Kickbacks & The Economy

Does the result of such a competitive market result in illegal activity? The student loan and student grant industry is growing due to the need for a college degree. It is nearly impossible to find a job, making an income possible to live off of without a college degree. Therefore more students attend college now than ever before and in order to do so students take loans, lots of students with lots of loans. The industry is now an $85 billion enterprise and is very competitive. Each firm is selling the same product, money, and at very similar if not the exact same interest rates. Because students have so many options, each looking to profit, companies have turned to providing kickbacks to colleges that make their company a "preferred lender". This has resulted in great scandal and many companies have indeed profited from it. Is this the result of a perfectly competitive market? Is there another way for these companies to make profit? This scandel provides them with more business There is a great demand, a homogenous product and many suppliers, so how does one profit. The answer is kickbacks. Is this going to be the result of all markets? Would it not be easier and less of a risk to switch to a different industry that is less competitive? Why would that be an advantage?