinical eligibility. The response I got was delayed and full of mixed messages. One advisor assured me they were “working through compliance,” but I was never given a definitive answer. That means I was never sure the clinicals I would complete — or the degree itself — would even be recognized by my state’s Board of Nursing. That ambiguity is one of many red flags I flagged in my Borrower Defense application.
By 2018, I had enough. I was exhausted by the emotional and financial toll and withdrew from the program just a few classes short of completing my BSN.
Since then, I’ve been steadily working as a nurse, raising my kids, and doing what so many borrowers do — making monthly payments while watching the interest grow faster than I could keep up. I never missed payments. I never defaulted. But it still didn’t feel like progress.
Then this year, I finally decided to buy a home — something I never thought possible as a single mom buried in debt. I was approved and in the final stages of closing. But when my lender pulled an updated credit report, a new collection for $1,115 had mysteriously appeared. It was from Chamberlain.
This debt had never shown up before. It wasn’t on my May report, but suddenly it showed up in June — just two months before it was scheduled to fall off my credit report entirely (August, 2025). With that, my mortgage approval was revoked.
I had the option to pay it off. But honestly? I couldn’t stomach paying another cent to a school that left me with no degree, unclear clinical credentials, and a mountain of debt. So I let the home go.
In the meantime, I’ve discovered resources I wish I’d known about years ago. I submitted an application for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) — something I assumed I wasn’t eligible for because I was on a standard repayment plan. But I’ve now been told I have 144 qualifying payments on my original loans and around 70 qualifying months on the second set tied to Chamberlain. I'm now working on certifying my employment to formalize that progress. One where I have had 10, yes 10 failed submissions due to silly clerical errors.
I also submitted a Borrower Defense to Repayment application — twice. The first time, I felt unsure. The second time, I attached emails and evidence showing the misleading guidance, false promises about timelines and costs, and unclear accreditation issues. I now believe my application is materially complete, without any assurances or timeline. Promises from others shared experiences that this process will in fact take me years if not decades. With no legal representation, or protections like the earlier class action members. Feeling alone, and kind of like a loser. I just wish I had known about it sooner.
I know my case might be denied. I know this might take months — or years- or decades. But I’m not giving up. Because this isn’t just my story. It’s the story of so many of us who tried to do everything right… and are still paying for it.
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