Affordability is the major factor that dictates ones ability to attain a degree?

In aquiring a degree one anticipates a fulfilling career and high renumeration for ones efforts.
So if we all had one, afforded by a fair and equatable academic system, who would be attracted to the mundane, routine and poorly paid positions?
Lack of opportunity and financial stability prevents some from continuing academic learning because of their need to provide a living income.
Wealthy parents or ready access to funds overcomes this hurdle and so allows one to concentrate on the academia ahead.

Back to money talks, yet again, and again and always?

When I went to school, I not only had a full athletic scholarship, but I also worked to give me any spending money I needed while in school. When I got into the final year my class schedule was so busy I had to give up one thing, so I worked full time, paid my own tuition, and went to school full time, and graduated. After all that, the high renumeration I was offered for my bachelor's degree was around $6 per hour or $12,000 per year. I managed to live on that, and with some increases in salary, I worked full time while I got my master's degree. Then, I worked full time while also working full time on my doctorate.

What dictates one's ability to attain a degree is one's desire and willingness to put forth the effort!

I never took a student loan, or grant, but I did take the scholarship, for which I practiced, and trained and traveled, and performed, and was on a national championship team. I also permanently damaged my knee.

When you live in a place that lets you do what you want, you can't expect anyone to just give you anything. You have to make it happen. When you talk about getting the degree to get renumeration, one of my grandfathers never graduated high school, and started delivering coal in a horse drawn wagon. When he retired, he owned an oil company which he passed down to my uncle. He got what he worked for.

You get what you work for. Is it easier for those with money? Only if they are wise enough and have the drive to make use of the opportunity. My example would be people like many of the so called celebrities that are in the tabloids. They have all the money they could ever need, but do not use it to attain education, or to better themselves in any way.

When people talk about physicians children, those children are often brought up in a level of reasonable comfort, and have the ability to go to college, and even graduate education, but they also generally see their parents working very hard for the money that they make. If a physician's child goes to medical school, they have watched their parent go to the hospital on call at 2am, stay all night and then work in the clinic all day before making hospital rounds and coming home at 9 or 10 pm. It is not necessarily an easy life for the money they make.

I agree. I am plagued with being able to be "whatever I want to be" based on the fact that I was not born rich. I had to work the entire time I was in college and it was a real struggle. I notice that many doctors I work with have family that were doctors, lawyers, etc with the funds to give their children the opportunity to attend med school.

I am not someone who had kids (I don't have any) and could not do it. Usually people who say things like "anyone can do it" have never actually tried or have had most things in life handed to them. I've never qualified for a scholarship or financial aid because I don't have kids and I am not a minority or a 4.0 student. I DO have loans and guess what....they suck, you have to pay them back and they are not cheap! I don't feel I lack the desire, ethic, or talent. I LOVE my job, I am just saying I could never be a doctor because of $$$. So please don't think that just because I don't have an MD or PHD that makes me unhappy. It's untrue. I love my job.

Some people lack the interest and talent to get a degree or regard the work to get a degree as dull and uninteresting. Some people prefer jobs that they do with their hands and some of them like electrician and plumber pay better than many college level jobs. My husband and I and my sister in law all put ourselves through college. This country gives people lots of opportunities to get scholarships and loans to go to college. If you don't get pregnant and end up with children to support, you can do it if you want to. Yes, it is easier with family support, but millions do it without this support.