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 from most consumer protections. No matter when their loans were taken, many borrowers 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.

Beyond these personal accounts, DEFAULT will explain the differences between federal and private student loans, a subject often overlooked by colleges and high school counselors. It will also give detail on the rise of the private lending industry and of college debt.

While the media has focused on the disaster of sub-prime mortgages, only superficial attention has been given to financial giants, most notably Sallie Mae, which has been profiting more than any other lender by approving loans to low-income students with variable interest rates up to 25%. As The National Consumer Law Center concluded in their March 2008 report titled “Paying The Price: The High Cost of Private Student Loans and the Dangers for Student Borrowers,” there are ominous signs that “the student loan market is headed for the same fate as the subprime mortgage industry .”