Student loans in the US have "special" terms that are unusual. For example, unpaid interest past a certain amount is capitalized, so the principal of the loan

Student loans in the US have "special" terms that are unusual. For example, unpaid interest past a certain amount is capitalized, so the principal of the loan can increase if the borrower doesn't make large enough monthly payments to cover the interest. In addition, the borrower wishing to make the principal actually decrease over time needs to make a payment on the principal over and above the interest payment. How much each borrower pays per month depends on the payment plan selected and how much is owed, but the terms of the loan ensure that any mismanagement by e.g. a first time borrower will result in growth of the principal. Very many people who took out loans to go to college as an 18 year old student have been mismanaged in the subsequent years and ballooned by an insane amount. To give you an idea of what can happen, on my own loan I have paid (since I left college) an amount roughly equal to three times the actual debt (original principal) I had when I left school.. I have ADHD and other issues that kept me from getting secure and well paying employment for about a decade after school. During that time, the principal grew to a total that is slightly more than 3x the original debt, which I still owe. If I were making monthly payments right now, I'd be paying about 12% of my monthly income each month to simply prevent the principal from growing. I'm one of the lucky well-paid ones, many people who graduated with a four year degree are paid half what I make or less money, because their degree isn't able to be used for one reason or another - not enough jobs in their field, or they're in a field that pays very poorly (like e.g. primary/secondary teaching), where they literally don't make enough money to live. Many young people at present in the US have student loan debt that they have not been able to make headway on for years. During the part of their lives they might normally marry, buy a house, or start a family, they have no money to do so, because they're required to make payment on their student loans. Entire generations are unable to build lives for themselves because of generational theft of wealth. I suggest reading up on the various things that make these loans different from most others, including the fact that Federal student loans can not be discharged in bankruptcy, unlike almost every other kind of debt. I can't see the graphs myself because of a paywall, but I suspect the graphs don't tell the whole story.