I wrote a post about this subject ~2wks ago about how college (as an asset class) could be in a bubble, and I showed the similarities between a college degree and housing. The point made is that it would be much less feasible to have so many college students if tuition were not financed and subsidized by the US federal gov't.

http://www.investingwithoptions.com/2009/08/college-is-a-bub...

Soon I will be analyzing the data behind income differences and overall opportunity cost of various degrees as well as total amount financed over time.