And how many of these are necessary? If you live in a metro area with a University, you don't need an additional dorm/apartment expense. Cars? Again, if you live in a metro area big enough to have a University, odds are there's public transportation. If you relocate to a dorm, you don't need a car period.

I'm curious about the cost of books. I'm currently a University student - the cost of my books is about $400-800 CAD per semester, depending on the exact courses. All in, tuition plus books is around $7000-8000 per year (assuming 5 courses per semester). Not cheap, but compared to rent ($18000 per year, although I'm married so we have a decent enough place) and the overall cost of living, it's not so bad.

And I know most Canadians have a college fund too (I didn't however). The worrying part is that costs are rising in large part because college funds exist and credit for education is easy to acquire.

You seem to assume everyone lives in a major metro area, or that all universities are near one. That's not the case for majority of people and majority of universities. A lot of students go away to school, often in different cities or even different states from their home.

> The worrying part is that costs are rising in large part because college funds exist and credit for education is easy to acquire.

That's an absurd claim. Costs are raising because the government (Fed and State) have been dramatically reducing their share of subsidizing that used to be provided to universities. It costs a lot to put a single student through a single semester, and now families are having to pick up a larger share of that cost burden than ever before. College hasn't gotten more expensive, it's the individuals share that has.