Still being in college, so many people I know just assume debt is no issue. It's not a concept that hits close to home, and most people seem to be fine with repaying them forever, like buying a new phone every 2 years or a new car every 3. I've never known anyone who couldn't get a loan, no matter how bad their grades or weak their employment after college looks. I don't really understand how that works and who would loan them money in the first place, but I feel bad that so many just assume they debt they take on will be automatically paid for.
Many I know use their loans for not just school, but life. They spend money like they're rich and already have jobs when they're broke college students living off loans, and it just seems to me either the government, the banks loaning the money, or the schools, are using this monetary ignorance to their advantage. It'll fold some day I assume, considering student debt is 50% of the assets of the Federal Government [0], if those default rates rise to high that could wreck havoc in the trust of the financial well being of the US government (Disclaimer: I'm a student, I don't really understand most of what's happening here)
[0] https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/gs-live/uploads%2F1521231...