That’s not the full equation. There are a lot of jobs out there that you straight up cannot get out of college without going somewhere “prestigious.” That translates into YEARS worth of lost income and a completely different/lower earning career trajectory. Yes, some folks manage to get into FAANG out of state school, but that isn’t the norm. It’s damn near impossible to get into investment banking or management consulting straight out of college from a state school, for example.
I got into $200k worth of undergrad student loans. I am still paying them back and probably could have done things to reduce that burden early on. Regardless, I don’t regret it for a second because I’ll be done paying for them in about three years, and I’ll keep the high income job and great network I’ve accumulated in the process.
I mean, isn't that the only equation? If your income covers it, by definition not unaffordable. But there's people who get degrees that don't give a surefire way to pay back the tuition who go to those schools too.
I got into $200k worth of undergrad student loans. I am still paying them back and probably could have done things to reduce that burden early on. Regardless, I don’t regret it for a second because I’ll be done paying for them in about three years, and I’ll keep the high income job and great network I’ve accumulated in the process.