Mk13, I did my undergrad in my home country in Asia. And it is the same there. Only the best get into public schools. The rest have to pay to go to a private institution. My total costs (fee, lodging, all expenses) for 5-year undergrad was 3 months of my dad's salary ( and we are a lower middle class family) so he paid for it and I graduated debt free. Came to the US for graduate study with full assistantship. Graduated with $2000 in my pocket and a well paying job. Now I am saving as much as I can so dd can get the same benefits I did.