refinance loans Help for gamblers but not for students

a financial aid information source, says that two-thirds of four-year undergraduates leave college with debt. Graduate and professional students borrow $27,000 to $114,000.

Bankruptcy law allows for discharges of credit card debt, car loans and even gambling debt, but not student loans.

A student loan debtor must try to claim an "undue hardship" to seek bankruptcy protection — a claim that is successful at best about 50% of the time. Unlike a traditional bankruptcy filing, a hardship filing requires debtors to file a lawsuit against creditors. That pits the student against corporate lawyers and defense teams, and often requires an expert witness, which can cost the graduate thousands of dollars to arrange.

"We're talking about people who are in bankruptcy because they don't have money," says Rafael Pardo, associate professor of law at Seattle University and co-author of a recent research report about undue hardship litigation. "Yet we're asking them, 'If you want relief, you have to find a way to pay for a full-blown lawsuit.' "

Renee Marie French wanted to file for an undue hardship claim in 2006 when she stopped working so she could care for her mother, who had cancer, in Albany, N.Y. As an unmarried parent of one child, French was unable to pay for a lawyer. But Thomas Califano, a bankruptcy attorney, agreed to provide pro bono service.

Even though French was able to go through the process, a judge ruled against her.

The whole process is unfair and extremely difficult, Califano says. Since then, French's student loan has risen from $14,000 to $44,000 because of interest and penalties. And her life is more difficult. Her mother died, as has her stepfather. She works as a registered nurse and earns $20 an hour.

"I pay $1,000 in child care, so I don't make enough to pay for my bills," says French. "I pay $25 a month to the collection agency."