On the recordMay 26, 2011
over the past year, students in Illinois have told me their stories of leaving some for-profit colleges with mountains of student loan debt and no job prospects. The students who find themselves in this terrible situation often end up defaulting on their loans. One quarter of students who took out Federal loans to attend for-profit colleges defaulted within three years of starting repayment. Compare that to 11 percent at public colleges and 8 percent at private nonprofit colleges. The situation for students who take out private student loans to attend for-profit schools can be even worse. A study by the College Board found that students at for-profit schools, unable to get enough government aid to pay their tuition turn to private loans much more than students at traditional schools. Many large for-profit colleges have begun making loans directly to their students. This private lending can be a boon for the schools. It keeps students in school. It helps the college meet its ``90/10'' requirement, which keeps the student aid flowing. Disturbingly, some of the for-profit colleges making these loans do not expect to collect them easily. Corinthian Colleges Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Ken Ord stated in the February 2010 investor call that they anticipate a 56 percent to 58 percent default rate on an estimated $150 million in internal student lending.…





