I spent nearly 6 years in the military right out of high school. I got to travel all over the world on the military’s dime, lived in two foreign countries, learned responsibility and developed a strong work ethic while I was young, plus I took advantage of FREE college courses for my basic education requirements. When I finished with the military, I had enough in financial aid to finish my first 2 years of school without a single loan or a credit card. I also worked 24 hours a week, in my career field. Was it easy? No way! I’m telling you, it was exhausting and I was POOR! I drove a beater Honda, ate a lot of soup, and shared a small rental house. But the real world experience on my resume was invaluable, and after finishing my Associate’s Degree, my continuing higher education was subsidized 50% by yet another employer. I was limited to 2 classes a semester, but that was fine with me. I accepted that limitation in exchange for the benefit.

I didn’t finish my BS in Health Care Administration until I was 32, but I didn’t suffer for it one bit. I worked in my career field the entire time, made good money, got promotions, and was able to graduate without a single student loan or debt.

I am here to attest to the alternative route to a college education. It’s not for everyone, it may take longer, it may require a lot more effort, but it’s quite possible for those who can bite the bullet. There are still many employers out there that offer financial aid for college. Take advantage of that offer if you can!

In particular, I think you are romanticizing the frugal student of yesteryear. I went to college some forty years ago (yikes!), and almost NObody was working their way through school or taking on student loans. Also, almost nobody took more than 4 years to graduate – unless they got sick or changed their major.

Today, it is much more acceptable to take more than 4 years to get a bachelor’s degree, and therefore, more feasible and acceptable to work one’s way through school.

I think student loans are OK for very expensive graduate degrees, but I don’t see the need for them at the bachelor’s level.

Living off campus is far cheaper in some cases because of the ability to cook meals. But thanks for some other good ideas.

Once again you’ve managed to make a wide cohort of people fit into your little preconceived boxes. How about the NORMAL college student that graduates in 4 years, finishes with a 3.4 GPA instead of a 4.0 but has a rich and well-rounded experience that includes classes, extracurriculars, friends and activities outside the library or their dorm room, and divides their tuition between scholarships, grants, work-study and loans? Yes, they’re probably tired on Monday morning (here’s a hint – NO ONE gets enough sleep in college) but at least they have a balanced life to show for it all.

Also, perhaps some people are fortunate enough to be in the idyllic “college town” where you can walk or bike or take the bus to all your needs, but SOME of us went to college in a very rural area where, outside of the campus, there was pretty much nothing within a 10 mile radius.

I reiterate my advice that parents should be heavily involved with thier children’s finances for the first year or two at least in college. They need to learn to do for themselves, but it is unfair to them to assume they will be able to do so successfully right off the bat. As a consequense, they routinely develop habits which are self-destructive and get into debt which is crippling over their 20s and even 30s.