"Bankruptcy lawyers have a frightening message for America: They’re seeing the telltale signs of a student loan debt bubble that is placing increased financial pressure on families struggling with their children’s mounting debt. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, more than 80 percent of bankruptcy lawyers have seen a substantial increase in the number of clients seeking relief from student loans in recent years.
In most cases, those clients could not meet the federal hardship standards that are necessary to discharge a student loan through bankruptcy proceedings. Instead, many of these parents or guardians who co-signed the student loans face the prospect of losing their life savings, cars or homes to collection agencies for aggressive private lenders.
William Brewer, head of NACBA, has said, 'This could very well be the next debt bomb for the U.S. economy' — something akin to the housing mortgage loan crisis that triggered the U.S. financial crisis." ...
Additional background on what now appears to be an inevitability.
Student loans seen as potential ‘next debt bomb’ for U.S. economy - The Washington Post
More:
Are Student Loans A Ticking Time Bomb For The Economy? - The Consumerist 
