JACKSON, Miss. – Andrea Thomas tried the traditional college route.
After graduating from Ridgeland High School, she enrolled at one of the state’s public universities, but she felt like a number and didn’t have a base of support.
“I used to go back to my dorm room crying every day,” Thomas, 22, said. “It was just too much, too fast.”
She quit school and didn’t know what she’d do until she saw a commercial for Antonelli College, an Ohio-based for-profit school with campuses in Jackson and Hattiesburg. She’s now pursuing a graphic design degree at the Jackson site.
“It’s the best decision I’ve ever made,” Thomas said.
The for-profit college industry has been criticized as being predatory or too business-focused, but the institutions say new federal regulations on them will limit access to higher education and prevent others from having the option Thomas has had.
“This is going to derail a ton of people,”’ said Milton Anderson, president of Virginia College’s Jackson campus. “It’s going to be a major problem.”
