[echelon]

There is no reason a tuition should cost more than $2,000 a semester. An entire undergraduate education should be under $20,000 without grants or assistance.

I went to a small state STEM school with low tuition and a small student body. Most of my upper level classes had 20 students max, and the school was profitable. (Organic Chemistry III and P. Chem had only 4 students, myself included, and we were asked to take turns teaching the material and were corrected if we stumbled -- trial by combat.)

I now earn $500k a year total comp.

Also telling: my company hires people without degrees into six figure positions.

Get a degree if you can get it for cheap. The socialization and academics can be beneficial. Some fields will still require it (biochem, medical, lots of engineering disciplines). But I'm also a fan of Peter Thiel's approach. Just jump into your field if you have the resources at your fingertips.

[inglor_cz]

There actually is a reason: a huge, bloated, parasitic administration, plus other expenses that are far from necessary (e.g. top class sport facilities; nice to have, but quite a luxury for people who just entered adulthood and need to manage their money carefully).

A lot would change if a federal law required universities that take federal money to push their administrative spending under 15 per cent of their total budgets or so.