Default: the Student Loan Documentary
Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at
2:10 pm
defaultmovie asked:
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 …
Tagged with: Feature Length Documentary • Multiple Times • Predicament
Filed under: Student Loans
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4-5 years of being unemployed and out of the workforce to complete a degree that costs thousands in student loans. Followed by massive unemployment. It seems to me that college is not such a good investment after all.
The key is being very vigilant about the amount of student loan assistance you apply for while in school.
Borrow federal loans first before private ones and don’t borrow a penny more than you need to! You will thank yourself when you have to pay them back.
What a joke. People who take out loans of any type pledge to pay them back. If they don’t then it is the same as stealing. Student loans are no different. These people made bad decisions and want someone else to pay for it.
Sallie Mae are criminals … #1 they approved 20,000 to a diploma mill w/o telling me! I have bank documents proving they’re liars. I caught one of their managers lying on the phone (recorded and published)! Presently refusing to send forbearance forms (since October 2008 they refused to send forms!!!) They lie, divert, — even locked me out of my account. Every trick in the book to force a default to sell my loan for a profit to collection agency. “CBS 60 Minutes Sallie Mae Default Profit”
and the saddest thing is we are putting them in jail. How in the flying **** am I supposed to pay my debt while I am in jail?!!!
Oprah Winfrey has done colossal damage to young people by pushing education and not warning about student loan debt. Even Suze Orman has backed down a little from the idea that student loan debt is “good” debt. I have an accounting degree that I haven’t used for anything. I mostly lost interest in accounting after I graduated. The office jobs that I had didn’ t require a degree–just some knowledge of accounting principles. My degree is just glorified office skills.
Be very careful about taking out Student Loans. Apply for every Scholarship you can think of, particularly the less well advertised ones. Do well in your first year of University, reduce your course-load if necessary to increase your GPA. Do not struggle with 5 courses, do 3 or 4 per semester, and get better grades. Better marks equal better chances at funding. At the very least reconsider the bullshit option course and do the core essentials.
All I’m saying is that student loans are something to avoid. Achieve the highest grades you can at a non-Ivy league institution, during your 1st or 2nd year, and then apply for Scholarships & Fellowships to go elsewhere. If you can’t afford 30 thousand and up, don’t attend the University. I’m speaking from personal experience. There is also no guarantee that you will get the degree. If you can half the yearly expense with a scholarship or award, you are far better off.
Well (juozasg), the 120 000 is going to increase rapidly with interest being compounded after you graduate. Having studied at Oxbridge, I know first-hand how expenses can mount up, and I had a scholarship. I would recommend that you complete a first engineering degree at a less expensive University, and a 2 year MSc at a more prestigious one. The debt isn’t worth the prestige, trust me, it took me a decade to pay all the loans required to attend Cambridge. It’s worth being careful.
Do you guys realize that at 15% interest it takes 8 years of 0$ in payments with $30,000 in loans to reach $90,000. Either that women decided not to work, or she is just an idiot.
The calculation with 20% interest to reach 90K is 6 years of not paying one single cent…so there is more to her story.
the first part of your advice is not practical. your best odds to become successful with a practical degree (say engineering) is very important to go to a good school to get a good job. these schools very expensive (up to $30,000 a year) and there aren’t enough scholarships to cover this. most part-time and summer work does not pay much above minimum wage and the hours spend working will make it harder to seriously study your profession. you’ll need loans to cover your expenses.
I am over educated w/ 2 degrees and a giant student loan debt. 50k. Thats why I have an opinion about this. I was using examples of less privileged individuals in the US that manage to excel in spite of their hardships.
Its a freedom / privilege to go to college, decide on a major, and prepare yourself for a career. Since we live in a free market society, it’s also a responsibility to make sure what you are learning has some kind of marketability.
EVERYONE has to adapt to a changing market.
20 years ago America was standard by which many other nations were striving to become. By nations I mean the citizens not the governments(Cuba etc…). We are already starting to see a descent from many other nations of the world. Much of the world which once so revered America and attempted to emulate our capitalist ways have done away with this attempt to follow America’s lead.
I am guessing you didn’t finance a pricey college education only to realize upon graduation that you would receive negative returns on your investment. What is this street hustlers example you use? This economic system you speak of as capitalism in your post sounds more anarchist than capitalist. Irionically enough, you may have touched on another issue. These two economic systems seem to correlate in significant ways. America is the most advanced capitalist society the world has ever seen.
“If you don’t have the money don’t go.” “Its your fault for signing.” Im sick of reading comments like this!!!!! Education has been the great equalizer that has given millions of people the opportunity to improve their economic situation. A nation in which its citizens have no economic mobility is doomed. Can people fault students for doing exactly what they have been instructed to do since Kindergarten, GO TO COLLEGE. Otherwise they will join the ranks of burger flippers and Wal-Mart greeters.
Do not take out student loans. Apply for scholarships, work summers, work part-time during the school term. Make sure your studies connect to reality, that a job or profession exists at the end of your 4 years at College/University. Don’t do a Drama degree, or an English degree, unless you connect that to a teaching qualification, a graduate degree, or something practical.
And these privileged kids who get to GO TO COLLEGE…are whining about the LOANS for their expensive education…
COME ON…STOP BEING LITTLE SPOILED KIDS AND GET OUT THEIR AND WORK YOUR FUCKING ***** OFF LIKE ..the illegal aliens who risk their lives just to make a dollar an hour!!!!
and send their money home to support A FAMILY!!!
LAZY LAZY,,,, ASSED AMERICANS!!!!!
If you sign up for unsubsidized student loans.
then its your own fault for signing up for something that could wreck your credit and finances.
They WARN you that the interest rate is subject to change.
Street hustlers know how to earn the cash they need to survive.
You have to get street smart…instead of being a passive victim.
This is America where Capitalism rules.
Clever poor people come to America from other countries and manage to build small financial empires… with no education
Solution pay off your debt…
Spread the word please
EXCELLENT trailer and concept – I will be blogging about this.
I’ll be back to post the link…