The Cost of a College Education

I read the following depressing statistic in the Wall Street Journal Sunday

To save for 1/2 of a private college education requires the following savings plan:
Presuming that one already has $20,000 set aside, you would need to save $818.15/month for the 18 years before that student begins college (so basically, from the time a child is born).

I honestly have no idea how my children will attend college. Unless they get scholarships, I am encouraging them to go to community college. It is sad to have to limit their dreams like that, but having experienced first-hand a crushing amount of student loan debt ($130,000), I can't encourage them to mortgage their entire future in order to obtain a college education. My husband got through undergrad and law school for that amount of money and I am thankful for the income that his job provides. The reality is, however, that even paying $800/month, we will most likely never pay off that debt. Today, that same debt would barely cover the cost of four years of undergrad at many institutions. How is anyone expected to afford that?