Default: the Student Loan Documentary

August 3, 2009 by · 25 Comments
Filed under: Blog 

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


[youtube 1463LHDLGvQ]

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Comments

25 Responses to “Default: the Student Loan Documentary”
  1. waverly2468 says:

    These are all …
    These are all relevant comments now that Calif. is broke and fees at Cal-State universities have gone up 30% this year. High school guidance counselors (if they care) should be honest and tell students that maybe college is a RIPOFF and you might be better off working at Best Buy and Burger King and not being a fugitive from Sallie Mae for the rest of your life. Some degrees like computer science will be obsolete in just a few years.

  2. diktaytor says:

    we’re behind you …
    we’re behind you 100% serge

  3. SweetSweetWaldo says:

    Just like the young …
    Just like the young gentleman in the beginning of the clip, I was disabled for most of my adult life and was never able to pay the student loans. Now I’m middle aged and they’re still after me. My credit is absolutely destroyed. I would never go to college if I had it to do again. Hey, if it just happened to slobs like me, that would be one thing, but it seems to be happening to everybody who does not come from a rich family.

  4. 2009ForJesus says:

    trust in Jesus …
    trust in Jesus first and accept him today in these endtimes

  5. TheCollegeMatrix says:

    MY FRIENDS,
    The …

    MY FRIENDS,
    The College Matrix is alive and real…for it affects thousands and once one realizes the matrix, they are already deep within the Belly of the Beast. Expose the College Matrix my friends, for I will.

  6. luckykat2 says:

    applyforstudentloan …
    applyforstudentloan- i agree that the biggest problem in this country is class. but to say that you will only become as wealthy as your parents? do you really think the only way to get out of your class is through a big expensive school? what about blood sweat and state/community college? or the immigrants that come here and make more in a year than their student loans are worth? but i’m glad someone else agrees that americas problem is class.

  7. luckykat2 says:

    i feel sorry for a …
    i feel sorry for a lot of these people who dont deserve this but a lot of people i know went to 30k a year schools to get bs liberal arts degrees, because they wanted the college experience, thinking that community college or state schools are below them, then wonder why their 20k a year job can’t pay off their loan. luckily the gov is about to faze out private banks and becoming the only direct lender. ive never had a problem with them repaying my loans. also, how do you not know your lender?

  8. 3Storms says:

    It’s bullshit. …
    It’s bullshit. You’re not allowed to establish your career and your LIFE until they get paid first, and if you put them off, they simply go to court and take what you make from you. My sister is in a 1-bedroom apt. with 3 kids on a part time job, and the student loan nazis are taking HALF of her paycheck.

  9. waverly2468 says:

    College is a roach …
    College is a roach motel–you enter but you don’t leave until you’ve lost all your money. It’s like one of Jigsaw’s traps in “SAW 4″.

  10. inkey2 says:

    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.

  11. inkey2 says:

    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.

  12. inkey2 says:

    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”

  13. yoops says:

    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.

  14. reuben81343 says:

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

  15. applyforstudentloan says:

    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.

  16. jasonpatrickries says:

    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.

  17. jasonpatrickries says:

    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.

  18. jasonpatrickries says:

    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!??

  19. illhonky says:

    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.

  20. hefland says:

    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.

  21. illhonky says:

    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.

  22. illhonky says:

    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.

  23. hefland says:

    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.

  24. hefland says:

    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

  25. hefland says:

    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…

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