"Join the military!" as an argument is a joke. No one should be forced to join our army because it's the only way to further themselves. This idea is based around the principle that the poor should fight our wars while the rich get to dictate our wars. Community colleges do provide a pathway. I chose this route because it is inherently cheaper. However, the programs that you suggested like RN are highly impacted. My local CC's receive hundreds of applicants a year and can only accept a small minority of them. What are the rest supposed to do? They can apply for other schools but ultimately there is a limited amount of spots available. By removing the cost barrier of Universities we can encourage those that can handle higher levels of college to pursue the higher levels of education. Those who want too can pursue the lower level training that comes with AA programs.