I was fairly financially literate, and I was fortunate to have a family who supported my education, and grandparents who wanted to do what it took to fund it.
That said, it's a very ... odd process for most people. You're told to go to college, so you jump through the hoops; SATs, applications, etc. You choose a school. Now, hopefully as you're choosing a school, you're aware of costs and whether or not you can reasonably afford it. But, if I remember correctly, you don't have full information on what forms of aid you'll be receiving. Some schools offer much more generous financial aid and scholarships than others, and you don't have all of the info up front (again, from what I remember). You also don't know how much you'll be borrowing.
So then during your orientation you go to a "responsible borrowing" class and sign the paperwork for your loans and find out how much they'll be. It doesn't really feel like you have an option.
In my case, I only had to take out federally backed loans, which (for me) had very low per-year borrowing limits, so we're talking a minimal debt burden; a few thousand a year. I knew I'd be borrowing, and knew it wouldn't be an obscene amount.
But it just feels like the borrowing component is so far down the line that you're already committed to a school before you even get to it. Again, I'm not saying you shouldn't be prepared and have frank discussions before even choosing a school. Just that the system makes it easy to NOT be aware of it until it's too late. Nobody wants to back out of their freshman year in college at the last minute (likely after some money has been put down) because they balk at the loan paperwork.