I wouldn't say that working part time while studying automatically means studying twice as long. If you're serious about this and do your homework it's possible to go through it just as quickly (of course this depends on study field and workplace). I also wouldn't automatically assume that people who studied for a long time and worked part-time would haven taken only half the time if they weren't working. The time one needs relies heavily on capability and sincerity/discipline. Part-time job also doesn't automatically mean wasted time. This obviously depends on your job. It's certainly possible to work full-time and "waste your time".There are also student loans which can have ridiculously preferential conditions compared to regular loans.
Many students do work while being at college in my country, with the result that the school takes two times or even longer to finish.
Taking a loan, if you really can't afford a college otherwise, seems to be a much better investment than struggling with school for much longer and working for crap salaries for years (and don't tell me that the ""work experience"" they gather compensates this wasted time).
Additionally I wouldn't recommend anyone to make debts if it's somehow avoidable. Having debts is a bad thing and if there's a feasible way to make it without falling into debts it's most probably worth trying.
I'm talking about the majority of these students in my country. There are many of them at my current workplace, ALL of them are in delay with school. Any in my country, the money you get from student work is at about the level of the minimum wage. Doing in part time means even less, hardly enough to make a living.
"Falling into debts" well, paying 5% of your salary (the value of your salary from 2 years before the current time), and the ability to pay the whole thing back in arbitrary bit chucks that decreases the stock immediately isn't really falling.
