New Trump University Documents Unsealed: 7 Things To Know

• Patch's Colin Miner contributed to this report.

A federal judge in San Diego overseeing a lawsuit against Donald Trump and his "Trump University" business school ordered documents in the case to be unsealed Friday.

Trump's lawyers had argued that the documents contain trade secrets and revealing them would hurt the school's chance of it coming back. Judge Gonzalo Curiel said the possibility of it coming back was speculative, and he hadn't seen any evidence that it was happening.

Trump University shut down around 2010.

• RELATED: Trump University: No 'Trump,' No 'University,' Lawsuit Says

The records that were unsealed were mostly "playbook"-type documents used by staff to sell the "university's" lessons to students. They offer advice on everything from how to deal with students who rebuff the sales pitch to what to do if a representative of an attorney general's office shows up.

(This is also where we remind you that Trump called Curiel — a federal judge — “hostile,” a “hater” and a “Mexican, which is great.")

So what was Trump University all about, and what kind of advice was Trump and Co. dishing out to Trump University staffers? Let's take a peek inside the various "playbooks" unsealed today.

Pay Structure

Trump University began with a free 90-minute preview that was open to the public. From there, students were offered the "Profit From Real Estate: Workshop," a three-day training that will set you back $1,495.

Then, students could choose from three more packages: Trump Bronze Elite ($9,995), Trump Silver Elite ($19,495) and Trump Gold Elite ($34,995).

Quite the bargain!

Reeling 'Em In

Significant chunks cover everything related to converting students from the free seminar. Do they look tired and defeated?

"Let them know that you've found an answer to their problems and a way for them to change their lifestyle," the playbook says.

Hey, that rhetoric sounds familiar...

Keeping 'Em In

After the free seminar is over, uninterested students are free to leave, right? Not so fast.

"1 sales coordinator stands between the audience and the door and slows down traffic of people exiting and facilities enrollment armed with objection rebuttals."

A translation of that run-on sentence: Somebody stands in the doorway, creating a logjam, and reads scripts to the disinterested students to try to milk some extra cash from them.

Just The Workshop?

The next step was to get the students to the workshop, the $1,500, three-day course that came next after the free preview.

"Always assume they want to go to the workshop — because everyone does," the documents claim.

"Understand that if someone says: 'I don't want to go to the training,' they are really saying: 'I'm not used to dropping $995 on training and because it is new to me, I'm scared.'"

Who's Got The Money?

Potential Trump University students filled out "profiles." One of the questions: How much liquid assets do you have?

Anyone who could afford the $35,000 "Gold Elite" was pushed directly to it.

"If they can afford the gold elite don't allow them to think about doing anything besides the gold elite," the playbook says.

How to get someone to drop 35K on a real estate class?

"The risk isn't spending 35K - it's entering into the world of REAL ESTATE without specialized knowledge, guidance and trained professionals in the field holding your hand. WE are the safe decision. Fear is preventing you from investing in yourself."

So What Did They Actually Learn?

That's a good question.

Most of the lesson-related content in the docs contains your average sales- and real-estate-speak. And then there is some advice that may be, um, questionable. For example:

• "If a seller will take $10,000 down on a fixer-upper that you expect to make $20,000 on, why not use credit cards?"
• "Take full advantage of tax breaks and other financial shelters, allowing you to maximize your profits."

And What if the Attorney General Shows Up?

This is something Trump University apparently had to consider.

"Contact (spokeswoman) April Neumann immediately," the playbook says.

And, remember, "By law, you do not have to show them any personal information unless they present a warrant; however, you are expected to be courteous."

Nope, nothing to hide here.

If you want to read through the nearly 400 pages of documents unsealed today, you can do so below:

Main image via Gage Skidmore, Flickr