I think this link started out as a post here on hn[1]. I'm not sure why the author insists on using $175k in debt as a strawman for the discussion. In the earlier thread on HN he stated that $100k, not $175k, was the actual debt figure he was confronted with. It is unfortunate because the discussion of higher-ed/debt is an important topic (I dropped out of law school for similar reasons) and the inflated debt figure needlessly cheapens the discussion.
You: "Luckily, I left after my 2nd year and only walked away with $50k in student loans."
Me: "Why did two years cost $50k but four years costs $175k? (2/4 != 50/175)"
You: "No one really pays sticker price for college. I had some grants, financial aid, and (like someone else mentioned), the co-op program helped pay for some of my tuition."
Me: "If nobody pays sticker price for college why did you use the sticker price when discussing how much debt you chose not to accept?"
[1] https://hackernews.hn/item?id=4332885