Though you're right when it comes to the numbers, it can also be much cheaper! I have never taken a student loan and never will. On the other hand, I've always worked while getting my education except for one semester in my life. I saved up all summer to pay for my first semester living away from my parents. I lived off of $7.17/week. This was in 1999, so I'm not talking 1960's numbers. It was a pittance! My rent was $375/month, but that's because I had one bed in a bedroom with another guy I didn't know, in a unit of a triplex with 4 other guys I didn't know, with 6 other guys in the rest of the triplex I didn't know. The landlord was raking in dough!!! I spent $1415 on a semester at a school where I got $500 in scholarships from my high school. My mom gave me $500 when she dropped me off with my bike and bag and said, "Good luck, I love you" and probably a few more words, but not many more before she drove 8 hours back home without me. Fast forward 21 years, I'm in my master's program and still have not been charged a dime in interest to a student loan.

My point is that school can be done with less if the student is wise with their money. Too many parents are not teaching their kids about finances, so they go off to schools to pay amounts of money they've never even dreamed of having in their bank accounts prior to graduating high school, to get degrees in whatever subject matter would be easiest but has no bearing on anyone's lives, all to say they got a degree...I know this is not the majority, but it definitely represents too many.

The community college I went to cost $11/credit hour when I first started (California subsidizes the tuition for community colleges in California). By the time I left the community college, it was about $30/credit hour. When I went to a 4-year school, I enrolled in a program that gave me a $100 discount per credit hour, making it $69/credit hour for the rest of my tenure, as long as I stayed in good standing and kept taking classes. That's super cheap. I got my Bachelor's for less than $10K and graduated Cum Laude. I'm doing my Master's program through a school that allows you to work at your own pace. I did my first class in 9 days. For the school I'm attending, you get 6 months for $3500. I was able to get a scholarship of $700, or 20%. If I go at the pace I did at my 4-year, I'll be done in less than 12 months. Compare this to some of my family and colleagues who spent $250K-$400K on their degrees, and now I don't feel so bad when I compare my income to theirs. They have, essentially, 2 house payments while I have one. The extra $20-50K/year will likely make up for it, but the interest you spoke of as well as additional taxes makes me right on par...

Great post to make me rant :)