I would say that many millennials made a decision based on information that perhaps wasn't true, and perhaps was given even in bad faith.

Source: am a millennial and experienced the huge pressure to go to college, especially an expensive one.

I too, am a millennial. I grew up being told that the only serious option after high school was to go to college. That's just how life worked. I believed it, as most my family went to college immediately after high school.

Not only did my family perpetuate this idea, but my middle class suburban high school did as well. Our guidance counselors actively were involved with the local state universities. They spent a lot of time shoving the idea of attending college down your throat. Maybe they only did this with the higher performing students. I even was going on college tours in 10th grade, through programs at my high school. At the time, I really didn't think there was another option aside from college after high school.

As a society we've decide that people <21 aren't responsible enough to have a beer, but are responsible enough to take on massive amounts of loans. All of this while having government propaganda and society telling them since childhood that if they don't get a college degree, they'll be poor their whole lives.

Then the law was changed as well so only student debt was not dischargeable in bankruptcy while every other type of debt is.

It's disengenous to imply that these were freely made choices. Well running capitalism relies on information parity between both sides and not interactions where it's all of society and a massive industry trying to convince undeveloped minds to make bad choices