Private Student Loans Issued to Borrowers With No Income or Repayment Ability
Sallie Mae issued a private student loan to an art school student with no income, savings, or ability to repay — a predatory underwriting practice. Private lenders systematically extend credit to insolvent borrowers at for-profit and arts institutions, creating a structural debt trap with no income-based exit.
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Similar Problems
surfaced semanticallyStudent loan servicers push struggling borrowers into forbearance
Borrowers who fall behind on high-interest student loans report not being offered income-driven repayment options, and instead being funneled into forbearance, which pauses payments but lets interest keep accruing and grows the total balance. This particularly affects borrowers who took out loans with limited credit history and few negotiating options.
Private Student Loan Issued Under Misleading Enrollment Requirements
Students take on private student loans based on enrollment terms that change mid-program through subjective requirements not disclosed at sign-up. When programs apply unexpected requirements, students are left with debt for education they could not complete as represented. No mechanism exists to challenge the loan terms retroactively.
Student loan approved but not certified for disbursement, blocking enrollment
Sallie Mae approved student loans but failed to certify and disburse them for the required academic sessions. Students are left without funds after completing enrollment steps that assume loan disbursement. The gap between approval and certification creates a funding limbo with no defined resolution timeline.
Schools steer students into high-cost private loans without disclosing long-term costs
Students report being repeatedly advised by school financial aid staff to take out private loans with double-digit interest rates, without adequate disclosure of total repayment costs. This pattern is compounded when the underlying school is later found to have engaged in misleading enrollment practices.
Private Student Loans Issued for Misrepresented For-Profit Programs
A private student loan was taken for a program operated by a rebranded for-profit institution that misrepresented its university affiliation and program quality. The lender processed the loan without vetting the program's legitimacy. Private student loan servicers bear no accountability for borrower fraud when schools rebrand to evade scrutiny.
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