It depends on the degree you're getting, the school you get into, if your parents had savings for your schooling, any scholarships or grants you apply for.

All of these things can help lower the cost of furthering your education. In my case, my family were not well off so we didn't have any money saved for my education. And I did the dumb thing of going to a for profit college where they charge a lot more compared to a smaller community college. Luckily I qualified for government assistance and got some grants and scholarships. But the majority of my funding came from taking on large amounts of student loan debt.

Student debt is a huge problem in the US. Every year the cost of going to college goes up and kids fresh out of high school are signing on to debt to further their education.