Default: the Student Loan Documentary

Default: The Student Loan Documentary is a feature-length documentary chronicling the stories of borrowers from different backgrounds affected by the private student lending industry and their struggles to change the system.

In 2005 private Student Loans were exempted of ALL consumer protections. No matter when their loans were taken, many borrowers now find themselves in a paralyzing predicament of repaying two, three or multiple times the original amount borrowed, with no bankruptcy protection, no cap on fees and penalties and no recourse to the law. The consequences are dire, with stories of borrowers in financial and emotional ruin.

www.defaultmovie.com

A film by Aurora Meneghello and Serge Bakalian

Duration : 0:5:13


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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am and is filed under Student Loans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

25 Responses to “Default: the Student Loan Documentary”

inkey2 Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

to illhonkey: HA HA …
to illhonkey: HA HA HA you said exactly what I did…..go to the cheapo 2 year then transfer. My dad was a very educted person and that is what he told me to do. In my dads life he was a banker, a soldier and a college professor……so he was pretty in tune with this situation.

inkey2 Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

to illhonkey: you …
to illhonkey: you hit the nail on the head, Honkey. I was thinking the same thing….the alternatives…..entrepreneurship, 2 year tech degrees etc. See my recent comment.

inkey2 Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

My suggestion to …
My suggestion to anyone going to college is this……First: go to a cheap, “accredited”, 2 year Junior College……then transfer to your first choice school. This way…you will get your basic core courses out of the way and actually have some kind of diploma in case you quit school before you get your 4 year degree. Also…..since you got a 2 year “degree”…..it cannot “expire”. That degree is valid to transfer to another college “forever”

yoops Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

I’m so glad I left …
I’m so glad I left my $120,000 8 term priv uni program. I only went for 3 terms, even that is too much and I borrowed appoximately over 30k and it is ridiculous to think that I’d be over 100k in debt out of school.

reuben81343 Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

45 and 73 : same as …
45 and 73 : same as me man. in hard!

applyforstudentloan Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

Going to college is …
Going to college is a big step in life. It is exciting, challenging and costly. One of the biggest stresses of going to college is figuring out how to pay for it. For many students paying for college involves getting student loans. Grants, scholarships and other free money does not usually cover all the costs and the only other place to turn is to a student loan.

jasonpatrickries Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

The major problems …
The major problems in this country are not sexism or even racism. Its classism. Relegating those ont he fringes of society to be no more than burger flippers and wal-mart greeters and the fortunate few who largley had it all handed to them as dignitaries is a recipe for disaster. We might as well bring back kings and queens and bloodlines. The struggle for existance will only depend on the dice you happen to roll.

jasonpatrickries Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

Generally speaking, …
Generally speaking, an individual will be approximately as seccessful as their parents. This should settle the nature vs. nurture debate as it correlates to success and wealth. Money begets money. Those who have will work half as hard and receive twice as much. Those without will work twice as hard and receive half a much. We can thank usury and other economic barriers to economic mobility for this. If this is the system that the people want, our current sytem, very good. Pray for rich parents.

jasonpatrickries Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

Ya’ll are right. ‘ …
Ya’ll are right. ‘The great equalizer’ is a privledge and not a right and if you can’t afford to go then you shouldn’t go. But take this away from the people and see what civil disobiendence and insubordination will ensue. The citizens of any nation need to have economic mobility, a way to improve their economic situation. Without that, no nation stands a chance. But so many people think that a high schooler with all the accolades, credentials and such but an inability to finance shouldn’t go!??

illhonky Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

Okay, the prison …
Okay, the prison system is a whole different topic.

My comments were directed at ppl ing about the cost of college, not necessarily about the college experience itself. I’m grateful that I went to college and despite the costs of attaining the degree, I am not resentful of the institutions that funded my loans along the way.

My comment was simply to highlight that there are alternatives to higher education (and costs), including entrepreneurship, entertainment, sports, and yes… prison.

hefland Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

Well Ill, if money …
Well Ill, if money didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have this discussion and we’d be good friends inventing stuff. I’ll part with this, have you read up on what a Resource Based Economy is? You can see what it’s about in the Zeitgeist Addendum video, which is free online to watch. Let me know when you do, because I’d like to be your friend in these ed up times.

illhonky Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

I never idolized …
I never idolized the wealthy, but I can respect their skills. The acquisition of money is all just a game, bullshit. I can’t be angry at ppl who understand and apply themselves to being successful, and those ppl should definitely not be responsible for the poor. Capitalism really is just money being transfered from one person to another in a dog-eat-dog fashion. I enjoy watching the struggles as part of my own sick amusement but I, like you, can not wait for the system to fail.

illhonky Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

I wasn’t going to …
I wasn’t going to say “charities”. I was actually thinking about the societies in the world where the wealth is disbursed evenly throughout the population and all colleges cost the same reasonable price; China for example. But, I choose to not live among communists.

hefland Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

and 1 more thing, …
and 1 more thing, stop idolizing the wealthy. They are the worst people to be like. They horde their wealth and thus promote greed. Imagine if Bill Gates donated 39 billion to the homeless and hungry(generally speaking) and kept 1 billion for himself? No more homeless and hungry. Why the does one person need so much money for anyways?? And before you say charities, that is chump change to him(like me giving out 1 dollar to a bum), and simply for the sake of tax write off.

hefland Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

That’s why I can’t …
That’s why I can’t wait for this system to fail (and it will, because more people hate it than support it), because all those rich holes will be left with nothing but their big houses and tons of worthless green paper and metals (gold). Dude, your faith is money, you don’t care about people, or the planet for that matter. I can tell by your comments below. Get out of the bubble you refuse to come out of and SEE what your country you love so much has turned into:advertise>consume>repeat

hefland Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

And when that …
And when that happens, I hope those people that get the higher loan fees wake up and stop paying like a slave to the system! You see, when the whole world finally loses confidence in the monetary system, be it from capitalism, socialism, communism (all 3 of these work within a money/barter system), that’s when we free ourselves from the slavery of debt. We are born to become CONSUMERS, regardless of profession. And if we don’t have purchasing power to consume, then we are nobody…

educationk12 Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

illhonky, Athletes? …
illhonky, Athletes? 1 out of every 16,000 make it professional. Actors? Oh please, tell that to the tens of thousands of actors living with their parents. Musicians? Even most of American Idol stars don’t make big money.

We should all aspire to be like Bill Gates and drop out of college?

You are using the extremes of rare examples of success.

How about the statistics for prisons? Guess how many drop outs are sitting in prison. Those with college degrees are rare in prison.

Piece of paper?

demossmd Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

I never advocated …
I never advocated defaulting on your loans on purpose. What I object to is the raising of interest rates to rates that even Jesus preached against. You think a person wants to default so that their rate can jump five fold?

I went to a 2 year college, too. I worked my way through my Masters only because my parents had a business and I was able to make 7 times the minimum wage. I financed my doctorate. I don’t ever plan on defaulting, but I find it inhumane to boast corrupt Sallie Mae practices.

illhonky Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

You are exactly the …
You are exactly the type of loser that makes college prices and loan fees higher for the rest of us. Thanks!

illhonky Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

Some of the …
Some of the wealthiest ppl in this country, actors, athletes, entrepenuers, and musicians have no college degree. The wealthiest man in the world, Bill Gates – no degree.

I think the issue is more about how ppl are raised in this country. The emphasis is that the pursuit of money equates to happiness. The truth is that the ones who love what they do are often the most successful, regardless of the piece of paper.

illhonky Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

Do more research?!? …
Do more research?!?? I worked for Sallie Mae for 2 years while I was in college. I know more than you do about this, believe me.

If you are in default on a student loan, the worst possible thing you can do is act like you know more about the loan then the collectors do.

A tip for others that care, the best possible thing is to NOT go into default; it’s a 22.5 % penalty. You’re warned about the default fee in the fine print (promissory note).

hefland Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

I am paying them 40 …
I am paying them 40 bucks a month rather than the $400+ they ask just so they don’t bother me. But guess what? I’m NEVER going to pay a cent more because I never plan on paying it off in my lifetime. The loan can go up to $1,000,000, I don’t give a and they can’t do SHIIIIIIIT. Evil s!

74u73hjd Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

we end up as debt …
we end up as debt slaves to impotent college degrees it’s time we protest!!!

demossmd Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

Sigh, please do …
Sigh, please do more research on the topic. I’m not complaining about my six figure student loan debt. I am not defaulting, however the main issue is how they raise the interest rates to impossible to pay rates and there’s nothing you can do about it. For example. I’ve NEVER missed a payment on ANYTHING except one time I had a 4.9% fixed interest rate on a Chase loan. The payment made it 5 days late. They change my interest rate to 29.99%. Fortunately, I had the $10k to pay that credit card off.

illhonky Says:
July 9th, 2009 at 12:53 am

I went to a 2-year …
I went to a 2-year school and paid a whopping $3,000 a year (out of pocket). Then took out loans when I transfered to a 4-year.

The bigger issue is what colleges charge for a degree, I think it is ridiculously expensive. No one is forced to take on enormous amounts of debt though.

There are always cheaper alternatives. The ppl complaining about their college debt are the same type of ppl defaulting on their mortgages and screwing up this country.

…Live within your means.

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