That's not how conflicts of interest work. If it were, members of Congress could never vote for a tax cut, since they'd enjoy lower taxes, nor for highway bills, since they might drive on those highways, nor for anything else. Obviously. Anyway, it's actually surprising she doesn't have more debt, considering she's only been out of school since 2011. These days, total estimated cost of attending Boston University is $72,052 per year. If a person managed to earn $10k per year working over the summer and part time during the school year, that still leaves a debt of about a quarter million dollars after four years of school, plus whatever interest accrued. Presumably, since Ocasio-Cortez came from a family of modest means and was an academic star in high school, she got both needs-based and merit-based grants, reducing the cost considerably. Otherwise, she'd probably still owe a lot more than $20k right now.