That's tuition Pumeco. College is corporate-controlled big business here in the states. We don't get free education. And if you intend on ever making more than minimum wage, flipping burgers or working at wal-mart the rest of your life, then you have to get at least a 2-year degree. And these days even that is pretty much laughed at. Most companies expect you to have a bachelors or better before they'll even bother giving you an interview. The average cost of a 4-year degree runs about $70K - $90K. And no, there are no entry-level jobs that are going to pay you anywhere close to what it would take to pay those loans back so you'd best make damned sure it's a field you're going to stick with and one that you actually have a shot of getting hired into once you graduate, or you'll still be working at wal-mart and $100K further in debt. And unlike other loans, student loans are with you for life. There's no way of getting out from under them other than paying them off.

I don't know where you heard $6 - $8K. lol. I'd gladly pay that if that's all I owed. Hell that doesn't even cover one class.

I'm not the only one. Remember Occupy back in 2011? Student loan debt in the US topped $1trillion back in 2013, and more than half of graduates are unemployed or under employed with no way of paying their loans back, so they're all going into default. And the debt bubble is about to bust wide open. These schools all advertise degree programs for fields that are already saturated but lie about the job placement rate or skew the numbers to make it sound a lot better than it actually is. And students fall for it, especially those just coming out of high school, they know they have to go to college if they want half a shot at ever being anything. But even when you do your research - which I did very thoroughly before I signed up - you still don't get the real facts until you're actually living it. 

@Doric: You're from my parent's generation. A lot of things were different back then. You didn't have to have a college degree as long as you worked hard and pretty much stayed put. My parents didn't go to college. My mom took a few classes just after highschool but gave it up to get married. My dad joined the army and became a career soldier, so any schooling he had came from the military and was paid for. It's a very different playing field today. If you don't go to college, then your chances of ever having anything are pretty much non-existent. And even if you do go to college, it's like playing russian roulette with your future and your finances. But you've gotta play it. There's always the exception to the rule. Always the one guy that lucked out, sticks with the same job since high school and learns everything there is to know about it and makes 6 figures a year, but for most people especially today that is not the case.