We tend to assume all areas are like ours.
This family lives in southern Maine. There is no graphic design or animation program at the local CC. The closest thing the Southern Maine CC system offers is a single course in illustration. The rest are 100 level general arts courses (drawing 1, photography 1, ceramics 1, etc.) with a smattering of 200 level courses (printmaking 1 and 2, etc.)
There is a graphic design program at Eastern Maine CC, but that’s in Bangor, 2 1/2 hours each way by car.
Tuition and fees alone at Maine College of Art are $36,424. According to College Factual the average debt upon graduation is more than 41K and at every income level the average cost to attend is more than 26K per year.
The family’s best bet financially would have been the University of Southern Maine, but it’s possible the family was scared away by the low graduation rate (32% vs, 75% for U Mass Amherst.)
In any case this is a cautionary tale, reminding parents to do their research before allowing their kids to apply to schools that may not be affordable.