I'm gay, so my parents wouldn't pay or help me in any way. The public colleges in my state basically told me that if I didn't have the money, I should get lost and try again when I was 24. (This was despite routinely having the highest standardized test scores in my entire high school and a solid GPA. I usually test in the 95-99% range nationwide.)
Meanwhile, many of my far stupider peers with richer/more benevolent parents have already graduated. The only difference between me and them is access to tens of thousands of dollars in tuition money. Colleges are nothing but a business, and if you think otherwise, you are very lucky to have been in a situation where you have never had to wait out half a decade in poverty because of where and how you were born.
Meanwhile, many of my far stupider peers with richer/more benevolent parents have already graduated. The only difference between me and them is access to tens of thousands of dollars in tuition money. Colleges are nothing but a business, and if you think otherwise, you are very lucky to have been in a situation where you have never had to wait out half a decade in poverty because of where and how you were born.