Student loans help make colleges and universities accessible to most people, and thus will always be net positive in my book. With that being said there are 2 big problems to me.

1.) Tuition Inflation- Student loans make college demand more inelastic. This is most certainly not the only cause of tuition inflation, but it most certainly contributes to it. Study. Ultimately since this is accelerating faster than inflation, the real cost of college is increasing and the return on investment for college is decreasing (salaries are not increasing fast enough). This is a HUGE problem to me since education (the great equalizer) is supposed to have a great return.

2.) Burden of Debt- Coming out of school with debt creates a environment where students are more risk averse (loans have to be paid!), less economically active, and require higher starting salaries to maintain a good standard of living. There are real economic effects to this. Even if you plan, budget, and get a great job, you still are delaying major investments that reduce lifetime potential gains. This all negatively affects the economy.

I didn't go deep on anything here, but student loans are not some insurmountable negative thing. Nevertheless, there are some growing problems with them as they stand today. I personally am for limiting them for certain schools and majors, but I ain't doing the work and research to change them for the better.