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<p>Twenty or thirty years ago, college was much less expensive in inflation-adjusted terms than it is now. A much larger percentage of parents could pay full price to send the kids to college, especially at state universities (tuition was almost nothing then). Even if the parents were unable or unwilling to pay, a college student back then could more realistically “work his/her way through college”, since entry-level jobs that paid enough to live on plus the nominal tuition at the state university were more available to high school graduates (now the better paying ones ask for bachelor’s degrees or specialized post-secondary education).</p>