Correct, they didn't get a raw deal with student loans. Degree for nothing? Ok. My parents couldn't afford tuition. Student lians weren't really a thing then. I worked part time 9 montns a year, full time during summer starting at 15. Then worked full time for two years after HS, and worked all through college. Sorry, no sympathy here. You could do all that today and you would not have 1/4 of the balance paid. Sorry bud, you're just out of touch, and the reason this thread exists. They weren't a "thing" because you didn't need them. My wife's hairdresser has an economics degree. You're so off on this one, it's just laughable. The premise of your argument, and calling it that is generous, is that 90% of the country took out student loans to study philosophy. The government screwed the people, it's that simple. When the federal government guarantees the loans there is no incentive for the universities to manage costs of make it affordable. They can make it as expensive as a house, which it is, and it won't matter because people can get the loans. Fast forward a few years and you have a secretary of toilet paper making $160k. It's predatory, as someone else said. Not true. It's impossible for me to be out of touch because I recently went through this whole process with my millennials. Friend of my daughter went to UW-Whitewater and recently graduated with a degree in accounting. He paid for it 100% on his own. I don't know if he had any $1,000 scholarships here and there, maybe he Stafford loan everyone gets. So it's just factually wrong to say it can't be done. I know of others who went to a two year UW school to take are of general studies classes and lived at home. Much cheaper classes, and 0 for room and board. To be fair, I'm only familiar with WI schools, but in WI it's absolutely possible to get a degree without running up student loans. Also, I don't know where I ever said 90% of loans taken out are for philosophy degrees. But these liberal arts degrees aren't an insignificant number. Look at Lawrence, you have thousands of students at that one liberal arts college alone. And if that's what you want to do, great, just don't complain how you have $80,000 in loans.