5 to 7k a semester!!! Wow. Mine went to private colleges 50k plus a year each. Damn right they worked part time and summers. Ever hear of work/study. The college gets you a job.
The world is not all STEM. Plenty of degrees between stem and basket weaving.
You and you kids were penny wise and pound foolish. If I was paying 50K per year I would not work at minimum wage and risk my GPA.