Proposals that would make the repayment of student loans depend on the subsequent income those students earn have been much discussed lately. Oregon has put forth a vague plan along those lines and recently Brookings published a paper advocating that loan payments should depend on the income of the individuals. In this week’s Clarion Call, I argue that this is not a good idea. It would encourage more marginal students to borrow for college when our need is to discourage those who are not likely to benefit from college — at least costly programs that require considerable debt.