A question for the ABT "social justice" crew

[RolloTheGreat]

Your answer is the same as when we talked years ago. You're a smart guy, and a nice guy, you need to finish the degree (even if it means on nights and weekends for a few years) and use the system that is using you.

When my first degree didn't pan out like expected I did exactly that and got a second. If that ever fails, I'll learn what I must to live like I want to.

and be indebted till death?

Some plan 

I guess that depends what you make after you graduate doesn't it?

If you were making $40K and you bump to $60K are you better or worse off spending $3K of your $20K bump on student loan payments?

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Getting a university degree in the USA is next to impossible unless you have a lot of money to begin with. When I visited Carnegie Mellon university the students told me that they were paying $30000 in tuition for an undergraduate program.

They pay more than that, but it's a high priced private college:

https://www.cmu.edu/hub/tuition/1415-undergraduate.html

Of course if you go to a state school, it's MUCH cheaper:

https://finaid.wisc.edu/undergraduate-cost.htm

$10K a year tuition vs $48K at Carnegie Mellon (and smaller state schools are more like $8K/year tuition)

You are correct it takes a lot of money, but the payoff is there:

http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm

Half the people in the US with a bachelors degree are making above $1101 a week, and they had 3.5% unemployment last year.

Compare that with $668 median salary for high school grads and 6% unemployment.