‘I’ve had this black cloud looming over me’: How private lenders have left millions of college students with no hope for the future

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics
A small piggy bank is surrounded by a hurricane of student loan papers, unable to escape.
Despite the political fight over student-loan forgiveness, people with private student debt are stuck with predatory loan terms they can't escape.

Chelsea Jia Feng/Insider

I was told I'd never get into Yale because of Asian American prejudice, but I beat the odds and got in. Now I teach other students how to get into their dream schools.

Tech Insider
headshot of Christopher Rim
The author.

Command Education

Texas A&M board members sought a journalism program that would churn out conservatives to 'direct our message,' according to text messages

Tech Insider
A general view of the Texas A&M Aggies logo at midfield during the game against the Wyoming Cowboys on September 11, 2004 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. The Aggies won 31-0.
A general view of the Texas A&M Aggies logo at midfield during the game against the Wyoming Cowboys on September 11, 2004 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. The Aggies won 31-0.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

I'm a college expert, and the biggest mistake I see students make is not negotiating their financial aid offer. Here's how to do it.

Tech Insider
Students can negotiate their financial-aid offers.
Students can negotiate their financial-aid offers.

Rick Friedman / Getty Images

ChatGPT showed it could pass a freshman year at Harvard and achieve a 3.34 GPA, student says

Tech Insider
Harvard Yard
The entrance to Harvard Yard.

Scott Eisen/Getty Images

I'm a Gen Zer who chose a European college over the Ivy League because I could get a master's in less time and for less money than in the US

Tech Insider
Nicole Thompson
Nicole Thompson is a graduate of the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

courtesy of Thompson

An academic used ChatGPT to write a letter of recommendation that helped a student win a prestigious scholarship from Cambridge

Tech Insider
ChatGPT in classroom
Matt Huculak, an academic, used ChatGPT to help write a reference letter for a student.

LAW Ho Ming/Getty Images

More students are learning to be mechanics, chefs, and construction workers as college enrollment shrinks

Tech Insider : Economy
Five students looking up from beneath a car in garage workshop
Construction, culinary, and mechanic trade programs all saw increases in enrollment last year.

Peter Muller/Getty Images

I made $127,000 selling PowerPoint templates after my TikTok went viral. Here's how I turned views into sales in 6 months.

Tech Insider
Left: Jakob Welle Smogeli, the TikTok creator behind jacobppt, Right: Screenshot of a jacobppt video
Creator and student athlete Jakob Welle Smogeli is now focusing on how he can scale his six-figure presentation business in a healthy way.

Jakob Welle Smogeli

Ambitious parents are spending hundreds of thousands on consultants to help get their kids into Ivy League schools, report says

Tech Insider
Harvard Camous
The campus of Harvard University.

Charles Krupa/AP

Subscribe to colleges