It's not even necessarily cheap debt. A lot of my undergraduate loans were at rates of 6.8% which I consider somewhat high.

The problem is it's easily accessible debt to people who have no concept of what tens of thousands of dollars is really worth. You see the amount you're borrowing on the form and it's really nothing more than a number.

Totally, I didn't have to pay for college and since you cannot write off school debt, I thought they would at least have decent interest rates since it is pretty much guaranteed unless the die. As I found out from my girlfriend who has them, they are ridiculously high. Some of her undergrad ones are at least ok at like 4-5% but almost all the ones she is getting for grad school are like 6-8%.

Exactly. Ask high school graduates and the vast majority of their parents to explain the cost of capital and show the projected return on the college tuition (as well as the 4 years of lost opportunity not participating in the market) and you just get blank stares. They're way too focused on the social rituals of move in day and fraternity/sorority rush.

Being shown the projected return on the degree is exactly why students take on debt, because we were given assurances that the job market for this or that degree is great along with indicators of starting salaries that seem to tell you "You can afford to go into debt for this or that, because the job you'll have" (haha, good one!) "right after college will make it possible to pay off."

It's not just access to debt. It's access to debt that can't be discharged via bankruptcy. Do that and watch all excess debt disappear.