Final answer:
The strain of expensive college costs can be approached with various responses: conforming by using traditional means to afford education, innovating with unconventional methods, ritualizing by lowering educational goals, retreatism by withdrawing from the goal, or rebelling to change the education system.
Step-by-step explanation:
Responding to the strain of expensive college costs can be approached using various adaptive strategies based on Robert Merton's strain theory. These include a conformist response, where individuals accept and work within the system's means to afford college, such as through scholarships and loans. An innovative response involves finding alternative, sometimes unconventional, means to reach educational goals, potentially including entrepreneurial endeavors or pursuing education online at a reduced cost.
A ritualistic response would be to lower one's educational ambitions to what can be achieved within one's means, such as attending a more affordable community college instead of a prestigious university. The retreatist approach involves withdrawing from the goal of higher education altogether, perhaps due to the high costs, and finding satisfaction in other aspects of life. Lastly, a rebel response would be to reject the current educational systems and costs, advocating for or creating new systems for education that are more accessible to all.