But even in the good old days when the article assumes everyone was working his/her way through college (and really, there were still plenty of parents paying, scholarships, athletic scholarships), there were people living in rural areas that needed to move to the city to attend college. Some people live near a college and can save money by living at home and commuting, some don’t. If anything there are more community colleges, college branches, and distance learning opportunities than there were 20-30 years ago, so more students can at least start college while living at home and pay tuition by working their way through, especial if the parents are willing to contribute the room and board.
On another thread right now a high school student is looking for help on how to get money to go to college. This student is from Tenn and doesn’t seem interested in the FREE community college option. I’m not judging her wanting to go ‘away to college’ like other 18 year olds, just saying the FREE option is there, and students aren’t jumping on it.
One big difference in the good old days and now is the status of the student. My friend moved to Colorado, worked for 2 years and was not only independent but got instate rates for tuition. He then work at a lab at school for 20 hours per week, making better money than most of us. He did not ‘play’ as much, always working or studying. Today, he wouldn’t have been able to do this because he would have been paying OOS tuition until he was 24. He was also 2+ years older than the rest of us, and frankly more mature and focused on working and studying.