Unless their parents are willing to pay for it, it should be off the table.
Miss Prim
If that were the case, I would be back in my hometown right now shoveling pig shit for minimum wage. Not everyone had the same experiences that you and your children have had. Not everyone has parents that can pay for or are even the least bit knowledgeable about these things. Some of us were actively discouraged from even looking at college, let alone given any encouragement, sensible guidance, or let alone money. Grants, student loans, summer jobs, and college work study programs were a godsend to me and to millions of others.
I have to say though, that Miss Prim has a point.
I borrowed money for college (some), but most of my education was paid for by my uncle. Uncle Sam, that is. Honestly ROTC and the military academies and the GI bill are a way (if not THE) way that many poor, rural kids go to college.
Most of the problem here was pointed out by someone else - that we let 17 year olds make $100,000 decisions. Really, there should be a "guideline" set out and taught in HS. And maybe limits, like borrowing for a mortgage (Your income/ debt ratio, etc. etc.)
I don't know the answer, but something like:
1. What is your major
2. What is your planned job
3. What is the typical starting salary of your job with your major from your chosen institution
4. What percentage of students graduating get a job in this field.
So, let's say you get an accounting degree from NC State. The average starting salary is $40k a year, and 70% of the students work in the field. That means $40k x 0.7 = $28k.
There, you can borrow $28k. Or $42k. (1.5x)
I know that personally, I didn't know what the hell I was doing signing loan papers. My mother worked at a bank and didnt' either. Nobody in my family had gone to college. I graduated with NO IDEA how much I had borrowed ($11k.) I'm just lucky that I was smart and cheap and conservative, and decided that 5 years in the Navy was a small price to pay for 3 years of tuition paid for at a top-10 engineering school. Damn lucky.
Many kids aren't practical (and they are young), and many parents don't know how to navigate the college funding thing either, because they didn't go through it themselves.