It could be that non-tuition costs have risen, that students have gotten worse at punching pennies through strategies like having lots of room mates and/or that fewer students are using part time jobs to cover living costs.
Absolutely possible. People don't want their standard of living to suffer, and when offered a loan to keep it up, many will take it. I could have accidentally graduated with substantially more debt than I did. I was offered more loan money than I truly needed. I took it all my first year. Wasted it. Realized it. Didn't accept the loans the last three years.
When I was 17 reviewing college financial aid packages, I was still trusting enough in the social contract that I thought I could only be offered loans that the granter expected I could pay back.
