There are some different scenarios here.
- The student from a poor family is generally expected to "work his/her way through college" to cover the remaining costs after receiving a reduced net price through financial aid grants. This is not so different now compared to a generation ago in states with good in-state financial aid, or at private schools with good financial aid, but may be more of a stretch when the available colleges now have higher (in real terms) net prices than they did a generation ago (which would be more like the second scenario below).
- The student from the wealthy family that won't pay now finds it generally unrealistic to "work his/her way through college" if s/he did not earn big merit scholarships. A generation ago, many in-state public universities were cheap enough, and high school graduates paid enough, that someone with no support from parents and no financial aid eligibility was much more likely to be able to "work his/her way through college" then than now.