Comment by Ocerge

I had the exact same experience at a state school in Texas (Computer Science, graduated 2012). Worked the whole time, paid off what I could, and ended up with ~15k in debt that I paid off within 2 years. I completely understand how college isn't for everyone (or even most people), but it worked perfectly for me. I was not exposed to any CS concepts until college, and probably would never have had this career were it not for my education. I know CS is an extreme outlier in terms of earnings potential, so this is definitely a YMMV situation. I don't think I'd go to school for anything other than something that guarantees a lucrative career, which is unfortunate.