@clacke In California, publicly-owned colleges and universities cannot charge tuition by law, so instead they charge "enrollment fees".

The community college fees are pretty reasonable. In #sonTwo's case, the school district picked up his enrollment fees, so I just had to pay for books and lab fees.

California State University's fees are probably in the lower half of costs at state-owned institutions, but depending on a family's resources and financial aid eligibility, it may still be out of reach without student loans. https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/paying-for-college

The University of California's fees are higher (more prestige, I guess). https://admission.universityofcalfironia.edu/tuition-financial-aid/tuition-cost-fo-attendance/