lol! Yeah, there are some truly ridiculous degrees out there. My parents didn't help me whatsoever, but I knew I had to get a college education because I wanted to do better than my lower-middle class parents. I took a year of community college (free w/Pell Grants because we were po'), then joined the military for 4 years to get the GI Bill and took classes here and there while still in the military, then got out and finished my degree at a public university full time for about 2.5 years. But that was the '90s and college was cheaper. 

I struggled in my 20s and early 30s to figure things out and work my way up, but I know I wouldn't be bringing home 6 figures today without my college degree. We're saving for our kids' college and have them in tutoring to keep them ahead of their peers. But I still don't know if we'll have enough to cover 100% of their tuition. By then (in 9 years), we may still need to pitch in to help them. But my opinion is that a degree is a necessity these days.