Germany just eliminated tuition, while Americans are drowning in $1.2 trillion student loan debt.

[whatthehey]

10. but the European system in general would draw much ire here

You can't just decide at 18 to waltz into Heidelberg with a 2.0 GPA (well, the German equivalent) and get your tuition paid.

There are rigorous standardized tests (horror!) even to get into a gymnasium - the school system that makes university entrance much more likely although it's not quite mandatory any more - at 10 or so. There are more controlled curricula to pass within this 9-yr almost entirely academic school, and then standardized tests to gain entry into university. The whole university system there is much like the top schools here, very competitive and selective for acceptance. There are more and less prestigious universities of course, but none are as easy to be accepted at as a normal US state university, and the entry criteria are very much more focused on academics than subjective personal criteria. The German taxpayers aren't going to give a sub-par student a free ride just because he helps old ladies across the street.

I believe the European system is superior, but applying it here would immediately raise complaints about elitism and centrally imposed standards.