Fail State Review
After touring Iraq for four years, military veteran Murray Hastie wanted to go back to a “normal life” with a college degree and a job.
Like most people, he took to the web to search for universities that would take his GI credits.
Soon enough, DeVry University reached out to him using sophistication and reassurance as facades, masquerading the fact that his credits would not be transferable nor valuable in the real world.
“I just remember he was going so fast, “ Hastie regretted. “My biggest mistake is trusting too many people.”
The 2017 documentary “Fail State” directed by Alex Shebanow exposes the heart-wrenching stories of students who were driven to the ground in debt by for-profit colleges and the systems that perpetuated their demise.
For- profit colleges would use glamorous advertising techniques to lure in unsuspecting students and steal their loans and grants.
People in Congress backed up these for-profit college because they were pocketing the students’ money as well.
Republican senators were receiving one out of every five dollars in campaign contributions made for the for-profit industry.
Democrat Bill Clinton was paid over $17 million to be an honorary chancellor at a for-profit college.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Wilson, a woman who lost her daughter, was tricked by the “pain funnel”.
The “pain funnel” was a common strategy used by recruiters to poke at the victim’s mistakes and fears, forcing them to relieve embarrassment until they agreed to enroll.
“It sounded like she was crying for me,” Wilson cringed. “She kept telling me that this was the best decision I will ever make.“
When the recruiter told Wilson to sign a few papers to hold her spot, she actually became enrolled. Wilson and Hastie are only two of the hundreds of thousands of students who were lied to by for-profit colleges.
Many would agree the ending of the documentary is appropriate as it encourages us to be hopeful for community colleges and the purity of those seeking an education.
Though it could have been additionally emotionally tangible by using more sad music, the documentary excels in storytelling a rather complicated and tangled conundrum into a concise and easily digestible story for viewers.
Like most people, he took to the web to search for universities that would take his GI credits.
Soon enough, DeVry University reached out to him using sophistication and reassurance as facades, masquerading the fact that his credits would not be transferable nor valuable in the real world.
“I just remember he was going so fast, “ Hastie regretted. “My biggest mistake is trusting too many people.”
The 2017 documentary “Fail State” directed by Alex Shebanow exposes the heart-wrenching stories of students who were driven to the ground in debt by for-profit colleges and the systems that perpetuated their demise.
For- profit colleges would use glamorous advertising techniques to lure in unsuspecting students and steal their loans and grants.
People in Congress backed up these for-profit college because they were pocketing the students’ money as well.
Republican senators were receiving one out of every five dollars in campaign contributions made for the for-profit industry.
Democrat Bill Clinton was paid over $17 million to be an honorary chancellor at a for-profit college.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Wilson, a woman who lost her daughter, was tricked by the “pain funnel”.
The “pain funnel” was a common strategy used by recruiters to poke at the victim’s mistakes and fears, forcing them to relieve embarrassment until they agreed to enroll.
“It sounded like she was crying for me,” Wilson cringed. “She kept telling me that this was the best decision I will ever make.“
When the recruiter told Wilson to sign a few papers to hold her spot, she actually became enrolled. Wilson and Hastie are only two of the hundreds of thousands of students who were lied to by for-profit colleges.
Many would agree the ending of the documentary is appropriate as it encourages us to be hopeful for community colleges and the purity of those seeking an education.
Though it could have been additionally emotionally tangible by using more sad music, the documentary excels in storytelling a rather complicated and tangled conundrum into a concise and easily digestible story for viewers.
Comments
Post a Comment