Something not many people outside of my (Gen Y) generation realize: our generation got screwed with a capital S on college loans. Right about 1995,98, when credit in general became more accessible, people started getting loans for college. Right about 2000, 2002, when I went to college, Universities had realized that they, too, were sitting on cash cows, and so raised tuition -a LOT- and made a big deal of how they would help you finance your education. Looking back on it, it's basically like the used car lot guy who says "don't worry, I've got a cousin at the bank, we'll get you taken care of (... for 7%)."
I came from a background of not having much money, and while I had scholarships, they didn't begin to cover the costs. I now have about $600 to pay back every month, and there's 15 years left on the damn things. I failed out, for reasons that are too complicated to go into here, and what was amazing, looking back on it, was that the school never once contacted me when my grades started slipping (some of the profs did, though) but I got about a phone call a day when I dropped out and they stopped getting paid.