Comment on CFPB-2013-0003-0001

To address the question(s) re: what types of financial products can be provided to students who take out private (or government) loans for college? In my opinion, the root cause of the student loan debt issue is not simply a lack of flexible financial products to cater to students who have taken on loans with astronomical interest rates. The root cause is the cost of higher education. This is the great violation, the great robbery of students. Nearly everywhere else in the world higher education can be found (at top institutions) for a fraction of the cost of education in the states. However, since pigs will likely fly before universities lower their costs, perhaps there is a way to get the schools involved in helping students and families pay for college. For example, the school itself can subsidize the student's loans by agreeing to take on a percentage of the loan (need-based). The school agrees to waive 20-40% of the tuition & the student pays the school back directly sans interest. In replacement of interest, the student agrees to either gift the school a specific sum in a period of 20 or 30 years, agrees to finance the education of another student(s) to the school/create a scholarship to that school. The amount would be dependent on their financial situation. Ex: A % of annual income in 20 years or a number or % determined on a graduated scale. This makes the school somewhat responsible for answering the question: has our degree paid off? This might help insure schools have a vested interest in students success & the viability of their degree after college. This is entirely appropriate if you're charging 50,000 annually because your degree is an "investment" that should pay off manifold). Obviously there are no guarantees, but for a product (education) that is necessary in order to be considered at all for most job fields, where the cost is a minimum 20,000 annually if not 50-60,000 annually, it's appropriate to demand some investment integrity.