For-profit colleges might prove a viable alternative for those wishing to avoid the stranglehold of student loan debt.

Opportunity Lives writes:

For-Profit College Offer Viable Path For Students Looking to Avoid Crushing Debt

The Obama administration recently won a legal battle in its ongoing push against the for-profit college industry. Yet, as is so often the case in liberal policymaking, the administration is treating the symptom rather than the disease. A better solution would be to empower young people to prevent such a debt pileup in the first place.

A federal judge upheld the so-called “gainful employment” regulations punishing for-profit colleges whose alumni have high debt burdens and low salaries. However well-intentioned, this approach will likely shutter or significantly damage schools that offer vital educational resources to minority students and many military veterans. Many of these students will be left with no place to go and may potentially be forced to start their education over from scratch.

“Students may not be willing to attend a different area of study or to transfer to another college if their program is shut down,” Inside Higher Education reported on a study about this issue. “Even if they are willing to transfer, similar programs at other for-profits might also fail gainful employment. And there may be no alternatives at nearby nonprofit institutions … For example, just 12 percent of students who are enrolled in certificate programs at for-profits have nonprofit alternatives (certificate programs in the same field of study) in their ZIP code, according to the report. That number rises to 18 percent for associate-degree programs.”