<p>Is anybody but me beginning to think the availability of aid is in itself a problem? Because there is this huge system of financial aid, colleges can increase tuition and families, instead of looking to less-expensive alternatives, just start planning and arranging assets so that they can qualify. </p>
<p>When a third party pays, there is going to be manipulation and inefficiency. We as a society have decided it is more important for education to be accessible than it is for this type of distortion to be eliminated from the system.</p>
<p>I’m not offering any brilliant suggestions to fix it; just observing that it is what it is right now.</p>