WSJ: For-Profit Schools See More Defaults

[aka name]

Title: For-Profit Schools See More Defaults
Date: DECEMBER 14, 2009
Author: By JOHN HECHINGER and TOM MCGINTY

[Article includes a comments section.]

Students who took out government loans to pay for their education at for-profit colleges had a 21% default rate in the first three years they were required to make payments, about three times the level of four-year public and nonprofit institutions [...]

Starting in 2014, because of concern about rising defaults, schools with rates exceeding 30% for three years -- or 40% for one year -- can lose federal financial aid [...]

ITT declined to comment.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1260759 ... tions_news

[aka name]

David Saiz wrote:
The default rate is only part of the problem...

The number of people who fall for the scam of a for-profit school is alarming. They lure people by emphasizing an online curriculum, easy access to financial aid, and a 'degree' that is marketable. Only after graduation do they realize the immensity of the fraud. Most companies will not accept a 'degree' from a for-profit due to the lack of accreditation.

These programs target the person who are low income, didn't graduate from high school but earned GED, people who don't like a classroom environment, people who are easily persuaded by slick marketing campaign, and single parents who actually believe the can do an entire undergraduate program online

What's even more tragic are those who believe they have the tools to succeed only to discover that very few, if any, Fortune 500 companies will accept a 'degree' from one of these schools. They've spent thousands of dollars and four years or more of their lives only then to find out they truly have a piece of paper.

Find a good community college and embrace the classroom environment. It will provide you with the necessary skills to interact with your peers, and above all it will have the accreditation that degree mills lack, it will have a positive reputation that degree mills lack, then transfer to a state funded or private university.

Most importantly, you won't have a piece of paper, but an education that will provide a foundation with which to build a sold career.

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