Using the 2007-2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, this study tested positively the hypothesis that college students are either likely to acquire debt above the national median or work more than 30 hours a week in order to graduate from a four year degree within six years. These results resonate with the theory of academic capitalism, in which higher education has become a private good that students have to purchase despite governmental programs to provide students with financial aid in the form of grants. This finding has important implications for college affordability. (Contains 10 tables.)