Your idea was really how I felt too -- I really wanted to figure out what lead to student loans being non-defaultable and once I looked into it it kind of did make sense the way it is (no default -- not the unlimited, high value, etc)

Making these loans defaultable would destroy class mobility. The number one path as far as I can tell from a first generation lower income family to second generation middle class is the child going to college. If loans can be defaulted on, then they will require some type of credit-worthiness check. That check will absolutely favor people like myself who are lucky enough to live in a family that has a lot of members with really good credit, I would have no problem finding cosigners for loans that could get me great rates.

This is the true definition of privilege, a word that has been perverted beyond meaning by the SJWs of today. It doesn't mean I'm handed things in life, it doesn't mean I don't work for what I have -- it just means I have some type of access that other people don't. Making loans non-defaultable removes a protection associated with borrowing money, but it also helps make the playing field for getting the funds to pay for college essentially even. Paying back those funds isn't even, the upper class can get the funds as cash and may come out with no loans -- but it at least means that your current financial situation and your parents credit does not mean you cannot get money to pay for college.

It's a necessary evil. My idea for improvement is that we make colleges limited cosigners. If you come out and get say 7 out of 10 years of forebearance -- the school is responsible for your loan. This would mean schools must provide a responsible education -- you won't have english majors running up 100k of debt unless they are really the top of the top and have a good shot at being a professor or are double majoring in teaching.