[watwut]

> The other difference of course is that in Germany, only a fairly small proportion of high school students is even allowed to go to Uni.

Among 25- to 29-year-olds in United States, the percentage with a bachelor’s or higher degree is 37 percent, and the percentage with a master’s or higher degree is 9 percent.

For Germany, the best guess I found was 32% in tertiary education. Which is lower, but not that much lower. It is not like most people in the United States would have college degree.

> When polled, 87% of students answered that they were dependent on financial support from their parents and 12% received state-sponsored loans [1].

The amount it costs to pay for "accommodation, food and participating in general student life" in Germany is significantly less then to pay for "college itself, books, accommodation, food and participating in general student life in United States. The fact that majority of middle class student can do it on parental help alone makes situation massively different then when students have to take on debt.