Settlements are the option considered by students who find it very difficult to repay the loans taken by them for their education. Settlements involve an intermediate agency that negotiates with the lender to provide the student borrower an ease in repayment.

Settlement agencies charge some fees upfront when one enrolls for their settlement program. Once a student is enrolled, the settlement agency collects some money every month from the student and accumulates it into a temporary escrow account. This money is accumulated until it is deemed suitable enough by the settlement agency to negotiate with the lender. The negotiations result in the student having to pay a reduced amount, even on the principal, and thus settle the loan. A settlement may, on the face of it, save the student even up to 50% of the loan amount.

Settlement agencies are more an advantage to the lenders than to the borrowers. They collect money from the borrower, and thus the lender is assured that they will be paid their due amount. If the student were to file for bankruptcy, then the lender would not have got anything of the due. Thus, settlement agencies work hand-in-glove with lending companies, though on the face it may seem that they exist for the borrowers