The Student Loan Scam

Praise

“Alan Collinge has lived through the national student debt crisis, and he has an astonishing tale to tell. Read and be outraged.”
—Anya Kamenetz, author of Generation Debt

“Alan Collinge has been to student loan hell and has managed to survive to tell about the experience. Turning his personal nightmare into a cause for activism, Collinge has emerged as one of the most effective critics of the student loan industry and its patrons in Washington. Readers will be as outraged as he is with what passes for federal student loan policy.”—Barmak Nassirian, Associate Executive Director, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)

“Students and parents planning to borrow money to finance a college or technical school education should read Alan Collinge’s warnings and advice before they sign any loan papers.”—David Cay Johnston, author of Free Lunch and Perfectly Legal

“If you plan on borrowing money for college, spend a few extra dollars and buy a copy of The Student Loan Scam. Relevant and deeply timely, this book’s excellent advice could very well save you thousands of dollars and spare you a ton of grief.”—Lynn O’Shaughnessy, author of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price

“Think credit-card debt is a problem? Take a look at the lives ruined through the corporate thug tactics, usurious fees and vicious harassment employed by some of the nation’s largest student-loan providers in this shocking exposé from Collinge, founder of StudentLoanJustice.org. The author had a manageable $38,000 in loans-until he missed a single payment . . . and his debt mushroomed to more than $100,000. The author reveals that since lenders make far more money from defaulted loans than they do from borrowers in good standing, they go to extraordinary-and illegal-lengths to force borrowers into default. There are currently more than five million defaulted loans on record, and incredibly, student loans are the only type of loan in U.S. history to be nondischargable in bankruptcy. The author exposes the engineers (and profiteers) of this predatory system and urges Congress to restore standard consumer protections to student loans, concluding with a call to arms for progressive changes, refinancing rights and a plethora of practical advice for borrowers. Comprehensive and stirring, this extraordinary book is whistle-blowing at its finest.—Publishers Weekly, starred review