My parents funded my college education 100%, because they wanted to, and because they could afford to, because of the following:
1. I went to the local community college and took college transfer courses. It's much cheaper, and the basic freshman and sophomore level English, science, history and math courses aren't any different from those at a 4 year university. The added bonus, at least at the community college I attended, was that I mixed with people of all ages, many of whom lived in the 'real world' and had 'real jobs', not just college-age kids, so by the time I transferred to university and dorm-living, I was 21 and didn't go ape**** with the partying and independence and flunk out after the 1st year, like so many college freshman do.
2. I transferred to an in-state, public university. There was absolutely no reason to go outside North Carolina in order to get a good education.
Why do people feel they have to apologize for having generous parents? My parents gave me alot financially, and I gave them alot back spiritually with love and devotion. I am not ashamed, nor should anyone be for having a wonderful family.
I went from high school to college to law school with no time in between. A mistake, in retrospect. I think a year or so of work (or a 2 year stint in the military) in between high school and college is preferred and adds a LOT of maturity in a relatively short time.
Further, I think a lot of the liberal mindset that passes for critical thinking at colleges passes the smell test of relatively naive children (and lets be honest, the typical college student these days is still a 'child' in many ways). The same stuff wouldn't pass the smell test of even a slightly more seasoned young adult who took a year off to work at a crappy, dead-end job, or served in the armed forces.