That's not Republican at all. Debt that is impossible to get rid of is the entire reason that the market can't price this correctly. People essentially have access to hundreds of thousands of dollar loans without collateral or any proof of the ability to pay it back because of government intervention. It's antithetical to the entire 'free market' ideology.

The Republican alter-ego in you would actually say something like, "treat this like any other debt that can be discharged in bankruptcy and it will be priced appropriately by the market."

For their studies, they borrow from the state. Then they pay their debt through 50% income taxes, limited to 7 years. If they get a bartender job with their engineering degree, they can still survive. Therefore studies are not free, they still have the responsibility of choosing right, they're not choked with debt and they still get a margin if they get a good job.

This is actually one of the problems.

If you could dismiss college debt via bankruptcy, then lenders would start pushing back against both the colleges and the students.

The degree mills would still exist, but they'd magically price themselves much cheaper.

As far as regular universities go, the high graduation rate isn't surprising. Only a complete idiot would go through the hassle of getting in, then pay massive amounts of money and spend several years studying, and then give up empty handed. Only people in the most dire of circumstances drop out of college. Most people change majors to something easier, or they keep trying until they get it.