As most of you know already, student loans aren’t dischargable in bankruptcy. But not all money owed for school purposes qualify as student loans.

A student loan is when a third party (bank, the Federal government, etc…) gives you or your school money specifically for the purpose of getting an education. Compare this to owing tuition to the school. If you owe tuition, you owe the school money for classes attended.

The difference is important because while student loans are not dischargable, tuition owed to the school is dischargable. Lately, I’ve seen schools try to turn the tuition owed into student loans. Schools pretending to lend you money don’t magically change a tuition bill into student loans.