College Loans and the Allegory of the Mall

The answer is - it really depends on your situation.

Situation one is that you're going to college and just having a great time, getting involved, exploring ideas and seeing where they go. This is great, but think of college like going to any other place where you spend money (i.e. the mall or Disneyland). If I go to the mall with my credit card and just wander around, open to buying anything and nothing in particular, I will probably end up wasting money. If, however, I go to that mall and know exactly what I want because I have a plan for that thing - then I have a purpose and a reason for using my credit card.

Such is the same thing with college loans. Taking out college loans is very useful if you have a plan about graduating and, especially, how to pay them back. Take going to medical school for example. You know you're going to make bank when you get out, so it's worth it. Taking out college loans just to experience college, however, really isn't a good idea - and if you must, at least go experience it at a community college...it will save you a lot of stress later down the road when you're wondering what to do with your liberal arts degree.