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A growing number of students are coming forward to share their negative experiences at Kaplan University, the for-profit college owned by the Washington Post Company.

Today marks the last day of a seven-day series on Change.org of Kaplan student accounts. These students are part of a group of former students -- led by Shannon Croteau, whose story appears today -- urging the Washington Post to stop preying on low-income students (sign their petition here). The below accounts are students' descriptions of their experiences.

A growing number of students are coming forward to share their negative experiences at Kaplan University, the for-profit college owned by the Washington Post Company.

To better tell their stories, Change.org is publishing one Kaplan account every day for one week. These students are part of a group of former students urging the Washington Post to stop preying on low-income students (sign their petition here). The below accounts are students' descriptions of their experiences.

Victoria Castillo, Dallas, Texas
Kaplan University student from June 2010 to December 2010

I enrolled with Kaplan with the understanding that I would incur student loans because I did not have the cash to pay for my classes.

Editor's Note: Although many students are tricked into thinking they can be Registered Dietitians with a degree from Kaplan University, Kaplan is not accredited by the American Dietetic Association. You won't hear that from Kaplan, though -- Google "registered dietitian" or "registered dietitian degree" and you'll pull up Kaplan University as the first sponsored result - meaning Kaplan continues to purposely mislead potential students. Go to the American Dietetics Association website for a list of accredited schools.

A growing number of students are coming forward to share their negative experiences at Kaplan University, the for-profit college owned by the Washington Post Company.

To better tell their stories, Change.org is publishing one Kaplan account every day for one week. These students are part of a group of former students urging the Washington Post to stop preying on low-income students (sign their petition here). These accounts are students' descriptions of their experiences.

Editor's Note: Although many students are tricked into thinking they can be Registered Dietitians with a degree from Kaplan University, Kaplan is not accredited by the American Dietetic Association. You won't hear that from Kaplan, though -- Google "registered dietitian" or "registered dietitian degree" and you'll pull up Kaplan University as the first sponsored result - meaning Kaplan continues to purposely mislead potential students. Go to the American Dietetics Association website for a list of accredited schools.

A growing number of students are coming forward to share their negative experiences at Kaplan University, the for-profit college owned by the Washington Post Company.

To better tell their stories, Change.org is publishing one Kaplan account every day for one week. These students are part of a group of former students urging the Washington Post to stop preying on low-income students (sign their petition here). These accounts are students' descriptions of their experiences.

A growing number of students are coming forward to share their negative experiences at Kaplan University, the for-profit college owned by the Washington Post Company.

To better tell their stories, Change.org is publishing one Kaplan account every day for one week. These students are part of a group of former students urging the Washington Post to stop preying on low-income students (sign their petition here). The below accounts are students' descriptions of their experiences.

Marjorie Etienne, Royal Palm Beach, Florida
Kaplan student from March 2007 to November 2010

A growing number of students are coming forward to share their negative experiences at Kaplan University, the for-profit college owned by the Washington Post Company.

To better tell their stories, Change.org is publishing one Kaplan account every day for one week. These students are part of a group of former students urging the Washington Post to stop preying on low-income students (sign their petition here). These accounts are students' descriptions of their experiences.

Tealah Hill, Osage Beach, Missouri
Kaplan student from October 2008 to present
Tealah, 25, is married with two children.

"Five weeks into my term at Kaplan University, I switched from a Medical Transcription degree program to a Medical Assisting program. My advisor assured me that the process was complete -- but in June 2009, I was told that I couldn't sign up for a class I needed for my degree because my advisor hadn't submitted the necessary paperwork.

Veterans, single moms and low-income parents -- all hustled by the Washington Post Company into signing up for college classes of questionable quality and a lifetime of debt.

Shocking, but true. This tragic story happens again and again for students at Kaplan University, the chain of colleges owned by the Washington Post that has drained billions of dollars from federal financial aid.

On the ground, a growing movement of students are calling on the Washington Post to stop cashing in on low-income students. Former Kaplan student Shannon Croteau created a campaign on Change.org demanding change from the Washington Post Company. Columbia University students are also using Change.org to call on Columbia President Lee Bollinger to reform Kaplan or give up his spot on the Washington Post's Board of Directors.

As a battle rages in Congress over how to stop for-profit colleges from ripping off students, here's a handy list of the Top Ten (Cringeworthy) Things You Didn't Know About Kaplan U.

Here's the latest jaw-dropping news about Kaplan University, the commercial chain of schools that made $1.5 billion for the Washington Post Company in 2009.

Turns out Kaplan, as well as other for-profit colleges, explicitly trains its admissions staff to exploit 'pain' and 'fear' as they recruit their typically low-income students. "Uncover their pain and fears," a newly-released Kaplan training document instructs recruiters who are trying to sell potential students on classes. "Once they are reminded of how bad things are, this will create a sense of urgency to make this change."

These underhanded tactics, revealed earlier this week by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, are bad enough. But the truly horrifying thing is that many students end up worse off, not better, after attending Kaplan, saddled with thousands in debt and unable to find the lucrative "American dream" they were promised. Today, though, they got some new advocates: Students at Columbia University.

On Friday, the Washington Post reported that 25 percent -- 1 out of every 4 -- of students at commercial colleges like Kaplan University and the University of Phoenix can't pay back their loans. Talk about awkward. The much-lauded Washington Post actually owns Kaplan University, one of the largest for-profit college chains out there.

Kaplan, which generated 58 percent of the Post company's revenue in 2009 ($1.5 billion), has been in the spotlight recently for its unethical billing practices, aggressive recruitment of low-income and military students, and jaw-droppingly high rates of student debt. How has the Washington Post responded? By avoiding the issue completely -- and tarnishing its stellar reputation in the process.

Former Kaplan student Shannon Croteau recently started a campaign on Change.org, urging Donald Graham - chairman of the Washington Post Company - to publicly commit to better practices at the for-profit school. To date, it's garnered a whopping 13,000 signatures from former Kaplan students, Washington Post readers, education advocates and students of other for-profit schools.