&gt; But I can&#x27;t think of a way that the bubble could actually pop. Or what it would look like if it did.<p>It would look a lot like the retrenchment of the private for-profit college industry when private lending outside of government guaranteed programs collapsed with the 2008-2009 financial collapse, only hitting all of higher education, and the real-estate markets buoyed by universities, and the communities and industries supporting higher-education generally.<p>And it could happen with the stroke of a pen -- the federal government just cancels direct and subsidized loan programs.