Comment: Is it better to pay for your education?

During my time in Denmark as an American, I met many nice people who based their knowledge of American practices on media and hype. Please don't give the impression that all poor people in the U.S. are deprived of going to expensive universities because of their lack of money, or that most rack up debts of $100,000. That is simply not true. Look up http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp and do your own research. They are responsible for federal student loans and grants.
My first year of college was at a very expensive private university (University of Redlands). I qualified for student grants and loans and paid less than $3,000 out of the $14,000 yearly tuition fee ( a lot of money in 1990). The rest was paid for by grants. At the time, just more than 70% of the student population were on financial aid of this sort. After my first year, I transferred to another university (University of California, Santa Cruz) that had more options for my major. This is a public university where I qualified for full financial aid and did not have to pay ANYTHING for tuition. The only loans that I received was to cover the cost of housing. I could spend that anywhere I wanted to or choose to not accept it. I also received $500 per quarter in grants to purchase books.

Tuition for students from other countries or states is another matter. All Americans can apply for financial aid, however foreign students can not. Tuition is higher for both.

Graduate students in certain fields are the ones who rack up the most debt. They do qualify for financial aid as well, however they need to work more to find grants that apply to them. The amount of debt they rack up depends on their field, length of study, and of course, university.

Planning for college is something that many Americans start to do early. We work hard to get into college and that includes researching the best schools for the individual and figuring out how to pay for it. The types of funding available include federally subsidized student loans, federal grants, scholarships, and private loans. There are many ways to fund your college experience. As someone who has been through the system, it is frustrating to encounter people who say they can't afford to go to college. Usually these people don't know what their options are or they don't really want to put the work into securing the funding. The mentality that they can't afford to go is a barrier for their social mobility.

Yes, college is getting more expensive in the U.S., but it is not unattainable. You just have to work hard for it and even then, you may not get into the college of your choice because getting into your college of choice can be a big competition, unless it is a junior college (anyone can get in). That's just part of life. You don't always get what you thought you wanted, but you might end up with something just as good or better.

Coming from a paid university system, I think that all the benefits (quality criteria) that you are indicating would be resolved if the academic demands at Danish Universities were higher.

Having American friends, I can tell that their commitment is related to how difficult it is to be accepted at any university, and to the high academic standards to which they are subjected.

Money is more a problem than an stimulus when you parents can not afford the fees. In that sense, the Danish higher educational system seems to me the best way of educating every adult that wants to study. So maybe what Danish universities should do is try to get the best from their students.