Student Loans Sold On Lies

More than 80,000 student loan debtors can now apply for loan forgiveness through the US Department of Education after the conclusion of an investigation into now defunct Corinthian Colleges this week.

The company once owned more than 100 for-profit colleges. It filed for bankruptcy in May in the wake of a probe into its practices. According to a Bloomberg report, the investigation found Corinthian systematically misrepresented the chances of landing a job with a degree from its schools in order to enroll new students. California Attorney General Kamala Harris said the company preyed on vulnerable groups:

Corinthian targeted ‘isolated, impatient people with low self-esteem and few people in their lives who care about them, and who are stuck and unable to see and plan well for their future,’ Harris said. That included ‘single mothers, veterans, and low-income individuals,’ she added. “

As Bloomberg put it, the promises made by Corinthian bore “little resemblance to reality.”

At Wyotech’s Long Beach campus, Corinthian told students there was a 100% employment rate for people getting an automotive technology diploma. The true job placement rate was 0%, the investigation found. At Everest University’s Brandon (Fla.) campus, students were told that more than 90% of people who got an associate’s degree in business or accounting received jobs. The actual job placement rate for both degrees was less than 15%, according to the investigation.”

Corinthian’s actions certainly warrant condemnation. But were the promises the company made really any different than those made by thousands of public and private universities across the United States in concert with the federal government?

Corinthian sucked people in through outright lies, but their tall tales really only differed in degree from the cultural lies peddled by government and the higher education establishment today. They tell you every single person deserves to go to college and will actually benefit by doing so.