I had a few extra years of college, and during that time, my creditors have been less than understanding that my engineering degree wasn't done and I couldn't make enough to pay them. In retailiation for their impatience, I told them to piss up a rope and stopped paying everything, from credit cards to student loans.
I really didn't have that much debt, maybe 5k in normal debt and 15k in student loans.
They will call, mail, and annoy you over and over and over, and then, they will submit your debts to collection agencies. These agencies will add 'fees' over the years which will pretty much double the number they are asking for to resolve the debt. Then, you will be able to contact these folks and calmly explain that if they don't cut the bill in half of the original amouint you will never pay, and they usually agree, saving you 50%.
The downside is that if you are shit outta luck if you want to finance anything. My wife & I are making almost 90k per year, and we can't finance a house costing 125k. This 'downside' has saved me possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars because I would have bought at the housing peak if I could have. I can't get credit cards so ID theft really isn't much of a concern, and I'm not paying 20% on every dollar I spend.