• bad consumer

    Jobless College Grad Sues To Get Tuition Back, Misspells "Tuition"

    The job market is tough. No one seems to know it better than our nation's fresh-faced recent college graduates. They've discovered a harsh truth—despite hounding alumni for donations, colleges aren't able to find jobs for them. One recent college grad in New York City is fighting back, since she graduated three whole months ago and her alma mater hasn't found her a job yet.

    Apparently, the career services office at Monroe College gives preferential treatment to students with good GPAs. In her complaint, Trina Thompson of the Bronx wrote:

    I recently graduated with my Bachelors in April 2009. I am seeking a reinbursement of $70,000 from my tutision because the Office of Career Advancement Information Technology Couselors are not making sure their Monroe e-recruiting clients call the graduates that recently finished college for a interview to get a job placement. They have not tried hard enough to help me. I am also seeking $2,000 for the stress I have been going through looking for a Full Time job on my own.

    In an interview with CNN, Thompson also noted:

    It doesn't make any sense: They went to school for four years, and then they come out working at McDonald's and Payless. That's not what they planned.

    Many Americans, of all ages and walks of life, have found that their lives haven't quite turned out as they planned. Even when there's no recession going on. It just doesn't occur to most people to sue anyone about it.

    Alumna sues college because she hasn't found a job [CNN] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
    Original Filing (PDF) [CNN]

    (Photo: Paul Lowry)

    • 8:34 AM
      1 reply

      It's just shocking that someone with a 2.7 GPA can't find a job, regardless of the job market. I mean, she showed up to class almost all the time! Get a clue, employers!

      changed my name It's just shocking that someone with a 2.7 GPA can't...  
    •  
    • There is so much wrong with this I can't even...GAH!

      Please, PLEASE tell me this woman isn't serious. Please tell me this adult, college educated woman does not honestly expect her college to get companies to call her to set up an interview. Please tell me that she does not seriously expect that she ought not be put through the stress of looking for her own job.

      All I want is for this to be a fool looking for a pay day. As stupid as it is to think that suing a college for unemployment would work it is better than her thinking that she has a legitimate complaint. You pay tuition for the chance to earn a degree not to guarantee employment.

      If she does think she has a real complaint then how did she even make it through college with this mindset? How come she's not suing the school for the stress of having to attend class and buy her own books?

      Rectilinear Propagation There is so much wrong with this I can't even...GAH!...  
    •  
    • she's the cream of the crop. any company would be lucky to have her over some 4.0 loser... ;)

      dmolavi she's the cream of the crop. any company would be lucky...  
    •  
    • 11:42 AM
      3 replies

      This is what's wrong with people who look at college as nothing but a ticket to better employment. A college degree is worth absolutely nothing to an employer if he or she sees that you've got a poor work ethic and a lack of desire to improve. Who the heck starts looking for a job after graduating college? I started looking in November, before my graduation in May!

      pecan 3.14159265 This is what's wrong with people who look at college as...  
    •  
    • 11:53 AM
      2 replies

      She also consistently misspells "reimbursement" and "counselors". I'm not sure why she's having so much trouble finding a job. I'm having a vision of the judge asking her to introduce her resume into evidence, then correcting all the errors in it, too, and suggesting perhaps the responsibility for her joblessness lies solely with her.

      outoftheblew She also consistently misspells "reimbursement" and...  
    •  
    • 12:35 PM
      3 replies

      Let's see her get a job after this kind of publicity.

      Who will want to take on someone that has this propensity for frivolous lawsuits?

      dohtem Let's see her get a job after this kind of publicity....  
    •  
    • 12:48 PM
      1 reply

      I hope the college countersues for their diploma back.

      Coles_Law I hope the college countersues for their diploma back.  
    •  
    • 1:12 PM
      1 reply

      1. It's a stretch to prove that the university is directly responsible for her not getting a job. The university provided its service, which I'm pretty sure is complete in itself (the education) -- not dependent on finding a job afterwards. If she had complained before graduation that the education was shoddy or incomplete, that might be more compelling.

      2. second, put aside for the moment that it would be difficult to link the university to her failure to obtain employment. The more basic issue is that her failure to get a job completely depends on the kind of job she's willing to take. Lower your standards, and you're employed. So how is the university responsible for your choice not to take gainful employment? I would like to sue my university, since I'm having trouble getting that Supreme Court justice job I've been hoping for.

      3. aside from all that, good luck to this loser trying to find a job in the future. No intelligent employer is going to hire someone who will be forever memorialized for suing their university for their personal failure/stupidity in finding a job.

      kepler11 1. It's a stretch to prove that the university is...  
    •  
    • 1:48 PM
      24 replies

      I actually see a point in this. This may not be the exact case but colleges charge way to much and deliver way to little in terms of job skills.

      They sell them selves as the only way forward. 70k is pretty standard for 4 years of college but is an unreasonable burden to repay.

      The lawsuit may be frivolous but hopefully it brings to light the fact tuition is far to high for most situations. College is frequently not worth the cost.

      Techguy1138 I actually see a point in this. This may not be the...  
    •  
    • 2:35 PM
      3 replies

      I don't want to nitpick about her spelling, but since this is education-related, I think it's fair game. If she were to submit a resume to my company with the types of spelling errors in her complaint, she wouldn't even get an interview. Maybe that's part of the problem. Higher education is so watered down that a mere bachelor's degree is not indicative of anything other than the ability to show up for class and pay tuition.

      tbax929 I don't want to nitpick about her spelling, but since...  
    •  
    • 2:38 PM
      5 replies

      The lawsuit IS frivolous, however, there is a valid point to be made. Many colleges in my area advertise themselves to potential students as the fast and easy way to a "new, exciting, great paying career" (heard that on the radio this morning.) They even make sure to emphasise the fact that in "as little as 1 class a month you too can be ready for the career you've always dreamed of" and that "job placement services will help YOU find the right career!" If a GOOD student goes to college with the expectation that the degree they obtain will almost garuntee them a job and finds that to be untrue in the marketplace they should have some sort of recourse. Miss C level student is not the right person to champion this of course.

      JamieSueAustin The lawsuit IS frivolous, however, there is a valid...  
    •  
    • 2:48 PM
      10 replies

      What's that saying? Somebody call the WAAAAAH-mbulance!

      Please. I have two college degrees and I'm answering phones. She's a greedy bitch. I hope the judge laughs her out of court.

      HogwartsAlum What's that saying? Somebody call the WAAAAAH-mbulance!...  
    •  
    • A. It doesn't matter what you "planned", that is life. Nobody owes you because your plans don't work out.

      B. Recompensed for the "stress I have been going through looking for a Full Time job on my own."?!? That is also called life, so if you want compensation, you'd better hope there is an afterlife... and that they don't check your gpa.

      dbshaw A. It doesn't matter what you "planned", that is life....  
    •  
    •  
    • 2:54 PM
      2 replies

      I am trying to form an intelligent comment on this, but this story makes me see red. I cannot even fathom how this woman graduated with a BA in anything. The spelling! The grammar! She's never had a job and she thinks the college should get one for her after 3 months? THREE MONTHS? GAH! I can't!

      Crabby Cakes I am trying to form an intelligent comment on this, but...  
    •  
    • 2:54 PM
      3 replies

      Give me a break - only three months?

      I graduated from a four-year private college with a 3.94 GPA almost two years ago and I still can't get a full-time job. I got a BS in Business and no one will even contact me back about a Secretary position...I have to go through a temp agency to get any work at all. Life is hard!

      meganjanae Give me a break - only three months? I graduated from...  
    •  
    • I say they give her the $70 000, on condition that she also gets a lobotomy to remove the knowledge from her brain. See what she thinks of that deal.

      Fuzz I say they give her the $70 000, on condition that she...  
    •  
    • 3:00 PM
      1 reply

      Not only can she not spell, she can't add.

      In the filing she asks for $70,000 for "tutision" and $2,000 for stress (of looking for a job 'on her own'), but she adds the two numbers together and comes up with 75,000 for the total.

      Frank From Virginia Not only can she not spell, she can't add. In the...  
    •  
    • 3:05 PM
      4 replies

      Admitedly, there are glaring errors in her spelling and math. This still does not mean that she does not have a legitmate case:
      1) what exactly did the ollege recruiter promise to her for her to sign the admission papers?
      2) Exactly how much "help" did her college's 'Office for Carreer Development' provide her on finding a job?
      3) To how many companies she applied to on her own during the three months after her graduation?

      HammerMan Admitedly, there are glaring errors in her spelling and...  
    •  
    • 3:05 PM
      2 replies

      Perhaps the best thing the school can teach her now is how to take responsibility for herself. That's certainly a skill for career advancement. Thus, it clearly falls under the realm of the Office of Career Advancement.

      strandist Perhaps the best thing the school can teach her now is...  

    Got something to say?


    • Members

      Register for an account or login.
    By registering, you agree to read and follow the Consumerist Comments Code.

    We're looking for comments that are interesting, substantial or highly amusing. If your comments are excessively self-promotional, obnoxious, or even worse, boring, you will be banned from commenting. Consult the Commenting FAQ and legal terms. By registering, you agree to read and abide by the Consumerist Comments Code.

    Login with your username and password below. (Forgot password?)