While I know this is the last place for any sympathy on the topic I do have one slice of empathy - ONLY because the entire education system is a mess. These kids are brainwashed (by adults) into believing that college is the only way to earn a living and then enter into an inherited system that is so bloated with costs their resulting debt is far beyond what it should be.
You should NEVER be able to pay for an entire degree with loans for majors that will NEVER pay you back. There should be some form index for each major - defining a cap on the amount that can be loaned. STEM degrees should allow for higher loan caps, while arts degrees should have lower. If you REALLY want an art degree then find another way to pay.
Also, get rid of 80% the administrators and lower the cost. Most of our woke culture problems come from too much funding of useless admins and degrees. We’re literally feeding the beast with taxpayer based loans. Do I get to see a return on these loans? No. Of course, my student loan also had the highest interest rate of any loan I’ve ever had.
Yes, 18 year olds are old enough to understand the contract they’re signing up for but this whole system needs a massive overhaul...it’s the system WE are handing them.
My husband was a high school counselor for almost 40 years - these “technical” schools would come in and talk to the kids about signing up to be X-ray technicians, phlebotomists, medical billing personnel and other low-level, low-paid positions in offices and health care facilities - they made it sound great and would help the kids take out hefty loans to pay for it all. My husband tried to explain to them with the salaries they’d get from these jobs, they’d never be able to pay off the loans.
He finally got these “technical institutes” banned from his campus for misleading the students.