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<p>Back then, college was much less expensive*, and job prospects at the bachelor’s degree level were not seen as being as uncertain as they are seen now. So financial return on investment considerations were likely much less of a concern to college-bound students (although those from poorer families probably considered them more then, as they likely do now).</p>
<p>*Back then, a high school graduate could probably earn enough to live on his/her own and pay the trivial tuition costs at a nearby state university. That is considered significantly more difficult now, and it is assumed that some parental help is needed (parentally subsidized living at the parents’ house is parental help, although it results in restricting the possible colleges to those within commuting distance of the parents’ house).</p>