MIT's a bad example now, since tuition is completely free for anyone whose household makes less than $75k/year. Yeah, it's easy for us old-timers -- or those o

MIT's a bad example now, since tuition is completely free for anyone whose household makes less than $75k/year. Yeah, it's easy for us old-timers -- or those of us whose friends and relatives are trying to afford those middle-tier schools that don't have this policy -- to forget this fact. But good for MIT, Harvard, and the other elite schools for taking this new path. It might have made a big difference in my life had it happened years ago. If you can get in and really want to go there, they will find a way for you to be able to attend. Yes, and this was true back in my day as well. They make it possible to attend... by going into debt. The amount of debt that is considered possible is, however, constrained by the supply of credit and by the amount of debt that society considers "reasonable". That's a much larger number today than it used to be. My point is that societal factors like credit policy, accounting practices, banking regulations, and the popular acceptance of the debtor lifestyle change your environment in ways that are difficult to ignore and resist, even for those of us who are informed enough to try to avoid debt.