Trying to get at the reasons so many people have stopped going to college, some states have conducted focus groups and surveys, revealing that the complexity of getting a higher education is to blame for some of the antipathy toward following through with it.

In Indiana, 70% of residents said they found trying to understand the state’s financial aid options “overwhelming.” In Tennessee, many high school students said they didn’t think they were eligible for state financial aid, even though they probably qualified.

“They especially don’t want to be told their life isn’t good enough. — ‘How dare you tell me what I need to do to make my life better.’”

Among the other findings of the Indiana Commission on Higher Education survey: Some Americans these days “balk at the idea of being told what to do by out-of-touch elites who don’t know them,” such as whether they should go to college.

“They especially don’t want to be told their life isn’t good enough. — ‘How dare you tell me what I need to do to make my life better,’” said Charlee Beasor, associate commissioner for marketing and communications at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.