> There is a huge gap in between, that isn't addressed in your comment. 80k/year is still expensive to someone whose parents make 100k.

If someone's parents make $100K/year then they aren't going to pay anywhere near that $80K/year figure.

The average annual expenses (tuition + living expenses) at Boston University is closer to $30K ( https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?164988-Boston-Univer... ).

US college tuition pricing is extremely weird because very few people actually pay full price. They put a big number on it so they can justify charging high amounts to wealthy parents (hence the millionaires and billionaires comment above) but then give everyone else "discounts" to bring it back toward lower numbers.

Note that their $30K/year is still a whopping 50% higher than the national average.