Wow, here are some real horror stories on student loans and thanks (I'll assume) to bankruptcy law changes, the debt is very tough to get out of.

Seems there is one guy out there who has created a website StudentLoanJustice.org trying to get anyone to listen.

This article in the New York Times goes into some real horror stories.

Basically people cannot find jobs or get sick and so on and can't pay them off, but the late fees, interest rate increases, penalties read like your classic predatory credit card.