you make a lot of bad choices that compound. you choose the school that ‘fits’ you better or seems fancier… but doesn’t offer you any fiancial aid. then you major/train for a job that is a low wage. while you are a student you don’t work… you live beyond your means (study abroad, travel, etc) and pile up more debt. suddenly your tuition and COL is has a few extra 10K extra per year or more in debt.

on lemmy it’s verboten, but a lot of massive debt holders are that way because they just… don’t pay back their debt. they don’t save, they spend spend spend and just further debt burden themselves. they simple don’t pay back their debt and act like it’s a problem for their ‘future self’. they refuse to budget and live within their budget. they repeated defer and pile on more debt and their interest rates go up and up as their credit tanks.

i know several people who took out totally unnecessary student loans… to buy cars, to go on vacations, to afford apartments (won’t get roommates) they could not have otherwise afforded etc.

a lot of people are simply financially irresponsible. but that isn’t a ‘nice’ thing to say. it’s ‘judgemental’. it’s how evil and predatory everyone is… it’s never their fault.