# Under what circumstance can people NOT go to college? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677 "2011-04-08T16:20:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/41 "2011-04-08T21:35:47Z")
I make enough as a business analyst for a Fortune 500 company to support myself in the manner I want (not terribly high, but it suites me), put money in my IRA and 401K, own my small farm, support my animals and have no dept besides the small balance of my mortgage. I don’t want to spend all my spare time taking classes. Although, admittedly, having a degree might make me more employable, my sister, who not only didn’t finish college, she didn’t get her HS diploma (before the days of early graduation nad GED, she left HS and went to college. She dropped out after a year to travel.). She’s now the Director of Transportation for a major company, making over $100K/yr. I like my life as it is. If I’m interested in something, I learn about it. Having a degree doesn’t make me a better person, or a smarter one. It just makes me a person who has a degree. Why should anyone care about that but me? StG ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/42 "2011-04-08T21:48:59Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > As far as the money thing goes; Hell, I’m white and my parents are loaded and I _still_ got enough financial aid to go. (Including living expenses.) When you say “financial aid” what do you mean? Did schools offer you scholarships? Did you qualify for Pell Grants? Or do you mean the schools were happy to give you loans? Assuming they’re loans, you and your parents may be happy to be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars for years to come, but I trust you’re smart enough to understand that other families may not be in that position. And while anecdotes are not data, I have a friend whose daughter is going through the college application thing right now. She’s a straight-A student with an outstanding list of extra curricular activities and has been accepted by every college she applied to. And to top it off, she isn’t white. Now the financial aid packages are coming in, and they range from a full scholarship to zero. If she’s so good, shouldn’t EVERY school be throwing money her way? What if she hadn’t applied to the schools that happen to be offering her a full scholarship? ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/43 "2011-04-08T22:08:14Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Out of curiosity, are you even a member of an ethnic minority or poor? Yes, both! Ha! I await your capitulation to my side in the face of this revelation. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/44 "2011-04-08T22:28:23Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > If you include living expenses and a four-year plan, even state colleges are quickly becoming a bad bargain for most: the University of Texas estimates that the total cost of education there is over $20K a year for books, tuition, room and board. Someone borrowing all of that is looking at leaving college $80K in debt. There just aren’t many degrees that are worth it. My undergraduate degree cost $80k. Fortunately for me between grants and scholarships I had a full ride. But I had to bend over backwards to convince my school that I was poor enough to be considered an independent. Schools require that you report your parents’ income regardless of whether your parents are actually helping you with school, so a lot of my middle class friends got screwed. This is one huge blessing that came out of my legal emancipation. I had to document my emancipation status and get six different letters from people who knew me stating that I was not receiving any financial support from my family, but it was surely worth it. But for the record, as poorest of the poor in the eyes of my University, the Pell grant was a measly drop in the bucket. Most of my tuition was covered by a merit scholarship at $10-15k a year. The Pell grant was very small. As to the OPs question, you really are taking a lot for granted. First, you’re taking for granted that all education systems are created equal. There is a school here in Philadelphia that recently decided to strike all science from its curriculum, because it couldn’t afford it and nobody really cares about those kids anyway. The truly disadvantaged are being educated in environments where even if you’re smart and motivated, you’re going to have one hell of a time being college-ready by the time you reach age 18. You’re sitting in a classroom with 50 kids who don’t care, there are only 20 books, and your teacher is telling you not to bother because you’re just going to end up pregnant at 16 anyway. That is the reality for a lot of kids. And that’s assuming the kids decide to graduate in the first place. Research indicates that in many inner city neighborhoods, the odds of employment and social mobility are no better for a kid who finishes high school vs. a kid who drops out. So why waste all that time when school won’t pay off anyway? A research project completed by one of my profs examined workforce development programs (including adult ed) and how effective they were. What they found is that the majority of people who came into those programs were seriously behind and ended up having to take remedial courses just to get into community college before they could even get to the professional training. So a suburban middle class kid goes to college and is usually out by age 21 or 22. But the poor inner city kid has to take a year or two of remedial classes just to start college and it could take years before they are ready for a professional job. Which isn’t to say it can’t be done - but you don’t end up that far behind academically without having a ton of other shit in your life to deal with. On the other hand, my mother completed a degree in mechanical engineering at a major state school while raising me as a single parent. It took her seven years. So I never believed it was not possible and that’s partly why I did succeed despite being entirely on my own at such a young age. But she would never have made it without support payments from AFDC - that program no longer exists and TANF does not support parents who are in school. I don’t know if, given today’s social welfare system (or lack thereof) she could have done it. And I don’t know if I would have done it were I not so fortunate to have parents and teachers who encouraged me in my education. On a final note, a lot of people make the assumption that college is always the smartest choice, but I’m not sure that’s true anymore. I don’t really think people understand the magnitude of debt that kids have to take on nowadays and how the advantage of holding a college degree is really quite meager compared to what it used to be. I don’t regret taking the plunge for reasons unrelated to finances, but for many people ‘‘higher education’’ is really just a massive scam. ---
**Author:** ![impatien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c89c15/32.png) [@impatien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/impatien)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/45 "2011-04-08T23:05:34Z")
Getting a college degree now is certainly not what it used to be. I graduated from high school in 1974 and got a great job with excellent pay directly out of high school for one of the Ma Bells. Now that probably couldn’t be done, since a college degree is a requirement for most any job. Ridiculous is what it is. I really don’t believe that the jobs now require a 4-year degree anymore than they did in 1974. It’s just become what’s expected and it’s too bad. To rack up thousands of dollars in student loans for a lot of the jobs you’ll be able to get when graduating is just not worth it. For my money, if I were graduating from high school today, I’d get a two-year degree in some profession guaranteed to land me a good high-paying job. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/46 "2011-04-08T23:27:03Z")
Tuition for a 5 credit class at the local community college in my area is $435 plus about $80 in mandatory fees, more if the class has a lab or technology component. That’s about $175/month now. Depending on your financial circumstances, that’s not nothing, especially knowing that the number will rise faster than inflation and many COL increases over the next few years. Government grants & loans will cover some of that, but IIRC, only for a limited number of years and a limited number of dollars at the AA level. Private loans are not necessarily available to someone whose credit is already shot. Taking the class in person is often time taken in the middle of the workday, requires reliable transportation to and from campus, and possibly childcare. Taking a class online requires a computer and reliable access to the internet, which is something that I take for granted but is not necessarily as ubiquitous as I’d like to think. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/47 "2011-04-09T00:09:46Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > When you say “financial aid” what do you mean? Did schools offer you scholarships? Did you qualify for Pell Grants? Or do you mean the schools were happy to give you loans? > > Assuming they’re loans, you and your parents may be happy to be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars for years to come, but I trust you’re smart enough to understand that other families may not be in that position. > > And while anecdotes are not data, I have a friend whose daughter is going through the college application thing right now. She’s a straight-A student with an outstanding list of extra curricular activities and has been accepted by every college she applied to. And to top it off, she isn’t white. Now the financial aid packages are coming in, and they range from a full scholarship to zero. If she’s so good, shouldn’t EVERY school be throwing money her way? What if she hadn’t applied to the schools that happen to be offering her a full scholarship? I got Pell Grants. But if I remember correctly, they didn’t amount to much. Around 4K I think? Anyway, the rest were loans guaranteed (to the banks) by the government. My parents had no obligation to these loans. As far as being on the hook? Well, to each his own I guess. Personally, I didn’t mind being on the hook one bit considering the doors my education opened up for me. The main impetus behind my OP is I get sick of hearing the old gripe: “I’m a victim of the system” I think it’s bullshit. Just about anyone can go to college if they want to. I’m certainly not trrying to argue that every person on the planet should go to college. I get the concept that some folks are perfectly happy living a simple life. Just please don’t bitch to me that you have a suck ass job flipping burgers at McBurger Town and somehow it’s the governments fault. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/48 "2011-04-09T02:00:12Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Yes, both! Ha! I await your capitulation to my side in the face of this revelation. I hate to break to it ya, but your screenname is whiter than bread. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/49 "2011-04-09T13:01:52Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > The main impetus behind my OP is I get sick of hearing the old gripe: “I’m a victim of the system” I think it’s bullshit. Just about anyone can go to college if they want to. Where are you hearing that gripe? I’ve never heard that from anyone, ever. What I hear is perfectly smart people insisting they are too dumb to be educated, because that is what they were conditioned to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/50 "2011-04-09T13:21:44Z")
Hell, a lot of scholarships you don’t even need to apply for. Colleges often just hand out money. Both colleges I attended don’t even do loans any more for undergrads; it’s all grants. The people with limited financial options are the ones who have parents who won’t contribute. You could be married with children and my undergrad college would still use your parents’ financial info for their aid calculation. That doesn’t mean you can’t go to college, it just means that this one is going to expect you to cough up $50k/year on your own. You’re better off elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/51 "2011-04-09T13:47:06Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > More general possibilities: > > - young unwed mom whose family says it’s her responsibility to take care of her baby (because she “went and got herself pregnant”) and won’t babysit if she wants to take classes. That can affect young men as well. I dated a man who, as a high school senior, was told by is ex-girlfriend that she was pregnant with his baby. Being a scared 18-year-old, he never told his parents who might have demanded proof of paternity. The courts assigned child support and he had to start working full-time immediately after graduating high school to fulfill the amount. The child is not his, and he is no longer paying child support. Now in his 30s, he’s finding it difficult to both go to school and pay rent and gave up. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/52 "2011-04-09T14:16:53Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > The main impetus behind my OP is I get sick of hearing the old gripe: “I’m a victim of the system” I think it’s bullshit. Just about anyone can go to college if they want to. Ah, _but…_ that may be an entirely different issue at play. Yes indeed, all the various circumstances as pointed out previously in which educational opportunity is just beyond someone’s reach are very real; _ **but** _ it is also just as real that you will run into mere excuse-makers, who have the effect of lowering the credibility _ **in your eyes** _ of those who legitimately had an education-access problem. The latter person will adapt to the situation and continue to make his/her best effort in spite of the lack of a degree – and to be fair, usually they do not not make a point of whining about it. But it is a mistake to assume that because the excuse-makers exist, then they must be the overwhelming majority vs. those who may indeed have been left behind by circumstance and the latter must be so few as to be dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/53 "2011-04-09T15:05:17Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > Yes, both! Ha! I await your capitulation to my side in the face of this revelation. Before you crow too loudly, I was just curious because people around here are notorious for say… being rich white folks who then turn around and decry the way that the Man is keeping the Black man down, without any personal experience as parts of those groups themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/54 "2011-04-09T17:25:09Z")
- My dad wouldn’t fill out tax forms because he thought college for women was silly - I convinced him a few years later to pay for a year of community college - After my son was born, I had 0 on the EFC - There was still no way I could’ve attended college without a small inheritance, though - I got lucky - I still have undergrad (and grad) debt Who can’t go to college? About 90 per cent of my students. They don’t have citizenship. For the colleges that would take them, the tuition is more than what their families make in an entire year. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/55 "2011-04-09T17:51:22Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Can you explain? I’m fairly certain there are at least a hundred programs out there aimed at getting poor minorities into college. Programs that I wouldn’t qualify for. > > If I’m wrong please explain. Sure, and there are millions of poor minority kids. Getting that money is still a competitive process. Being a poor minority does not guarantee you money for college - even after you apply. The program has to be there. Then you have to qualify Then you have to apply Getting the grant or scholarship is the last part. Having the first three hurdles is not sufficient to clear the forth - and the first three hurdles are big by themselves. (ETA: There have been programs that guarantee college for certain students who qualify. I think St. Paul has one currently that will pay for any St. Paul Public School graduate to go to a St. Paul community college or trade school for two years if they have a C average in high school. I suspect that program will be unfunded very shortly - the state can’t afford it) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/56 "2011-04-09T17:59:59Z")
> [@impatien](#): > > Getting a college degree now is certainly not what it used to be. I graduated from high school in 1974 and got a great job with excellent pay directly out of high school for one of the Ma Bells. Now that probably couldn’t be done, since a college degree is a requirement for most any job. Ridiculous is what it is. I really don’t believe that the jobs now require a 4-year degree anymore than they did in 1974. It’s just become what’s expected and it’s too bad. To rack up thousands of dollars in student loans for a lot of the jobs you’ll be able to get when graduating is just not worth it. > > For my money, if I were graduating from high school today, I’d get a two-year degree in some profession guaranteed to land me a good high-paying job. What sort of job do you think that two-year degree will provide? The reason a college degree is required for any decent job is because most decent jobs are in professional services. Finance, accounting, medicine, computer programming, law, engineering and businesses services. And most of these jobs require not only specific degrees but formal credentials as well. Even sales jobs typically need people who are educated enough to understand what they are selling. What sort of job did you do for a telecom in the 70s? Does that job still exist? Do they still pay high school grads to do it? Has the level of complexity of that job increased? From what I’ve seen, baring just not having the qualifications or being destitute, the main reason otherwise capable people don’t go to college is a) they focus on the short term financial gain or b) they simply get distracted by life until they just get too old and too settled to go. A lot of that comes from “college just isn’t worth it” thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Marc\_Xenos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Marc\_Xenos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marc_Xenos)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/57 "2011-04-09T18:36:24Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I’m willing to admit I may be naive on this subject if someone can provide me with a convincing arguement. But seriously, any hypothetical I can think of, when you put it under a microscope just boils down to the person wasn’t determined enough to _find_ a way to go. Well, Shakes, looks like most agree with your initial premise, or they’ve veered off on a separate tangent about who’s been more privileged or more screwed. And even then, they still haven’t rebutted your Original Premise. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/58 "2011-04-09T18:51:35Z")
I hear many voicing the opinion that a college education is necessary to live a good life, that you are somehow lazy, stupid or both if you do not choose to attend a college. (ETA: Not overtly, of course, but there’s an undercurrent.) In my own case, while I attended college for 3 semesters, my performance delined from tpo 10th percentile to krep. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had depression and anxiety issues that progressively got worse over the years. No-one suggested I seek professional help and at the time it would have been perceived as an insult if anyone had. From College I went to manual labor jobs until I got fired from my construction job for poor performance. I tried to join the Army, but when my test scores came back, they declared I was too smart to be a grunt and sent me over to the Air Force recruiter. I managed to stay in the Airforce for 20 years and retire, and it was almost a slow-motion repeat of my college experience. I started out as a fast-burner, making SSgt by the start of my second enlistment, and then the pressure to perform overwhelmed me and I pretty much stagnated. No-one mentored me and so I assumed I had to succeed or fail on my own. There were times I shone, usually when I was tasked to do something I had the skills, talent, and enthusiasm for. I excelled whenever there was an academic requirement, and I earned many college credits through some of the courses I took. Unfortunately, I never shone brightly enough to get promoted to TSgt (Technical Sargent, the next step up in rank). About midway through my career, my dad died and I went into what I now recognise as a severely-depressed state. It became hard for me to stay fit and under my max weight. It was hard for me to focus and concentrate. I stayed that way until my nephew finally encouraged me to seek help about 7 years ago. I’m in treatment and doing better, but due to arthritis, the wear and tear of multiple injuries suffered in car and motorcycle accidents (I’ve broken the bones in my left leg below the knee on three separate occasions) I need a cane to get around and I tire easily. I just qualified for disability a couple of months ago so for the first time in nearly a decade, I have enough income to afford my own apartment (as a matter of fact, I’ll be looking at one prospect a few hours hence). Quite frankly, if I had the chance to return to college, I’d pass\*. While my depression and anxiety are controlled, they’re not cured and the stress of having to perform would impair my ability to stay focussed. I’m not stupid but I expect that it’s better for my quality of life if I don’t put my feet to the fire like that. I’ll continue self-educating since learning new stuff is still one of my hobbies. I guess what I’m saying is that a college education might qualify you to be paid more than other people, but what if money (apart from having enough to get by on) isn’t your standard of happiness? One’s quality of life can be negatively-impacted by the requirements of obtaining a college education, and for some people, that negative impact is just too high. Of course, some people _are_ lazy and/or stupid, but they’re better than the people who single them out for derision, and some of them, lazy and/or stupid as they may be, are more decent human beings than we are, so I’d be careful about labeling all non-college-educated people with broad strokes of any kind. - I wouldn’t mind auditing a few classes, but my interests are varied and my attention span doesn’t always stay with me. My brain “thread-drifts”. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/59 "2011-04-09T19:01:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Before you crow too loudly, I was just curious because people around here are notorious for say… being rich white folks who then turn around and decry the way that the Man is keeping the Black man down, without any personal experience as parts of those groups themselves. I’m not really black. I was just demonstrating the silliness of your would-be gotcha question. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677/60 "2011-04-09T21:39:59Z")
> [@Marc\_Xenos](#): > > Well, Shakes, looks like most agree with your initial premise, or they’ve veered off on a separate tangent about who’s been more privileged or more screwed. And even then, they still haven’t rebutted your Original Premise. You really ought to have your glasses checked. His premise has already been refuted several times. There are people who are literally too poor, and are not given access to scholarships or don’t win them. A single mom with no one to take care of her kids and two jobs literally can’t go to college. All it takes is one such person, and the OP is refuted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-what-circumstance-can-people-not-go-to-college/577677.md?page=4)