Making the decision to go back to school takes courage. As those types of life decisions don’t always come easy, odds are when you made the decision to invest in your education, you did it with hope; hope for a better job, a higher salary, or simply the chance to finally finish what you started years ago.
But what happens when the school you trusted didn’t hold up their end of the bargain? What if they misled you regarding job placement rates, accreditation, or whether your hard earned credits would actually transfer? What if you later discovered that the promises they made to get you in the door (and to sign those loan documents) were nothing but smoke and mirrors?
You shouldn’t be stuck paying for an education built on deception. That’s where Borrower Defense to Repayment may help.
What Qualifies as Misconduct?
Not every disappointment with your education qualifies for Borrower Defense. This isn’t about regretting your major or wishing you’d chosen a different school. The program is specifically designed for situations where your school engaged in illegal or deceptive practices that directly influenced your decision to enroll and take out federal student loans.
Common examples of qualifying misconduct include schools that falsely advertised job placement rates, promised that credits would transfer when they knew they wouldn’t, lied about accreditation status, forged signatures on enrollment documents, or made guarantees about salary expectations that had no basis in reality. Some schools have pressured students into enrolling by creating a false sense of urgency or by misrepresenting the true cost of attendance.
The key is that the school’s actions need to have violated state law or been substantially misleading in a way that influenced your decision to take out loans. For many non-traditional students who decide to go back to school while juggling jobs and family responsibilities, the promise of a better career means everything. When that trust is violated through fraud or serious misconduct, Borrower Defense offers a potential path to relief.
Borrower Defense Application Process
Borrower Defense is a formal application process managed by the U.S. Department of Education. You submit your claim through their online portal, detailing what happened and providing whatever evidence you have to support your case.
Once submitted, your application enters a review process. A team at the Department of Education examines your claim, investigates the school’s practices, and determines whether the misconduct you described actually occurred and whether it meets the legal standards for loan discharge.
Here’s what you need to know about the timeline: this process is not quick. Applications can take months or even years to be fully reviewed and decided. During this time, you can request that your loans be placed in forbearance, which means you won’t be required to make payments while your application is pending. However, interest may continue to accumulate on your loans during forbearance, so it’s something to consider carefully.
If your claim is approved, your federal student loans can be partially or fully discharged. You might also receive a refund for payments you already made on those loans. If your claim is denied, you have the right to appeal the decision.
What’s Needed to Build Your Case
The strength of your Borrower Defense application depends largely on the evidence you can provide. The Department of Education needs to see that the school’s misconduct actually happened and that it affected your decision to enroll or take out loans.
Start by gathering any documentation you have from your time at the school. This includes enrollment agreements, promotional materials, emails or text messages with admissions representatives, course catalogs, or anything else that shows what the school promised you.
Be as specific as possible in your application. Include names, dates, and locations whenever possible. If you can remember who told you something misleading, when they told you, and where the conversation took place, that information strengthens your claim considerably. For example, instead of saying “the school lied about job placement,” you’d want to say something like “In March 2019, the admissions counselor told me that 95% of graduates in my program found jobs within six months, but I later discovered through a state investigation that the actual rate was only 12%.”
Be sure to explain how the school’s misconduct harmed you and supply any and all documentation to prove this harm. Did you end up with a degree that employers don’t recognize? Were you unable to transfer credits like you were promised? Did you take on debt for a program that didn’t deliver the education or outcomes that were advertised?
Important Things to Keep In Mind
Private student loans are not covered by the Borrower Defense program. That said, you may still have other legal options for dealing with those that would be worth exploring.
It’s also important to remember that again, this program doesn’t cover every type of school problem. If you had a bad professor, didn’t like the campus facilities, etc., those aren’t grounds for Borrower Defense. The misconduct needs to be significant, widespread, and directly connected to your enrollment and loans.
Taking the Next Step
To recap what has been covered above, if you believe your school defrauded you, the first step is visiting the Federal Student Aid website and reviewing the official Borrower Defense information. The application is available online, and while you can complete it yourself, some people choose to work with a lawyer or student loan advocate, especially for complex cases.
Remember, before you apply, take time to organize your evidence and think through your experience. The clearer and more detailed your application, the better your chances of success.
This process requires patience and persistence, but for many borrowers, it’s been a legitimate path to freedom from loans that should never have existed in the first place.
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