Where I'm from, state college tuition & fees is 8k a year for undergraduates, with books room & board, one can easilty do $18,000 a year here. Work a part time job or land a partial scolarship and one can then easily escape with an undergraduate degree in 4 years with 50k or under of debt upon graduation......of course, if your degree at that time can't make you more than 30k a year then you choose unwisely to be able to afford your field of study.