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So says associate professor Kevin Kinser at the State University of  New York-Albany. For-profit schools have been getting a bad rap for the last few years because of some questionable recruitment practices, but they educate about 10% of all graduates and are an important part of the educational network.

The real problem with them the professor says is that too few of their students pay back their government loans. While about 90% of for-profit undergraduates use federal loans to pay tuition … they accumulate too much debt, can’t pay it back, and leave the government with overdue loans.

There’s a long history of success with the education for-profits provide. Compared with non profit learning institutions they enroll more students, outperform state colleges on graduating minorities, and are more accessible to older students. They award about  1 in 5 associate degrees and 1 in 10 master’s degrees.

The sector is expected to add 1 million more new students next year. 1 in 3 will pay off the principal on their loans in the next 4 years and 1 in 5 for-profit students will default in the next 3 years.

– Research from the UK’s leading discount code and voucher site has revealed that it takes more than three years for graduates to recover financially after university. The study by www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk of more than 1,000 graduates who had finished university at least five years ago, aimed to explore the time it takes for those finishing university to recover financially.

When asked “did you have a student overdraft when at university?” 67% of the 1,324 people surveyed said that they did, with a further two thirds, 66%, of these confessing that they relied on it heavily throughout their time at university. 16% said that they spent their entire time at university completely in their overdraft.

When MyVoucherCodes.co.uk asked how long it took for graduates to get out of their overdraft, three quarters, 74%, admitted that it took them longer than three years to pay it off upon completing university. 24% said it took them under three years to get out of their overdraft and a further 3% admitted that they are still trying to get out of it.

When asked the question “did you have a credit card whilst studying at university?” 61% said that they did. Of these, two thirds admitted that they still use that credit card now, with a further 13% admitting that they have never fully paid it off.

A third, 34%, of graduates admitted that university left them financially unstable for a long time, whilst 62% said that they were consistently offered extra credit whilst studying.

Mark Pearson, managing director of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk said;

“It is extremely sad that so many graduates feel trapped by their immediate student debt even after they finish their studies, with many admitting that it took over three years to get out of their student overdrafts.”

He continued

“At MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, we see the importance of saving money whilst at university; whether it is by using a discount code or by just cutting back. I think that making a few small changes whilst at university will stop graduates from having this problem.”

For more information, or to arrange interviews, please contact Gabrielle Lofthouse of 10 Yetis PR Agency on 01452 348211 or email gabrielle@10yetis.co.uk or on Twitter @Gabriella_PRowl.

Editors notes

Mark Pearson, MD of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.

MyVoucherCodes is the UKs most popular discount site.