Student Loan Debt or Those Darn Americans!

A friend of a friend who is a journalist in Germany called me recently to interview me for a forthcoming newspaper article on student loan debt in America.  The poor journalist could not hide her astonishment when I explained that I owe the government enough money to buy a house.  "In Germany this could never happen!" she exclaimed.  "The only way people would have such a loan would be if they had a family and were buying a house."  Of course I had the same reaction the first time I met a European scholar who has almost the same education as I, but no student loan debt.  "How is that possible?!" I exclaimed.  I'm looking forward to the article, and also to talking more about the comparative cost of education.  When she asked me if I thought it was worth it (since most of my debt was incurred in graduate school), I did not know how to answer.  Is my Ph.D. worth a house?  Not in economic terms, not at all.  On the other hand, it is quite valuable to me.  Perhaps there should be a follow up interview in twenty years when I'm still sending the government a check each month?