When I went to Tulsa Junior College in the fall of 1972, tuition was $6.25 per credit hour. Tulsa Junior College, now Tulsa Community College, was a godsend because before it opened its campus downtown, there were no state-supported colleges or universities in Tulsa. The University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University were the only options and they are private schools.

I paid cash for my freshman year at TJC and got in 34 credit hours in two semesters. That cost $212.50. That doesn’t include fees (there weren’t any back then) or books (which I sold back to the bookstore at the end of the semesters.)

I transferred to The University of Oklahoma in Norman in the fall of 1973. The tuition was $14 a credit hour. I thought that was a little steep but I was grateful that all of my TJC credits transferred.

Back then, freshmen had to live in the dormitories. Since I was a sophomore, I was able to save money by sharing apartments with my friends. I spent about $1,500 on tuition in three years at OU and graduated with 134 total credit hours.

My family was broke and I paid my own way through college. I did borrow about $2,000 at OU which I paid back in one year after graduation after I got a full-time job.

Now, the high cost of tuition and the ease of government-held student loans is setting up a generation for financial failure.

TCC tuition if $112.55 per credit hour for residents and $337.55 for non-residents. (I have no idea why they don’t round that figure up to $113 or down to $122. Unless you’re a math professor, it seems silly to add on 55 cents.)

So, 18 hours a semester for two semesters would cost about $4,050 – which is pretty cheap for colleges these days. And TCC has a program in which good students can obtain free tuition.

In-state tuition (and fees) at OU is now about $12,000 ($27,000 for out-of-state tuition.) That’s a lot of money but it’s actually competitive, especially compared with private universities.

It’s less at Oklahoma State University. Using a block rate, an undergraduate student can take up to 18 hours for about $9,000 in tuition and fees (about $25,000 for non-residents).

It costs more when you add in room and board.

According to the College Board, the average tuition cost for the year 2017-18 at a private college was a whopping $34,740. It was $9,970 for state-supported schools for state residents ($25,620 for out-of-state residents at state schools).

If you take 12-18 hours at The University of Tulsa, two semesters will cost $41,698. Add in room and board ($6,586 and $4,838, respectively), and the total cost is $53,148.

That’s about $200,000 to get a four-year degree.

At ORU, the same total package now runs $38,520, or about $150,000 to get a four-year degree.

Now, Tulsa has many options for college work, with state-supported campuses that include OU-Tulsa, OSU-Tulsa, TCC, Northeastern State (Broken Arrow) and Langston University. NSU tuition is about $260.55 (there’s that 55 cents again) a credit hour.

An on-campus resident will pay almost $19,000 for tuition, fees, and room and board at Langston.

So, the question is: is it worth it?

More young people are finding out that it isn’t. Here are some problems.

It’s not worth it if you study a field that will not help you get a job. That’s pretty simple. If you major in letters or sociology versus pharmacy or accounting, you will have a difficult time finding work in that field.

It’s not worth it if you can’t decide on a major. College life is a lot of fun. I had fun in college. Students are out of the house for the first time and the freedom is exciting. My advice is work hard on your studies and then play later.

Unless you have a specialized field of study, like meteorology or petroleum engineering, you are better off at state school than a private university. The exception would be going to a Christian university with a view of entering a ministry.

It’s not worth it to go straight into a four-year school unless you have a ton of scholarships. Start at a junior college and transfer.

It’s not worth it to borrow for college. The average student loan debt is $38,390. That is staggering. That’s how much I paid for my first house. Unless you get a great high-paying job right after graduation, it could take decades to pay that off. And it can’t be erased by bankruptcy.

College was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I met lifelong friends. I grew in my Christian faith. I prepared for a career in journalism. And I had fun.

Democrats are promising free college tuition and erasure of college loan debts. America can’t afford that.

Colleges need to cut back on their costs, trim tuition and fees and find more scholarship money to keep the next generation out of severe debt.