When Sarah E. Gagliano enrolled in 2006 at the Art Institute of Philadelphia - a for-profit college - she dreamed of a career in fashion design.
Instead, she is nearly $100,000 in debt with no degree. A poor academic student, she quit about halfway to a bachelor's degree.
Gagliano has since defaulted on her private loans, which the school helped her get, and could be forever haunted by the debt, which even bankruptcy generally can't erase.
"I don't even know what to do. . . . It's very depressing," said Gagliano, 21, who earns $8 an hour at Insomnia Cookies, a delivery service to college students.
With enrollment soaring at for-profit colleges, more students are taking on crushing debt, but students at these colleges default at higher rates and graduate at lower rates than their peers at nonprofit and public schools.
Advocates say the schools help low-income, less-prepared students fulfill their dreams. Critics contend they prey on low-performing students and load them with untenable debt.
Education Management Corp., the Art Institute's parent company, which enrolls nearly 140,000 students at 97 campuses, says it encourages cautious borrowing. "We take seriously our responsibility of ensuring that families and students . . . are provided as much support and assistance as possible to ensure their understanding of the financial-aid process," said Jacquelyn P. Muller, spokeswoman for Education Management in Pittsburgh.
Carise Mitch, a spokeswoman for the Art Institute, said it educated borrowers about their loans and debt at the start and end of school, quizzed them to assess their understanding, and made them take a "default prevention" workshop. About 64 percent of Art Institute students are enrolled in bachelor programs, 27 percent in associate programs, and 9 percent in diploma programs.
Struggling students can get help at an academic center, Mitch added.
"We make every effort to support our students and supply them with the tools they need to complete their degrees," she said. "We know that to incur the costs of college without attaining the degree is a hardship for any student, wherever they choose to attend college."
Gagliano and her family accept partial blame for her predicament, but say school officials failed to warn her or counsel her about the impact of the mounting debt or suggest she might want to leave. Gagliano recalled taking the quiz and getting information upon admission, but no workshop or exit interview.
