In Poland there are public universities and private universities, and on both there are some paid courses. If you get good enough result at final high school ex

In Poland there are public universities and private universities, and on both there are some paid courses. If you get good enough result at final high school exam you can study at public university on a free course. If not (or if you prefer to study at evenings and weekends) - you have to pay. Roughly 30-50% of students study for free. The stereotype is that free education is better (because the paid courses set bad incentives to teachers to let pass everybody, and because they will admit anybody who pays). The effect is - in general kids from well-off families do better at school and don't have to work when they are 18 - so they study for free and get a degree that's worth more in labour market. Others pay for studies and often have to work during the day, and study at evenings/weekends, and in the end they get a degree that's "second class". IMHO it's still a better system than USA (I'm not familiar with UK system so can't compare), because the competition for students means that universities can't charge outrageous prices like in USA. Almost everybody can afford university in Poland. But it's not the ideal system some people think it is. Also the primary and middle school is important. In Poland the default for every kid is to go to university, and teachers teach basing on that assumption.