Whether you paid for college or your parents did, there was more motivation to do well in school than to graduate with an impressive GPA. Tuition bills were reminders that if we didn't go to class or study, we were wasting our time and a mountain of money.

The cost of college is a strain for most families, and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education sought to learn more about this reality in its study [1], "Measuring Up 2008: The National Report Card on Higher Education." Here are highlights from the findings.

• The only state that passed the affordability test is California, which only scored a C-minus.
• California received a passing grade because, according Pat Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, "The state's community colleges are the best educational bargain in the country."
• Pennsylvania has the least affordable state schools — on average, one year at a public university takes up 41 percent of family income.
• Tennessee has the most affordable state schools, but the lower cost universities have not received good rankings.

Source [2]