U.S. Higher Ed is expensive, So, I just planned out some degrees at my local state schools to see what they go for (tuition only). Year 1, 2 (graduate with an

U.S. Higher Ed is expensive, So, I just planned out some degrees at my local state schools to see what they go for (tuition only). Year 1, 2 (graduate with an A.A./A.S. degree) - Community College: ~$4000/yr Year 3,4 (graduate with a B.A./B.S. degree) - State School, starts as a Junior: ~$11,000/yr Undergrad: <$30,000 Grad Program: Year 5,6 (same school, graduate with an M.A./M.S.) - State School ~$15k/yr Grad Program: ~$30,000 Total Cost: ~$60,000 As an alternate: Year 5,6 (same school, top-50 Law School, graduate with a J.D.) - State School - ~$25k/yr J.D. Program: ~$50,000 Total Cost B.X.+J.D. ~$80k Total Cost B.X.+M.X.+J.D. ~$110k Things have definitely gotten more expensive since I did something similar (A.S.->B.S.->M.S.) for <$30k. But it's not the worst. If you work through it, you can probably finish an M.X. program without debt (you "only" need to pay off $10k per year). Even if you take loans, we're not talking a house. If you get Pell Grants, it covers the A.X. degrees easily, and half the B.X. degrees. I took some loans and paid them off within 5 years due to my increased earning power. I'm pretty sure I could have structured my life to pay off 2-3x the loans in about the same amount of time. American Higher Ed. is stupid expensive for bad reasons, but you can get at least an undergrad for what you'd pay for a new decent family sedan. This sounds crazy to most of my European readers, but unlike Europe, the U.S. doesn't have 50% youth unemployment rates. Most people out of college in technical fields can get good jobs that pay far in excess of the local "decent standard of living" allowing loans like this to get paid off quickly. It's complicated, but it's not rocket science. I'm always a bit bothered by people who talk about $200k undergrad programs like it's their only option. Trust me, I'm ~20 years in on a career and you'll generally end up in the same places as your elite-school colleagues within 5 years without the crushing debt. It's not rocket science.