[stametseater]

VT is certainly more expensive than the national average, but that $32k figure is the sticker price, not net tuition. Net tuition is what actually counts when you're talking about how much debt students will incur. Everybody is made to apply for financial assistance, grants and scholarships, etc etc. Nobody pays the sticker price unless their family is quite wealthy. The Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program is a state funded needs-based grant for in-state students with very low performance requirements (keep your GPA above 2.0.) Depending on your degree of need, they will pay up to the full tuition price, including all required fees and book costs.

> summer expenses

Cost of living expenses will be incurred whether you go to college or not. Regardless, most people go home for the summer and 'mooch' off their parents. Summer is also a good time to find an internship. With good internships you can pay off much of your debt before you even graduate. If good internships don't exist for whatever you're studying, that should be taken as a warning..

[Retric]

> Net tuition

I actually applied for VT years ago and the only thing they offered was student loans making many private schools far more affordable. Further unless something changed they don’t let freshman figure out their own accommodation. So our hypothetical recent graduate has to actually spend roughly that much money even if they happen to live next to campus.

> Cost of living expenses will be incurred whether you go to college or not.

Again sure, but they impact how much money someone can save from a summer job. If you’re making 15$ an hour while living at home with free room and board then you can save quite a bit. However, that’s far from universal for most people trying to make it on with a high school diploma alone they simply don’t generate a significant surplus every week.

[stametseater]

Net tuition is calculated by subtracting the grants and financial assistance, which I assure you, really do exist and most students qualify for at least some. Maybe you personally didn't qualify, but that doesn't mean they didn't exist for "our hypothetical recent graduate."

[Retric]

> financial assistance

Schools include loans in that financial assistance category. So sure most revive “assistance” but that bill comes due. VT under grads can’t actually come up with that kind of money thus the loans. ~30k of loans * 4 years = 120K which isn’t extreme for undergraduate, but ignores interest which will greatly compound if someone seeks further education.

Thus why actual college affordability is important rather than just loans. Failing to become a doctor is financial suicide for most people in the US. Which plays a huge role in our ruinous healthcare costs.