A bachelor’s degree could cost $10,000 total. Here’s how

This article[1] from the WSJ shows that administration varies between 3-10% of education spending. So probably not a significant driver.

[1]:http://graphics.wsj.com/documents/NONCLASS1212/

Unless there is data showing otherwise, I would argue that costs haven't changed, only the price.

The cost of providing education in 2013 at University of Washington is a little less than it was in 1990: $16,800 vs. $17,000. The difference is that in 1990, the state paid for 82%, where today it pays 29%.[2] That's where your tuition increases are coming from.

[2]:http://www.washington.edu/discover/budget/

The education that Kamenetz describes could be offered for free at wikipedia.org.

By removing research, extracurriculars, sports, and on-campus living, she is paring a university education down to a simple exchange of knowledge, which is free online. These things all add to the essence of college, a place to transition from a child to an adult. The value of college is not what you learn in classes, but the personal development you go through by taking leadership positions in student organizations and pursuing passions with other young thinkers.

University is expensive because it's an adult development camp in addition to a knowledge exchange. The most expensive camps produce well developed, open minded individuals who are generally better positioned to succeed. I'd be surprised if I'm using anything I learned in a classroom even 5 years out of college, but the lessons learned outside the classroom will stay with me for life.

This is exactly what I did for my BS in Comp Sci. I finished my degree at SUNYIT in Utica, NY, which at the time, offered the last two years of your bachelor's degree, dovetailing nicely with community college. Final cost was about 16k. I remember people scoffing at community college, but don't pay attention to the elitism; you're being prudent.

The only issues I see with this is the peer effect, where students play to their playing field. Intelligent and motivated students placing themselves around less intelligent and less motivated students will often find themselves doing worse too, even up to not graduating. I myself know I am susceptible to this and try to push myself be being around other talented people. Not saying that there aren't intelligent and talented people in community college, but it may have an impact on your performance.

The other issue is missing out on extracurriculars. I learned a lot on my student news organization and got to experiment with building websites and trying out new special features (this was back when news orgs were a lot more cautious on the Web). It helped me get my first few jobs. It also helped me make a lot of connections (same with just going to the same school for four straight years).

If you go through with this plan, join some organizations as a junior at your four-year institution and get to know people outside of class. Connections matter a lot. Also, join professional organizations and go to conferences. You don't have to start doing that while a student, but it can't hurt either.

Luckily you're in Maryland where we aren't cutting higher education left and right. College Park is one of the better state schools, and it's pretty affordable still.

My problem with the online course idea (aside from the fact that this is pretty much already available) is that it lacks interactivity. The only reason I went to half of my lectures as an undergrad was because I could ask questions and get an near instant, expert response.

And sure, it's possible to pause a video lecture and look something up, but in my experience, it's just not the same. If I'm trying to understand something for the first time, and a part of the lecture just doesn't quite make sense, I want the transaction cost of clarifying a point to be as low as possible.