Sticker price is for rich kids. Normal people require need-based financial aid to afford 4-year degrees. The federal government computes an "expected family con

Sticker price is for rich kids. Normal people require need-based financial aid to afford 4-year degrees. The federal government computes an "expected family contribution" based on your parent's finances, and your scholarships and loans are sized accordingly. An 18-year-old from a middle-class background would have an EFC far greater than she could pay out of pocket, and to borrow it she'd need her parents to cosign. Actually, without their cooperation she couldn't even get the EFC, since they need to open their books and sign the FAFSA. She'd be staring down sticker price on her own. Not even emancipation can break the link. She'd have to provide a documented history of child abuse, serve in the military, get married, or wait until age 25. More likely, reduce her ambitions to a community college associate's degree she can afford at sticker price on her own part-time wages. The fact that our government provides a number called "expected family contribution" is good evidence that, at least officially, contributing to children's educations is the norm.