Midterm tomorrow and money issues

One of the biggest issues with going back to school is money. Time can be found, things can be learned but being able to pay for it is the real challenge. I've been blessed with dead relatives who believed very strongly in education so I have some help, but I'm still taking out student loans. Because of said dead relatives I can't get any grants and the only student loans I can get are the 'unsubsidized' ones which pretty much suck.

Tuition is high but books, textbooks are a huge racket. Thankfully I have choices on where to get them, Barns and Noble has consistently been the best so far, but these books are relating directly to what my chosen profession so I want them new and I'm going to keep them. Not only that but then I have supplemental books that will only help me, but these things get expensive. I spend around 100 a class and that is lower than a lot of Universitiy's requirements.

I read somewhere once something that I agree with wholeheartedly. By the government giving out loans it allows the schools to raise their tuition and fees because it's all paid for anyway, and all it accomplishes is saddling students with huge debts. The best part is the govenment only gives so much and that doesn't even cover tuition at most places. Then you have to get a 'private loan' which has variable (and high) interest rates which aren't regulated by the government and you need a co-signer on.

I own a house, I have dead relatives money and I still needed a co-signer because I don't work 40 hours a week. Few students work 40 hours a week (though sadly it's becoming more and more common) so now it's saddling other people with the astounding debt. I finally transfered my student loans to my home equity account giving me a significantly lower interest rate and to get my mother off of a loan, freeing up her credit. Most students don't have a house and they're just stuck with obnoxious levels of debt.

My government guaranteed unsubsidized loan is coming through this month, adding another 10.5 k to my debt but allowing me to go to school with only my internship to support me. This is insane and only deters people from going to the better schools. Hell even the California State Schools which are 'tuition free' aren't as they charge fees larger than my tuition. As a taxpayer in California I pay to subsidize boards of trustee's salaries instead of student's educations. I'd much rather pay for someone to go to school than to to pay some professional to sit on a board and decide to raise their own salaries.

So here I am, in a better position than most students and my situation still sucks.