America's financial aid system provides too much taxpayer support to banks making college loans, demands too little of students assuming them, and burdens families with too much debt. The system fails to reward rigorous college-preparatory work in high school and penalizes students who hold jobs while in college. Lenders make extraordinary profits, while young people leave college burdened with debt and, more often than not, without the degree or skills necessary to repay it. It is, then, necessary to rethink the system in order to improve college access and affordability. In this article, the author introduces a new College Access Contract that would harness the free market so that students get more financial aid, and banks get less. With a meaningful College Access Contract, students from low-income families are guaranteed to graduate from college free of federal student-loan debt, while students from middle-class families could graduate with zero-interest federal student loans--if they meet the three conditions: (1) They complete a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum in high school; (2) They work at a paid job or perform community service for an average of 10 hours a week while in college; and (3) They complete a degree or demonstrate minimum competence in an academic area.