Loans don't help with credit checks, background checks, and the now-common reluctance to renting apartments out to undergrads. I don't know how little paperwork and difficulty existed during the hallowed '90s, but I doubt those circumstances could be replicated for an 18 year old wanting to escape his family today without going homeless.

Let's not forget that government-backed loans will require information regarding parental income and assets unless you file as "Independent", a status with its own restrictions on well may apply.