Your comment:

I have no idea, having not had any Jewish education myself as my
parents were secular and I am only coming to Judaism as an adult (full
disclosure: with a MA degree). But it's a valid question. If you want
good religious education and an advanced degree, let's say a MSW, what
extra hoops do you have to jump through to get it?

In regards to a Jewish education I am not sure if you were placing your thoughts on the matter of receiving an advanced degree with a religious education, or if someway this interpretation is something you have learned or read.

What I will tell you is that based on by upbringing [see my post above] - I was so dirt poor that any type of Yeshiva was out of the question. But I will say that I made it work for me I joined the military for almost 6 years, got military educational benefits, and TA outside of anything that my parents could have done, and it turns out I will be getting a great Jewish education very soon through Yeshiva University. I didn't have to jump through any hoops to get mine, only lots of hard work getting my Associates while deployed, then my Bachelor's and now an MSW program through Yeshiva. My mother still lives a rural hippie lifestyle, and is still a Christian to this very day, however there still remains mutual respect on both ends for our spiritual paths; only one of many reasons that I love my mother.

Ultimately this self-determination that you speak of does play a vital role in people making happy lives for themselves. Anyone can do it, and as far as hoops are concerned, if anything I can be an example of a person that has been through almost everyone of them. Self-determination = motivation, and motivation = the ambition to only want more for yourself, and to create your life of individuality that will ultimately make you happy with who you are, and the person that you will represent.