After reading your post, I thought you may be interested in some out-of-the box thinking on higher education that a friend and former colleague has been working on, called the New Global Student. Her book has recently been published (http://www.mayafrost.com/new-global-student-book.htm). She and her husband now live very frugally on a farm in Uruguay, and her four daughters have gone to college in various parts of the world without racking up education debt. There may be some synergy between her experience and your question about the cost of higher education.