By Mc Nelly Torres
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
Students attending for-profit colleges are more likely to default on student loans. In fact, 46.3 percent of all money loaned to students at two-and four-year for-profit colleges in 2008 will eventually go into default, according to new data released by the U.S. Department of Education.
A Mother Jones article published today noted that the for-profit college student loan default rate has exceeded other colleges since 2004. Writer Andy Kroll summarized it well: “You know something’s wrong when the for-profit default rate, dollar per dollar, is nearly three times higher than the rest of academia.”
In September, the U.S. Department of Education proposed mandating for-profit college graduates earn enough money to repay federal loans or for-profit schools could lose access to federal loan funding.
For-profit colleges are fighting hard against the new rule. Why? Most colleges receive 75 percent or more of their revenue in federal loan funding.
The for-profit education industry has responded with an aggressive campaign to shape public opinion and has urged students to write letters to government officials.
Meanwhile, more and more stories about the issue are aired and published. CNBC aired a report this week, “Price of Admission: America’s College Debt Crisis,” which noted that Americans now owe more in students loans than they do on credit cards.
Related: Virtually Worthless.