I wont speak for everyone but from my experience it was like this:

• Most students do end up having to take out student loans just to pay for the cost of attending University, which can easily cost upwards of $100,000 for all 4 years. Fortunately for me I had the support of my family but I also stayed in my home state for college which makes it a lot cheaper.
• My parents started a college fund for me once I was born and contributed to it on every birthday. My grandmothers birthday gift to me was also money that was put into the college fund.
• I worked weekends and holidays from my junior year of high school so from when I was 16 and plan to all throughout college. It was mostly for spending money but saving for college was also something my parents urged me to do in high school.
• Majority of students do live in dorms on campus and that is not covered in the tuition fees. It is a separate cost that can easily get into the thousands per semester.
• Food is usually covered with a meal plan offered by the university. It's a one-time payment that usually gives the students a set amount of meals per week that they can eat and additional meals would have to come out of pocket.