Students waiting on borrower-defense claims face challenges with credit, obstacles to education

Dawn Thompson got an email in January with welcome news from the Department of Education. The federal government would clear $70,000 in federal graduate student loans she took out to attend an Everest University online M.B.A. program -- just a chunk of her total student loan debt, but a relief nonetheless. Eight months later, however, Thompson’s still waiting. “They keep saying give it more time,” she said. “How much more time do you actually need?” For students who attended...