As another poster said. They are only needed if you don’t work while in college or at least go to a two year college that lets you stay at home and then transfer.

Not true. Working while in college is quite common. People still need to take out loans on top because 1)pay sucks for unskilled young workers 2) if you’re devoting yourself to school you probably aren’t working 40 hours a week so you can’t cover all of room and board. I graduated fifteen years ago, worked at all times in college and every break, lived cheap and still occasionally needed to take out loans for living expenses. I just paid the last one off two years ago.

Hey, I'm just citing the estimates from the financial help sections of Universities. 80k-100k is an accurate description of what UC Berkeley estimates for a 4 year degree.

I can’t understand the idea of spending tens of thousands of dollars on tuition then giving it half effort by working at the same time.

It isn't a zero-sum thing, and different people go to university for different reasons.

For me, minimising the debt at the far end was important, so I took a heavy course load and worked half time on average. Work experience from that period (IT for the university) was actually quite valuable in the jobs (mainly engineering) I've had in the decade since. Maybe one employer has ever even looked at my school paperwork; I really don't understand the idea of doing nothing but university with that time.

I worked twenty hours a week in what ended up being my career. I gained valuable work experience that landed me a job immediately when I graduated. I could have done better in school if I’d had the luxury to devote myself fully, but the work experience was invaluable.

Do you know how many adults go to graduate school, work full time, and have families?