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Comment by blankenship | Hacker News Reader

Sure, I’m responsible for my debt because it’s in my name. Did I know that as a naive 18 year old trusting my not-financially-savvy parents that this was a wise decision that wouldn’t wreck my ability to produce wealth for the next decade?

Nope.

Sometimes we’re expecting not-yet-adults to make adult decisions and live with the adult consequences. And sometimes they don’t have enough information/support to make those decisions.

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And its not even a matter of expecting not-yet-adults to make good decisions. They are raised in a system that teaches them that college debt is good debt and then they graduate and are courted by predatory lenders to take out way more loans than they should for their school loans with no guarantees that they will come out and get a decent job in their field. Schools should be more on the hook for that debt if they breeze someone through a program that they are not a good fit for or that has no job prospects.

Reasonably I'd expect these "not yet adults" to have been shaped by the adults in their lives such as parents, mentors, close family friends, etc. and to be supported in their decision making process by them.

Shouldn't the lion's share of the influence belong to them, and not some 3rd party dealing with the student via infomercial and pamphlet?

I don't think a person that can't understand loans is ready for college. The creditor gives you money and you have to pay them back, if you ask for too much then it'll be much harder to pay back your loan.

Many students who take loans don't even need them, but could easily pay their tuition by just getting a job.

> Sure, I’m responsible for my debt because it’s in my name. Did I know that as a naive 18 year old trusting my not-financially-savvy parents that this was a wise decision that wouldn’t wreck my ability to produce wealth for the next decade?

> Nope.

But could you have researched the decision? Yep, assuming you had access to the Internet or a library.

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