About the Predatory For-Profit College Industry
For decades, the predatory for-profit college industry has exploited the promise of higher education. The industry specifically targets low-income students, people of color, immigrants, veterans, and others trying to build a better life for themselves, their families and their communities. Many are the first in their family to attend college. This industry draws nearly all its revenue from taxpayer dollars and relies on deceptive and relentless sales tactics to recruit students, leaving them worse off than they started. The Project’s landmark cases on behalf of student borrowers work to end these predatory practices and hold those who enable them accountable.
Featured Cases
Britt v. Florida Career College
Lawsuit against Florida Career College (FCC), a Florida-based for-profit college chain that has been systematically targeting Black students and selling a predatory product using false representations and high-pressure sales tactics.
It's as if I never attended any higher education institution and just have bad credit with a massive debt with no real job prospects.
Manuel A., Sweet v. DeVos
“The Department of Education recognizes that I was defrauded by this school, but because of a ridiculous formula, I only get 10% relief. It’s insulting. I have worked hard to succeed despite all the harm that Everest caused to my life and career. I am not looking for a handout. I just want accountability and a process that is fair for everyone”
-Sammia Pratt, Pratt v. DeVos
We were overcharged and undereducated and then Everest left us high and dry... I was poor my whole life and didn’t want my family to put up with the same thing. And here I am, 6 years later with nothing to show for my education and a lot of wasted time.
Andrea S., Calvillo Manriquez v. DeVos
News
Left in the Lurch by Private Loans From For-Profit Colleges | New York Times
Ms. Campbell’s loan is a tiny fraction of the more than $30 million owed to Florida Career College’s parent company, the International Education Corporation. The company doesn’t care whether she, and thousands of others, ever fully pay it back. Its main reason for lending to people like her is so the company can operate its other, much more lucrative business model — reaping revenue from federal student aid. By law, a tenth of a for-profit school’s revenue must come from sources other than federal financial aid (loans, grants and other programs students use to pay for college) and loans like Ms. Campbell’s help them meet that quota.
90% of Borrowers Who Claim They Were Scammed By Their Schools Were Denied Relief | MarketWatch
Students who attended colleges that have misled them have the right under the law to have their federal student loans discharged, but over the past few years, accessing that relief has been nearly impossible, despite evidence of malfeasance by their schools, new documents suggest. More than 200 borrowers who attended a school where an admissions representative pled guilty to making a false statement in an application for federal student aid had their applications for relief denied by the Department of Education, according to the documents.
A DeVos System Allowed 12 Minutes to Decide Student Loan Forgiveness | New York Times
Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made no secret of her disdain for a program intended to forgive the federal student loans of borrowers who were ripped off by schools that defrauded their students. She called it a “free money” giveaway, let hundreds of thousands of claims languish for years, and slashed the amount of relief granted to some successful applicants to $0.
Get Help
If you attended a for-profit college and need legal help with student debt problems, contact us by leaving a message on our hotline, 617-390-2669, or filling out our online intake form.
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