You make being a privileged middle class kid seem like such a chore.
There is always someone better then you, and there id always someone who got what you did for less. But on the flip side, you are also the someone to someone else.
Take out the room/board fees, and you're still looking at $14,000/year just for tuition.
So, even going to a top state university isn't going to keep you debt-free. Maybe not $100,000 in debt, but still a significant sum.
There is definitely a "donut hole" in terms of aid available to middle-class undergraduates[2]. If you're poor, chances are you can obtain grants or other aid. If you're rich, you can pay cash and not sweat it. If you're somewhere in the middle, that aid dries up fast, but you can't write a check.
[1] https://news.virginia.edu/content/board-visitors-sets-2015-1... [2]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2015/01/29/...
It ends up being very good for lots of people, but the academic requirements, especially for your high school record, do introduce some socioeconomic and racial disparity with the awards.
[1] https://secure.gacollege411.org/Financial_Aid_Planning/HOPE_...
The Hope Scholarship looks REALLY nice - it appears available to any student who graduates with a very achievable GPA (3.0/4.0).