@ucbalumnus , I think I acknowledged pretty early on that tuition has outpaced real income.
Still, I don’t think it’s as simple or as categorical as it sometimes comes off here on CC. It is, or can be, a function of a lot of things in addition to, or in lieu of, being a superstar student who can get Pomona or Cornell to pay for everything: how much savings lower income parents have, other sources of help (local scholarships, extended family, etc.) and a reasonable amount of debt.
Anyway, I see a variety of things. To me, a suburban cop and his substitute teacher wife are people who I wouldn’t score as having a lot of disposable income given where in the country they live. I think many here would be surprised by how even $100k “feels” in Seattle. I’m originally from Miami, and still spend time there with family. $100k here feels like $50k there.
Sometimes I wonder where the COL data comes from and who’s collecting it. I included not an ounce of hyperbole when I wrote the other day that $1/2 million doesn’t buy much of anything in the Seattle metro area in terms of housing. So someone making that $100 to $150 does not have a lot of flexibility in terms of their real disposable income. I think it’s harder for them than you might expect.
And, please, everyone, don’t get me wrong. If living at home is the only way to make it happen, then that’s what you have to do to make it happen.
My main point was that going away, and certainly living on campus wherever you are, are positive and important aspects of the college experience, and it’s shame for any kid to have to miss out on it. People who have to live with that limitation might not like hearing it, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
This discussion has deteriorated into what people “should be able to do,” and that focus is misplaced. I think the CC cohort could go round and round on that all day, which I’m not interested in doing.