“Why does his [Johnny's] four-year furlough from the real world cost so much? One reason, of course, is that Johnny, assuming his parents are paying full freight, is paying not only for his own tuition: he is also helping to foot the bill for Ahmed, Juan, and Harriet down the hall.”

Great point. A quote I recently read from Intellectual Takeout’s Cost of College page declares that “each one dollar in grant aid leads to tuition fees some­where around 35 cents higher than would other­wise be the case.” Perhaps, as you implied, it would be good if the college bubble were to burst. A return to the alternative, less expensive ideas of the past could be very beneficial.