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Michelle Lambright Black is a credit expert with over 19 years of experience, a freelance writer and a certified credit expert witness. In addition to writing for Bankrate, Michelle's work is featured with numerous publications including FICO, Experian, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and Reader’s Digest, among others.
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Aylea Wilkins has been at Bankrate since 2019, editing content in student, personal and home equity loans and auto, home and life insurance before taking on editing content in a variety of other categories. She has nearly a decade of editorial experience with a primary focus on helping people confidently make financial and purchasing decisions by providing clear and unbiased information.
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If your school defrauded or misled you, then you might be able to apply for federal student loan discharge through borrower defense to repayment. While billions of dollars have been forgiven through the federal program, the qualifications are stringent and not every case will get approved.
Knowing the program’s details and exactly what to expect from the application process is key to qualifying for student loan discharge through borrower defense.
Borrower defense to repayment — or borrower defense — is a program that allows students to seek the discharge of their federal student debt if the school violates certain state laws, engages in misleading or deceitful practices or defrauds its students.
The program has been around for several decades but gained traction in 2015 when for-profit Corinthian Colleges shut its doors due to a lack of federal funds, only to undergo multiple lawsuits shortly after. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) found Corinthian Colleges guilty of misleading students regarding their future job prospects and ability to transfer class credits.
Other schools identified by the ED as being guilty of misconduct falling under the borrower defense eligibility umbrella include:
Anyone who feels their school misled them can apply for borrower defense to repayment. However, this form of debt relief is only for those with a qualifying federal Direct student loan, which includes:
If a school made misrepresentations to you in any of the following areas, you might be eligible to have your student loans discharged or forgiven:
Some schools may make you feel an urgency to enroll. If you felt pressured to make a written commitment to attend a school quickly, this detail might strengthen your case. However, communicating an urgency to enroll doesn’t automatically qualify you for a borrower defense claim. Additionally, if you took out private student loans to attend any of these schools, you also won’t qualify for a borrower defense claim.
You can apply for borrower defense loan discharge online with the U.S. Department of Education. If you prefer, you can download a PDF version of the application and send it in the mail to the following address:
U.S. Department of Education
Borrower Defense to Repayment
P.O. Box 1854
Monticello, KY 42633
Be prepared to share the name of the school you attended, where the campus is or was located, your enrollment dates, your program or major and the type of certification or degree you were pursuing.
You may also need to provide documentation to verify your identity and support your claim. These documents may include:
Finally, be sure to list any refunds, remedies, loan reductions or tuition recoveries you have received.
While there are still ongoing investigations, here are some of the payouts that have occurred:
| College/School | Claims Payout |
|---|---|
| ITT Technical Institute | $3.9 billion |
| Westwood College | $1.5 billion |
| Minnesota School of Business and Globe University | $11.52 million |
| DeVry University | $415 million |
| Marinello School of Beauty | $238 million |
| Corinthian Colleges | $5.8 billion |
| CollegeAmerica | $130 million |
| Ashford University | $72 million |
| Phoenix University | $37 million |
| The Art Institutes | $6.1 billion |
Pandemic relief measures have also affected borrowers pursuing borrower defense. Federal student loan payments were paused through October 2023. However, your payments may still be in forbearance if you:
With new categories added by the Department of Education, more students are eligible to receive debt forgiveness through borrower defense. If you believe you have a claim, review the application for a few minutes. You can fill out the form directly on the Education Department website, which could save you thousands of dollars of debt.
Michelle Lambright Black is a credit expert with over 19 years of experience, a freelance writer and a certified credit expert witness. In addition to writing for Bankrate, Michelle's work is featured with numerous publications including FICO, Experian, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and Reader’s Digest, among others.
Aylea Wilkins has been at Bankrate since 2019, editing content in student, personal and home equity loans and auto, home and life insurance before taking on editing content in a variety of other categories. She has nearly a decade of editorial experience with a primary focus on helping people confidently make financial and purchasing decisions by providing clear and unbiased information.
