<p>Lunar_eclipse made an excellent point - you can automatically get a Stafford Loan for around $6,000/year. Combine that with a part-time job on campus and you’re looking at $10,000/year income. And throw in full-time job during the summer months and you’re looking at $13,000/year.</p>
<p>Depending on what state you live in, $13,000/year could probably pay for tuition, room and board, etc. at one of the campuses of your big state university. It won’t pay for Harvard. But it should pay for something more than community college.</p>
<p>It requires working a lot of hours, living frugally, and saving every penny. But it can be done in many states where the state universities aren’t all ridiculously expensive yet.</p>