Go to a state school. Go to community college first. Enter a trade.

None of these are free or cheap, and I’ll wager bottom dollar the majority of debt holders went to a public school of some sort. In fact student debt is most pernicious for people of lesser means and fewer opportunities, and who most need the debt to make it possible to go to school. These are also the people who are most incentivized to leverage public schools. (Quick google shows 62% of debt is held by public school attendees)

State school attendees face lower debt burdens than private for-profit schools. I can't find the data you are referring to that 62% of student loan debt is incurred by state school attendees. By these numbers [1], only 40% of public school attendees even incurred debt.

[1]: https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/average-student-loan-d...

In my state (Massachusetts) community college is in fact free.

In other states, for example Texas, it’s a little over $3000 a year on average for in state:

https://www.communitycollegereview.com/tuition-stats/texas#:...

That’s much cheaper than the tens of thousands for a public 4 year university.

And we should point out that for trades, you are getting paid in an apprenticeship. That’s better than cheap or free.

I want you to honestly think back to 17 when you had to make this choice - did you make it alone? How many of your peers were aware of the financial risk they were taking?

I'm probably not a good example. I thought to myself, "am I living my life for myself or for other people?" and dropped out of school after my first year.