Our Impact
The Problem
44M
$1.6T
44 million Americans owe $1.6 trillion in student debtStudent debt in the United States has tripled since 2006. Half of all borrowers are over 44 years old and 1 in 5 are over 50. Over a million people owe more than $200,000. The costs of higher education go beyond what the average person can afford and predatory behaviors run rampant in schools we have grown to trust. Our society is now reliant on a debt-financed higher education system that simply doesn’t serve the American people.
We are facing a critical moment in which the nation is questioning the value of higher education. Although it has long been accepted that higher education is the great equalizer, our system has not delivered economic mobility for low- and middle-income students, and has perpetuated, rather than alleviated, racial inequality. It’s not only a political issue – we are on the precipice of a moment of reckoning for the entire student loan ecosystem at large.
The Solution
The Project on Predatory Student Lending’s groundbreaking and successful litigation has highlighted predatory practices in higher education while holding schools and the government responsible for the harm these practices cause.
We have exposed the entrenched problems of debt-financed higher education system and the extent and nature of predatory practices that are cheating students out of quality and affordable training and education.
We believe we can do the same for affordability.
The Results
$16 Billion
dollars in fraudulent student loans cancelled.Through harnessing the power of our client community, we have influenced the public conversation about predatory student debt and achieved the cancellation of over $16 billion in fraudulent student loans. Delivering life-changing debt relief has given our client community the financial freedom to buy homes, start families, and move on with their lives.
PPSL’s clients are at the heart of our work. They’re people who are targeted by predatory colleges — women, people of color, single mothers, immigrants, veterans — people seeking a better life through education.
Hear from the clients
“For a long time, hope was really what we had lacked, and when we started working with the Project, we finally felt hopeful. I felt hopeful for the first time in a long time. It’s incredible to watch this group take on such big giants on our behalf.”
“I believe that student borrowers have the power to hold higher education accountable, if we use our voices to speak out about our experiences.”
“There’s nothing more lonely than feeling like you are alone in this giant hill of debt that does nothing for you but bury you. I’ve never seen anything in my life more amazing than what PPSL has done. They stood up for us when no one else would.”
In the Media
