And we're lending this money to high school students who often have no sense of what it means. These are all amounts that most students have never had to handle

And we're lending this money to high school students who often have no sense of what it means. These are all amounts that most students have never had to handle before, and they'll be repaid when students are at jobs they've never previously had making more than they could possibly imagine. The whole thing is probably so abstract for them that a lot probably don't grasp what the difference between $8,000 a year tuition and $40,000 a year tuition _actually_ means for their day to day lives. On top of that students are sold the idea that, as the above poster said, "you get what you pay for," and that cheaper schools are somehow worse and will mean they'll earn less money. If you're getting into debt to increase your earning potential anyway, it makes sense that you would try to maximize things. But you're 17, and might not realize that these adults who are in positions of power are likely misleading you. Also, honestly, a lot of 17 year olds don't seem to be able to grasp the idea that debt is something you actually have to pay back (a lot of adults even don't seem to grasp that). What do people think would happen if they gave every 17 year old a credit card? Yet their financial competence is somehow expected to be completely different if we give them a much larger loan?