There's nothing rigged about loans being made for something that can't be repossessed and without collateral, there's a whole segment of the lending market for that (consumer lending, eg people take out loans to go on vacation). So absolutely nothing rigged about that. And those loans can still be discharged in bankruptcy. There's a government guarantee, but that's at least as much an advantage for the lender as for the borrower. The relatively low interest rate is a result of that, the loans aren't high risk for the underwriters. Government guarantees aren't unique to student loans either btw. The only thing that's really unique is that the loan can't be discharged, and that is very much a disadvantage for the borrower. So student loans are rigged against the students. No bank would want to make those loans under normal circumstances, so the government has rigged the game in their favor to entice them into the market.