This is partly true. The US also DID use to subsidize more University tuition.

However: Agreed. The loans are dumb. They feed into the issue in exactly the way you describe. They should be interest free as long as you are making regular payments.[1]

> Also, in-state tuition for state schools is much less...

This is so thorny... I have a younger cousin, and what he ended up doing was going to a community college for two years, then transferring. It worked out well for him! But it was a gamble.

When I was in school my parents were very obsessed with me "having the college experience" even though we were much less well-off than they were in uni and were not able to support me financially[0]. I say this to point out: I am not advocating for this. College should not be fun! If it is: Great! Glad you had a good time. But that is not necessarily the reality you should expect.

However: I have noticed a lot of people made a lot of friends in Uni, and those develop into professional relationships later in life.

Additionally, if you are an ambitious person, going to community college has the risk of failing to prepare you for higher level university teaching.

Finally: I am an extremely extroverted person. I found the community aspect of going to class, studying with friends, etc. extremely helpful in my motivation and understanding of the material. I've tried to do the MIT classes and such, but it rarely sticks.

0: Not their fault, not whining. Shit happens!

EDIT:

1: AS A VERY MODERATE ACCOMMODATION. I'm not advocating for this policy as the end-all-be-all, but I feel like this is a very reasonable suggestion.