The Hidden Price of Saying "No" to Indoctrination in College

When counselor training turns into mandatory self-hatred sessions, students like me pay thousands to escape—with no refund and no relief in sight.

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The note above hit my email at least twice last week. Clearly, they think that I should be happy to have that burden discharged. And I am relieved to know that this debt will no longer be slowly metastasizing with interest, which, hallelujah, isn’t compounding. I’m grateful that at least the student loan system isn’t that predatory.

Yet given the circumstances, the real truth is that I find the event of my repayment more galling than a cause for celebration.

It’s a reminder that I wasted my time and money with interest, paying for “education” that tried hard to convince me to forsake my values and beliefs in favor of a racist ideology, with struggle sessions included under the guise of ‘support.’

The worst part is that I am not alone.

Just in the counseling field, there is Jennifer Keeton, Leslie Elliot Boyce, Lauren Holt, and many many others who have quietly walked away with money and time lost, haunting every step.

The uglier truth is that this is a widespread problem.

The general dropout rate at just under 40%, For part-time students, well over 50% walk out in their first year.

Whatever savings they poured into their experience are down the drain, and the yoke of any loans will throttle their futures like a car that can’t go past second gear.

The Exploding Price Tag of College: How We Got Here

It’s no secret that the cost of college tuition has exploded since the 1960s. While there are some recent indicators that the growth rate is slowing down, for students stuck with loans at an inflated price, the damage is already done.

Academics often blame cutbacks in state funding for public colleges as the central pressure driving up costs. Libertarian-leaning lawmakers point to administrative bloat and easy access to federal loans like the one I just paid off. Wherever you place the blame, it is a vicious cycle that is mathematically unsustainable all by itself.

The Bigger Mess: Ideology in Education

Counseling programs, meant to train neutral helpers, have been consumed by Critical Social Justice Ideology, as my studies into accreditation standards and the required textbooks can attest.

Cases like Keeton’s (facing expulsion, she was assigned re-education to remediate her Christian beliefs, which she refused), Leslie Boyce’s (she was pressured to leave Antioch University after refusing to sign a diversity statement), and my own are all testaments to just how vulnerable students are.

It’s a mercy I only made it through one semester.

People should know, there is no recourse to recover tuition. Universities are insulated from lawsuits by legal precedent that heavily favors faculty over students’ concerns. Lawsuits aimed at educational malpractice are dead on arrival, even when the curriculum is arguably illegal or teaches students methods that amount to malpractice.

Legally, there are many more protections for someone who buys a lemon car, then enters into an agreement to get an “education” even at a state university.

Buyer beware.

That goes for folks looking to employ “educated” professionals, too.

Wrapping It Up: Freedom, But at What Price?

Paying off those loans finally closed a painful chapter—proof that persistence pays, eventually. But prospective students should be aware, the system stacked the deck: High costs, easy loans, no exits without ruin, and programs that sometimes prioritize ideology over education.

My story’s a cautionary tale—our universities have been ideologically captured, and current government efforts have not led to any improvement in reducing DEI ideology. Just ask the head of my former department. For policymakers: Protect students with real accountability, not endless debt traps. Others shouldn’t have to choose between integrity and financial devastation. Here’s to hoping reforms make higher ed a better deal for everyone in the new year.

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About

Diogenes in Exile began after I returned to grad school to pursue a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Tennessee. What I found instead was a program saturated in Critical Theories ideology—where my Buddhist practice was treated as invalidating and where dissent from the prevailing orthodoxy was met with hostility. After witnessing how this ideology undermined both ethics and the foundations of good clinical practice, I made the difficult decision to walk away.

Since then, I’ve dedicated myself to exposing the ideological capture of psychology, higher education, and related institutions. My investigative writing has appeared in Real Clear Education, Minding the Campus, The College Fix, and has been republished by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. I also speak and consult on policy reform to help rebuild public trust in once-respected professions.

Occasionally, I’m accused of being funny.

When I’m not writing or digging into documents, you’ll find me in the garden, making art, walking my dog,