Even today this can happen; depends on the college, the car, and the home. We're talking non elite schools. We're talking used cars. We're talking living in a shitty neighborhood or in a house that had back taxes and owned by the bank and you just paid it off straight up. Not all colleges are expensive. Plus every child has access to a scholarship program called, "21st century Scholar". The requirement? A "C average". Plus trade schools are cheap.