The elephant in the college classroom

"Half of that goes to the bank for your college fund!"

That's what my father told me in the 8th grade, when I got my first paycheck for waking up at 5:30 a.m. to ride my bike a few miles to Cool Springs Driving Range before school, where I plucked golf balls for a dollar an hour.

My dad had six kids to feed on a single income, after all. Paying my full college tuition bill was never going to be an...