I'm not sure putting all the blame on these kids is fair. If we as a country have decided that those under 21 do not possess the appropriate reasoning skills or responsibility to have a beer, how do we accept that they have enough of the above to make such a large financial decision? If I had applied for a $50,000 loan to start my own business at 18 from most banks I'm betting I would have been rejected. Yet we're okay lending the same to invest in education as long as the student is yoked to this debt for life.