The Average Student at a For-Profit College Was Worse Off After Attending – Real Time Economics – WSJ

The sad sordid truth about attending for-profit colleges they rode the recession on the backs of people looking to better their lives. Shareholders and companies did well but students, graduates, parents the government were left with worthless diplomas. These for-profit colleges preyed on the weak, vulnerable people coping with the worse downturn since the great depression hoping to gain a beachhead in a rapidly changing global economy. Many students were lured by promises of immediate employment in emerging fields only to find themselves at the bottom of the economic food chain. Since these former students are burdened with student loan debt and uncertain employment with dubious degrees the federal government should forgive their student loan debt. Hopefully other education providers will provide a better honest product.

• The Average Student at a For-Profit College Was Worse Off After Attending – Real Time Economics – WSJ

  • , rather than due to poor education provided by the schools.
  • “Performance across the entire American economy was down–so it not surprising that earnings for those most harmed by the economic downturn would also be down.”
  • Community-college students, unlike their counterparts at for-profit schools, saw their earnings go up after school.
  • “Examining the distribution of average annual earnings effects and average annual debt payments reveals that the vast majority of for-profit students experience both higher debt and lower earnings after attendance, relative to the years before attendance,” the authors write.
  • The picture is even worse when considering most students borrowed to attend the colleges. Nearly 9 out of 10 for-profit school students took on student debt; those in associate’s programs borrowed an average $8,000 and those in bachelor’s programs, $13,000
  • The key factor is that most of these students never earned a degree–they dropped out early
  • Those who enrolled in certificate programs made roughly $920 less per year in the six years after school compared to before they enrolled.
  • The result: Students on average were worse off after attending for-profit schools
  • The working paper, published this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research, tracks 1.4 million students who left a for-profit school from 2006 through 2008
  • Millions of Americans enrolled in for-profit colleges in recent years to learn a trade and find decent-paying work. A new study found devastating results for many of their careers.
  • Millions of Americans enrolled in for-profit colleges in recent years to learn a trade and find decent-paying work. A new study found devastating results for many of their careers.
  • Millions of Americans enrolled in for-profit colleges in recent years to learn a trade and find decent-paying work. A new study found devastating results for many of their careers.

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