[speekinout]

So my question is, is it still possible, thru hard work, loans, grants, etc. to go to a good school on very little money?

That depends on what you call a "good school". The Ivy League prices are out of sight. Their educations are far Left. I don't think that is money well spent.
There are plenty of smaller colleges where the prices are much more reasonable, and some of them aren't very Liberal. I actually think that many of them give the students a better education.

The biggest problem these days is that so many high school graduates don't meet basic literacy tests. Our local Community College has far more remedial classes than college level classes. Those kids don't qualify for scholarships or grants anywhere.

[homemom]

I'm not necessarily talking Ivy League. I went to a small, expensive (at the time) private Lutheran college. But depending on what a person wants to do, a community college may be the right place to go. We have one just 22 miles away and many people get a great education there.

There was another private, Lutheran college I was accepted into,with scholarships, but not as good of ones, and with much higher grade requirements, so I made a CHOICE to go to the other college, mostly because of the money.

I guess my point is, people (parents and their kids) need to be thinking ahead, and take responsibility for their actions! They need to work hard thru high school, not just start when they're thinking about college. Now I went to a small town HS. I was in a few extracurricular activities, but not many. There's no way I would have gotten into a really big name school, even if I could have afforded it, but I didn't want to or need to.

IMHO, people can't just expect college to be handed to them just because. If they have worked hard and gotten good grades and/or qualified for loans and grants and scholarships, then they DESERVE to have it (at least partly) paid for. But I don't think it should automatically be a 'given.'

[homemom]

I'm not necessarily talking Ivy League. I went to a small, expensive (at the time) private Lutheran college. But depending on what a person wants to do, a community college may be the right place to go. We have one just 22 miles away and many people get a great education there.

There was another private, Lutheran college I was accepted into,with scholarships, but not as good of ones, and with much higher grade requirements, so I made a CHOICE to go to the other college, mostly because of the money.

I guess my point is, people (parents and their kids) need to be thinking ahead, and take responsibility for their actions! They need to work hard thru high school, not just start when they're thinking about college. Now I went to a small town HS. I was in a few extracurricular activities, but not many. There's no way I would have gotten into a really big name school, even if I could have afforded it, but I didn't want to or need to.

IMHO, people can't just expect college to be handed to them just because. If they have worked hard and gotten good grades and/or qualified for loans and grants and scholarships, then they DESERVE to have it (at least partly) paid for. But I don't think it should automatically be a 'given.'