I guess the most prominent counterexample is Germany, which has basically free tuition. They also have different kinds of high schools preparing people for universities or trades, not everyone needs to go to university.
Also take a look at Spain, where higher education is basically free (compared to the UK). In a lot of cases, jobs that don't need a degree are requiring candidates to have them, before they are even considered for the position.
I like how things work in Eastern Europe, where education isn't expensive but you need to actually work hard and be good (and get kicked out if you aren't) to get a degree.
Higher education is free in many EU countries, you often only have to pay if you want to study abroad. The ones that are not free aren't anywhere near as expensive as you describe.
Same here in Poland. Only the free universities are the good ones. Any paid-for private university is immediately considered worse and is very unlikely to result in a good job. All top 100 universities in the country are completely free.
And like the commenter above said - private universities will push through 90% of their students, so the degrees they get are worth close to nothing,no matter how much they paid. Meanwhile, the most prestigious schools in the country lose over 50% of the students in the first year because requirements are so high,and because they are not afraid of letting people go(they are not paying, so they are not entitled to anything). Out of 200 people signing up for an engineering course,only 20-30 people will actually graduate(and those engineers are sought after by every company in the country,because they are guaranteed to be good).
"In some countries, you don't even have the OPTION to take out a loan to go to school"
In some countries, like mine (Uruguay) university-level education is free :) (though postgraduate studies are paid).
I think China is the biggest example of free university education. EDIT: I was wrong, about U$ 2000/year and rising apparently.
At least our bazillion psychologists and communication majors (equivalent to the dreaded "English majors" in the U.S.) are not saddled with debt, though a non-specialist psychologist can expect to earn less than a store clerk or McDonald's employee.
Continuing edit: Sweden and other countries also have "free" college education:
List of countries with free post-secondary education (from Wikipedia)
Algeria
Argentina
Bhutan
Cuba
Denmark
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Greece
Italy
India
Malta
Mauritius
Morocco
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Spain
Sri Lanka
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey
Barbados
Kenya
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
I was wrong about China, but apparently it is free in India.
One major difference is that here in Uruguay you don't have entrance exams, and it's free for foreigners (we get several Chilean students, where it is not free).
Training for a trade job is free of charge, too.
(Paid by the government.)
I got my education there and later joined a Silicon Valley company as an engineer.
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