"But college costs the same for everyone" That's not true in the least. Housing costs make up a huge piece of a degree for most people, and costs vary wildly.

"But college costs the same for everyone" That's not true in the least. Housing costs make up a huge piece of a degree for most people, and costs vary wildly. I made the dubious decision of going to school in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. My costs would have been cut in half, at least, had I gone to Kansas State. There's also huge variance in tuition, including public vs private, in-state vs out-of-state. There's federal, state and other grants - they cut my costs by a bunch. And a 2-year degree generally costs a fraction of a 4-year degree. It is never cheap to be a full time student, but the cost is highly variable.