I could work a summer job and it basically paid my full-time
college expenses (with some part-time work during the semesters)
at a state university. Neither me nor my brother had any debt when we
graduated. This option isn't available for most current college students.
$ 7,143 Full time tuition and fees for a nearby state university in my area for a year
$- 2,880 40 hrs * 12 weeks summer * $6 take home pay
$- 4,200 20 hrs * 35 weeks non-summer * $6 take home pay
-----------
$ 63 tuition and fees due.
$ 8,640 Start working in 11th grade and work 16 hrs * 45 weeks * 2 years * $6 take home pay
Well, that would cover books, bus fare or a bicycle to school for 4 years of college.
No effort expended to get scholarships or financial aid. No effort to get a better paying job.
Live with parents. Work. If all of school isn't paid for, it's trivial to pay the rest with any sort of job.
A huge percentage of students live close enough to a state university that they could make this work if they had bothered to actually learn their k-12 school material in k-12 instead of waiting until they get to college to do that.
Now, if someone wants to go to a college that's not within daily commuting distance, but still within this state, then their expenses will be higher. The first 2 years at a local college and the 2nd two at the remote college would cost about $23,000 with the room and meal plan for the final 2 years. That's only 2/3rds the median cost of a new car - and I've never heard anyone whine about indentured servitude when they were posting about their brand new shiny car.
So, no, most students don't need to spend huge amounts of money to get a college degree.
So, how do students end up owing so much?
Well, they go to out of state colleges "for the experience", not because that particular college would actually provide a financial return on the additional $ investment. That's a perfectly fine thing to do, but blaming "the system" because you decided on a long-term tourism stint in a remote location is out of line.
Or they don't bother to actually determine exactly and precisely what classes that they have to take in order to graduate with their degree, and then have to spend an extra semester or three in time and money to graduate. It's written down in black and white and it's not particularly hard to figure that out assuming someone actually bothers to do so.
Or they change majors multiple times and take extra years to graduate.
Or they live in very fancy digs instead of the cheapest possible ones, finance a shiny new car with their loans, eat expensive meals out all the time instead of cheap meals, and drink like a fish. That will inflate those living expenses pretty high for 4 to 6 years.
Or, even worse, they do all of the above and don't even bother to graduate.
So, no, I'm not buying the sob story.