If student loans can be wiped clean by declaring bankruptcy, can I?
You basically hit the nail on the head. In the 90s the law changed to prevent almost all student loans from being dischargeable in bankruptcies. The idea behind that is that no one can take your degree or what you learned in college away from you the way they can your other tangible assets. Since no one can take it away, why should it be allowed to be dischargeable in bankruptcy?