Where should my paper go?

After reading all the readings for the first analytic essay, I see that there's a lot more to college than what meets my eyes. To me, college is just the thing that comes after high school; you're a bum or a loser if you don't go to a university after high school graduation... Now that the first semester of college is under my belt, I can see that this is more than just another level of education. College is a lifestyle, it is a phase that comes with freedom, sexuality, partying, and (on occasion) responsibility. The readings really made me think; is it fair to make our parents pay for this? I mean, I am paying for MY own education, but many students in America have the privilege of a "free"$100,000 education. If our priorities in college revolve around social events and underage drinking, should our parents have to indirectly enable us? On the flip side, physiologically, it is inevitable for this age group to NOT engage in this risque lifestyle. We all must experience the college party, the shot of vodka, thursday nights out; even our parents admit to taking part in these college stereotypes. For example, as I mentioned before, I am paying for my own education, simply because my parents had to pay for theirs. I wanted to commute all four years in order to save about $50,000 over the course of my education. My father, who also attended Rutgers in the late '70s, refused my offer. He said I would miss out on the "college experience". On one end of the stick, I see why he insisted I live here; he commuted his first two years and claims he missed out on the best part of college. On the other hand, I am literally paying for distractions of partying and drinking. I see how this lifestyle is useful in growing up, but maybe its just an overpriced facade for kids who don't wanna grow up yet. Rutgers is definitely a mixed bag, as all colleges may be. I just hope I get more out of these four years than just learning how to bullshit papers till the weekend comes and then the party begins...