You need to read this article from The New York Times if you’re considering going to a trade school or for-profit college.

One fast-growing American industry has become a conspicuous beneficiary of the recession: for-profit colleges and trade schools.

At institutions that train students for careers in areas like health care, computers and food service, enrollments are soaring as people anxious about weak job prospects borrow aggressively to pay tuition exceeding $30,000 a year.

But the profits have come at substantial taxpayer expense while often delivering dubious benefits to students, according to academics and advocates for greater oversight of financial aid. Critics say many schools exaggerate the value of their degree programs, selling young people on dreams of middle-class wages while setting them up for default on untenable debts, low-wage work and a struggle to avoid poverty. And the schools are harvesting growing federal student aid dollars, including Pell grants awarded to low-income students.

The article goes on to quote a woman who left her job with one of these schools as she became concerned with deceptive recruiting tactics.

It’s stunning to me that these schools are charging $20,000 to $30,000 per year. Unfortunately, it’s another example of good intentions gone bad and the fact that Congress is bought and sold every day. We want to help kids and adults pay for school to improve themselves and find a career, but with all that money comes a new industry that preys on people looking for a new option in life.

Be careful so you don’t end up in a situation where you’re loaded up with debt that you can’t pay back.

One option we should consider is limiting financial aid from the government to public colleges, non-profit schools and accredited private schools.