The main problem with American higher education is the profit motive. As is often the case, capitalism eventually ruins everything, especially when it’s treated as the state religion.
It doesn't work because the state interfered. College is so expensive because of federally guaranteed loans. This means colleges can charge any price they want because the student has access to any sum of money.
I think the profit motive is downstream from the root causes. There are MANY issues with higher education at the moment. IMO, federally backed loans which can't be discharged in bankruptcy is the single worst factor.
Without this protection loans become more costly since you'd move risk to lenders. Where else can an 18 year old get an unsecured loan for this amount and rates? Nowhere, for good reason.
Schools most certainly compete for students, and a major factor is price.
Loans are not some boogey man whose simple presence suddenly throws out all cost consciousness.
If you look at surveys of biggest concerns about students (and their parents) selecting colleges, cost is the biggest factor (42% of them put this as #1 in the survey I'm looking at).
So no, loans are not letting prices run free by any means.
The Federal interest payments gave a stream of income to the lender.
But I thought in decades past someone used to assess the risk of someone not repaying, and limit the amount.
Or was it always a small amount no matter what? I remember not being able to afford even the state schools, even with the loans and meager scholarships.