Most American students today aren't "traditional" students. That is, your classic 18-22, just left home 4-year bachelor's degree-seeking students. The fact that we see these students as the "norm" heavily skews our idea of what the problems actually are. These students are much less likely to default on their loans, despite taking out significantly more as individuals than their community college or for-profit counterpoints.
The huge sticker prices are certainly a problem, but they're not the only problem and perhaps not even the worst problem. Look toward for-profits who put students in debt and then offer little to no perceivable benefits for the students afterwards. 13% of students go to for-profits, but these students take out 31% of federal loans and represent almost 50% of loan defaults.
All is not lost though! The federal government has taken a huge step toward fixing this issue by more narrowly defining what "gainful employment" is. The Higher Education Act of 1965, which is what essentially began financial aid as we know it (with the exception of NDEA), says that for an institution to receive government funding (yes, this means students using federal loans) they must prepare "students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation." Okay...so, what does this mean? Until this year, it's really been the Wild West in terms of definitions. Anything goes. If a student has a job where s/he is making money, boom! counts! Not so anymore. There are stricter regulations on where the government will be sending its money now. If you'd like to see the new regulations, check out page 11 of the judge's opinion statement: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2089206-opinion-in-association-of-proprietary-colleges-v.html
I'd anticipate that we'll see the downfall of quite a few for-profits in the next few years.