By John Hechinger, Bloomberg
Students seeking to move up in life by getting a degree from a for-profit college are being trapped in a growing underclass of education debtors. Ronnie Franklin borrowed to pay his tuition at a for-profit college that advertised its success in preparing graduates for better jobs. That decision haunts him. Frustrated that his degree didn’t lead to work in electronics, Franklin — now a $12-an-hour housepainter — decided to go to a community college this year. He can’t qualify for a federal grant that would have paid the cost because he defaulted on $20,000 of his earlier U.S. student loans. Debt from a for-profit college education also shadows Christina Bergschneider and Michael DiGiacomo. Landlords rejected Bergschneider’s apartment applications more than 20 times because of her unpaid student loans.
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