It's important to remember that average student loan debt is still "only" about 30-35K. This is rising, but 100K or even 50K is by no means the norm.

I agree about state universities and not finishing in time. This happened to a family member of mine despite his coming in with many credits. It was an issue of not being able to enroll in classes needed for his major (STEM field). This problem was completely unheard of at my small liberal arts college. I do mean unheard of--as in, I had never heard of it!