In 1970 there had been only 18,333 students enrolled at degree-granting for-profit schools, less than a quarter of a percent of the total number of college students. In 2010, Tom Harkin, chair of the Senate's education committee, began a two-year investigation into for-profit schools. But even more shocking, federal money flowing to for-profit schools accounted for 25% of all federal student aid and 47% of eventual loan defaults. Students' money enriched every corner of the for-profit industry except one: quality of instruction. In fact, these for-profit students were actually worse off than if they hadn't gone to school at all.

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Persons: Kaplan, bankrolling, —, underperformers, Ashford, Warburg Pincus, Tom Harkin, Harkin, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Pell Grant, Ryann Liebenthal Harper, Stephanie Riegg Cellini, Cellini, Ryann Liebenthal Organizations: University of, Apollo Group, ITT Tech, Fortune, Federal Family Education, Ashford, University, company's, Ashford University, Bridgepoint Education, New, Defense Department, Bloomberg, Camp Lejeune, Ryann Liebenthal Harper Collins Publishers, Books, HarperCollins Publishers Locations: California, New York City, Bridgepoint, Pell, Vietnam, Iraq, Camp, Oakland , California