Read my location. I'm in a public school, predominately undergraduate institution. A student doesn't have to be very competitive to get in. We look at 6-year graduation rate, instead of 5-year for the big research-one universities. I usually see students over-schedule themselves when they have 16 undergraduate credits and hold 20-30 hours a week job(s). That is not possible. Working minimal wage jobs isn't going to pay for college tuition, just making college a few years longer. If you can afford to go to college without working, borrowing from government and parent is fine. You get to graduate earlier and start making enough money to pay back.