NJ has so many students who go out of state. The HESAA program just reflects that reality. It gives loans to people who probably couldn’t get them on the private market (as do the Federal programs; and it’s got lower interest rates than the Federal programs). I suppose you could say that the state of NJ should not enable people to go into debt they cannot handle, but I know of people who used HESAA and were grateful for it. It didn’t ruin their lives, it enabled them to pursue opportunities.
The real issue is that you should not co-sign a loan you can’t afford to pay back. If you do, be sure that the primary debtor has life insurance.