So, since I work in higher ed I will give you all my take. I think that what doesn’t get discussed enough is the number of students who leave college without a degree, but with substantial student loan debt. It’s all a game. These students know how to maximize their loans, as well as how to play the system. The schools get the payment for tuition, then gives a refund to the student for any loan amount over the cost of tuition. This is supposed to go toward helping with living expenses, but we all know how that works. Theses same students then do nothing in their classes, or do just enough to keep from getting kicked out for a while. Finally, they ride it out until they get kicked out of school. That’s when the loan finally stops. They are getting $40k+ in loans during this time, and never have any intention of paying them back. I see these students in my classes every semester, and it’s very obvious if you know the game. Now, there are plenty who take the loans and get a worthless degree that will never generate the income to pay loans back, but I promise the ones gaming the system are taking the largest bite of the loans that go to default.