You nailed that one!
Would not having student loans reduce who can attend college? Yes, but perhaps too many attend anyway. That said, financing can and should be available, but limited to a certain amount.
First, I believe that if gov't stopped subsidizing schools, then the costs would come done. So do that first. Yes, financing should be available, and it should be available in the private sector. The free market will set limits because of the risks associated with not getting paid back if too much is borrowed.
As I see things now, kids work through the schools to get financing backed by the federal government. The schools have a vested interest in getting kids to borrow as much as they can. Hence, kids end up with a large debt and the schools get their money and remain fat.
There IS private financing available (Discover Student Loans is a big one but there are many others)...but it’s still in an environment with the artificial market forces (gov’t loans) driving up costs in the first place.