lol. for the 50 years prior to the law change (~2007) people weren't declaring bankruptcy after college to avoid the debt - but of course the debt was a reasonable amount back then compared to income and other debts. It's not that strange tuition has close to doubled after 2007, while only increasing near inflation before.
Also, (I'm speculating here, since I wasn't alive back then) but bankruptcy was very stigmatized. I won't know the extent, but the way my parents talk about it, bankruptcy just didn't seem like an option. They say it was akin to paying a vet to euthanize your dog rather than suffocating it- it's cheaper one way, but the outcome is the same.
It's easy to be "rational" as armchair economists, but social norms and pride are a very important driver. It's what baffles real economists when they gripe "our models would work, if the world were rational!"
