Even with a 10% loan you’d be close to 55YO before it went from $34K to $500K
One missing piece to the puzzle are late fees:
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/ask-brianna-missed-student-loan-payment
“After 30 days. Your servicer can begin charging you up to 6% of your missed payment amount as a late fee. For example, every time you skip a $300 payment, you could be hit with an $18 fee.”
If those late fees accrue interest it could get “interesting” in a hurry.