In general, private university tuition is extremely expensive. There are certainly exceptions to this rule that keep costs reasonable--e.g. for the financially

In general, private university tuition is extremely expensive. There are certainly exceptions to this rule that keep costs reasonable--e.g. for the financially strapped, Stanford has a "student obligation" program[1] as an element of financial aid--but they're not all comparable. Conversely, I personally think in-state tuition for public research universities of sound rapport are fair. A big issue is when an undergraduate student moves to a different state to study and is charged out-of-state tuition for at least a year before establishing residency; that single-year cost often exceeds what a 4-year student would pay at in-state rates. In some states--like CA--you're pretty much screwed[2] and will pay out-of-state rates comparable to private universities for the effective duration of study. Then there's private student loans issued by banks at gouging rates. They're super easy to qualify for and super easy to get out of control. Anecdotally, I took one out (12.74%!) during my last semester of undergraduate study which amounted to ~10% of my total student loan obligation in the end before capitalization; it was my only option since I didn't meet full-time student status that semester and didn't qualify for federal aid. This was the first loan I paid off and within 6 months of graduating, yet the interest paid on this single private loan accounted for 15% of the interest paid on the 7 other federal student loans that I paid off over the subsequent 4.5 years! It's crazy to think what that one private student loan would have cost me if I had paid it off over 5 years, let alone a 10-year period that federal student loans are amortized over. EDIT: > Also, shouldn't the government provide direct financial assistance to low income people being admitted to good colleges without needing them to ever pay back? Forgot to mention, this takes the form of academic grants[3]. Pell and SMART Grants are fairly common. [1] https://financialaid.stanford.edu/undergrad/how/student.html https://financialaid.stanford.edu/undergrad/how/student.html [2] https://www.ucop.edu/residency/residency-requirements.html https://www.ucop.edu/residency/residency-requirements.html [3] https://www2.ed.gov/programs/smart/index.html https://www2.ed.gov/programs/smart/index.html