"Fault Lines in Borrowing: Academic Outcomes of Students in Default" examines factors influencing and influenced by loan defaults among students at Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. The findings demonstrate that loan defaults and their harsh penalties are strongly associated with poorer academic persistence and completion. The paper offers recommended changes to the student debt system to alleviate unnecessary hardships currently placed on student borrowers. [Support for this project was provided by the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation.]