Another possibility is that the company is capable of solving problems. It identifies a problem, creates a plan, and comes up with a solution. OP feels good in such a process.

Maybe the company is solving the wrong problems and is using hack days to surface novel problems it has not identified before. Maybe the company did not explain the value of the hack day in a way that someone who enjoys working in a structured way will not see it as a waste of time.

It makes no sense to take a student loan and have debt either, but its more feasible and pressing to do than managing to get the system to reduce tuition prices.