Administrators and campus niceties. There is a lot of competition between universities to get the best students, raise their academic profile and hopefully a s

Administrators and campus niceties. There is a lot of competition between universities to get the best students, raise their academic profile and hopefully a successful/donating alum. In this competition they start trying to differentiate themselves in the market by offering more student services, better buildings, a bigger sports program, etc. Unfortunately with how student loans work, there is no downward pressure on price. These loans are essentially unlimited for the borrower and bear no risk for the universities. So students loan lots of money because they have been told that university is their best bet. Which isn't exactly wrong, I'd say misleading, but that's a different conversation. Students are encouraged (or at least were in the past) to not worry about how much they are borrowing since they'll easily get a job and make enough money after college. Unfortunately this hasn't worked out for some people and makes things difficult for a while for many more.