The problem with providing grants, low-interest loans, tuition waivers, and free tuition is that they exert no pressure on educational institutions to increase efficiencies, productivity, or otherwise keep costs down. They appear to be an important factor in the much-greater-than-inflation rise in college costs over the last several decades. I'm warming to the idea of giving adults 18 and over up to 6 years of a basic income while enrolled in post-secondary education/training - and then eliminate federal tuition assistance altogether. That way, students become discerning shoppers and institutions have to respond with offering good deals, exerting pressure both on quality and price, i.e., known as the wonders of the marketplace. Not a cure-all, but nothing is a cure-all.