Even here in the wealthy USA, many intelligent students can't afford to continue their education past secondary school, Anne.

Students with poor grades and parents who can afford their higher education can get a degree. Students whose parents can't afford to pay for a college education can still get one if they have top grades and get excellent scores on their pre-admission tests and receive scholarships to cover all or most of their fees. It's the students with very good grades, but not excellent enough for full financial aid, and whose parents can't or won't pay for their education that get left out.

There are education loans available but the interest rates are high. Many spend their careers paying off their college loans.

I was one of those "left out" students. I had very good grades and a father who refused to contribute to my education. I received a few scholarships, but mostly relied on loans and working. I wanted to be a teacher. Teachers, especially back then, were paid very poorly. After a year of college, I did the math and realized how much money I would have to borrow and how many hours I would have to work each week to complete my education. I compared that total to how much I would be paid as a teacher. It would take at least 20 years to pay off my loans, if I didn't have children or any unexpected financial problems. Continuing my education did not make financial sense.

Ironically, last night I was thinking about my two dream colleges - the ones I couldn't come close to affording - and looked online to see what their current costs are. The public college's tuition is now almost $29,000 per year and the private one costs $68,000 per year. Who can afford that?

Our local University has surprisingly "low" tuition for students who are residents of the state - about $24,000 per year. But for students from other states, it costs about $46,000 per year!