Unlike other forms of consumer debt, student loans generally cannot be discharged in bankruptcy

The issue is of great concern to policy makers. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos described this debt spiral as a crisis in higher education. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in ount of student debt absolutely could hold back growth.

In most cases, a federal student loan is considered to be in default when no payments have been made for 270 days. Once a loan is in default, the entire unpaid loan balance and any interest the borrower owes are due immediately, and the borrower may be subject to wage garnishment, meaning a court orders the borrower’s employer to divert a portion of paychecks to a creditor. Borrowers also may have their tax refunds and federal benefits withheld.

How for-profits target nontraditional students

Nontraditional students tend to find their way to for-profit colleges by responding to advertising. Large national chains of for-profit colleges spend heavily on sales and marketing to recruit students-24 percent of revenue, according to a 2011 estimate by J. Read more