<p>I don’t know if comparing student loans to home mortgages is a fair comparison. A mortgage is a secured debt since the bank can always just repossess the house with failure to pay, making it less risky, which leads to cheaper credit. Student loans, to my knowledge, don’t have the same kind of direct collateral that a house or car loan inherently has, making it a riskier (hence more expensive) kind of credit.</p>