Yes, especially for people in the lower half of the socioeconomic scale. I went to a pretty crappy HS in Pennsylvania (bottom 6th percentile), where there were no programming classes (at least in 2004) and very little college guidance since only 20% of kids (of those who even graduate HS) went to college.

Part of me understands why there were so few AP classes and not a lot of focus on college. I mean, since 80% of kids weren't going to college, why not focus more on vocational classes? While my mom certainly couldn't help me out with college tuition, she did have good enough credit so I could actually secure loans via her cosigning. Contrary to what a lot of people think, stafford loans are not "all you can eat" and most of the time need to be supplemented with private loans that you need to qualify for, even for a state school like Penn State. I personally knew a few people that had to take a year off and build up some credit just so they could get loans to go to school.

Fortunately a lot of smart people are starting to take on this problem via alternative means of education. I think that's really the only solution for people from backgrounds similar to mine.