Was that never true? Has that changed? Or by “can’t afford” do you mean “unwilling to take on debt” which is valid ... I’m just trying to understand that part of your story.
In retrospect, someone that knew about this stuff would have told me that I could have received better financial aid, and I was probably misinterpreting some of the financial numbers. I mean, I was on my own, an 18 year old kid that was jumping into a scary world of getting into debt. I don't want none of that, give me something affordable.
I know several people who attend UIUC with me who got accepted to MIT, Stanford, etc, but their parents couldn't afford private school.
But by the time my sister went to school, all the elite schools offered better terms.
Plus, you have to get approved for loans, and have parental co-signers. For me personally my parents had no interest in co-signing a $100k loan. For others their parents may have really bad credit.
If you want it enough there are probably ways, but as an non-rich 18 year old (or parent of an 18 year old) it's a a HUGE gamble to take on that kinda debt for a degree that you might not even finish and if you do it might not pay for itself.
there's a large gap between people that get enough aid and those that can just pay out of pocket. i got bored at the university i could afford, dropped out, and ended up in the tech startup world. MIT would have been great, but they way they assess need means people in my position (middle class) can't/won't attend. it sucks, because i would have loved the challenge and the atmosphere, but it didn't make financial sense.