College Costs Are Out Of Control Essay

Supporters of getting a college degree often point to the statistics that college graduates earn more than their high school educated peers over a lifetime. Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau reports that since 1977, “Adults with bachelor's degrees in the late 1970s earned 55 percent more than adults who had not advanced beyond high school. That gap grew to 75 percent by 1990 -- and is now at 85 percent.” A gap of an 85% pay difference is a huge figure and a clear reason why college is a great option for some people. But there are problems with that figure because when the number of college graduates who are either unemployed or underemployed is taken into account it changes the value of the statistic. In an article by Businessweek’s Richard Vedder we get statistics to counter that argument. He tells of how the number of new college graduates far exceeds job growth in technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have searched for employment. As a consequence, we have underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with just a highschool education. He says we have “more than 100,000 janitors with

This week for PLN I read "Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say" by David Leonhardt is about how college is worth it even with its cost. In the article, it describes how important a degree is. It said in the article that 98% of people with a degree made more money than people without a degree. There is nothing inevitable about this trend. If there were more college graduates the pay gap would shrink. The true cost of a degree is negative $500,000. The unemployment rate for 25 and 34 years old is 3%. That is from having a degree. The average hourly wage for a college graduates has risen 1% to 32.60.

lot of dollars for an unemployed family man or woman with little or no income.

Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job

Many college students choose to also get more than one degree while attending college to earn more income and further their education. College graduates have the choice of get higher level degrees and training resulting in earn even more income based on the different higher level degrees earned and training received (this means the more degrees and training you have the more income you may receive). People with higher level degrees and training earn more money that those without degrees. In 1996, for example, workers with bachelor's degrees had median annual earnings of about $36,000, while college graduates with more advanced degrees earned around $40,000 (Mittelhauser 3). This is a four-thousand dollar difference in income; this is only one of several examples of how people who graduate college make more money than the average high school graduate and that of people with lower-level degrees. The median annual wage for a bachelor’s degree in 2010 was $63,430. While the median annual wage for a person with a doctoral or professional degree in 2010 was $87,500 ("Employment by Education and Training Assignment, 2010 and Projected 2020"). This is almost a twenty-four thousand difference income just based off of median annual wage of different degrees. The income difference from college graduates than to those of high school graduates is great. College graduates are getting better wages and job openings than those of high school graduates (“President’s Perspective:

College graduates tend to make more money than high school graduates. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “College graduates, on average, earned 56% more than high school grads in 2015” (Pay Gap Between…). Although, this stat might not be for everyone it is for the majority of people. Jobs tend to pay higher if the person has a college degree than if one did not. To be successful people might have to spend money to make money. If someone spends thousands for college for 4 plus years, but in return they are making 56% more money than a high school graduate in the long run it will be worth it. They will have a lot of debt and student loans to pay, but once they pay it off they will start catching up to high school graduate in profit quickly. Many jobs would rather have someone with a college degree than one with just a high school diploma. The stats prove that people tend to make more later on than someone who goes straight into the workforce.

Throughout every generation the majority of students, who want to acquire a better paying job in the world, all apply to a college of their dreams. The whole of these students know what to expect from college; education, social connections, fundamental understanding of their respective field, as well as the benefit/hope that they will receive their dream job soon after. However, these students also expect to amass an amount of debt once they graduate as this is a common fear amongst college graduates. In spite of such hindrance in their pursuit of a job, the experience from which they accumulated throughout their college life later benefits them in diverse amount of ways.

As more and more students graduate, they begin to look for work; hoping for a job capable of paying off their debts and making their chosen degree worthwhile. In America, we are running into the problem of a lack of jobs, requiring a degree or not. From service-jobs to white-collar jobs, "...more than 14 million jobs are vulnerable to being outsources offshore." (Roberts).College graduates that are native to America are struggling to find work due to the outsourcing of jobs, in turn damaging our economy.

The author of the article “Should Everyone Go to College?” proved this point in her article by a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree earned $30,000 more per year than a high school graduate or about $570,000 more over a lifetime. Also, the median income for families headed by a bachelor's degree holder was $102,000, more than a double family headed by a high school graduate (Owen and Sawhill 214). This means, every higher degree, like from high school diploma to bachelor’s degree, there is a different salary and a higher education will lead to higher paychecks. In addition to the income raises, job requirements changed over the years too.

The cost college has agreeably increased throughout the years, leaving hundreds of students in debt. According to ‘The Higher Education Bubble’, many students’ loans add up to over three trillion dollars, which is more than a car or a credit card loan. On the other hand, those who have a college degree are able to get a better job and would be able to pay off their debts and eventually start earning a profit. According to ‘Actually, College Is Very Much Worth It’, college graduates earn $1038 weekly, compared to a high school graduate who earns $712 a week. In the video ‘Five Ways Ed Pays’, it states “Individuals with a college degree earn an average of 63% more in hourly wages than those with only a high school diploma.” and “Individuals with a college degree earn an average of $22,000 more per year than those with only a high school diploma.” The youtube video shows that a college graduate earns $55,700 yearly while a high school graduate only earns $33,800 a year. By earning more than a High School graduate, college graduates are able to support their future with the money they earn after paying off their

An essay on Issues and Controversies states, "the college degree remains the most important credential associated with the American ideal of upward mobility" ("Value of a College Degree"). This has become the central focus of people wanting a career and a future, but when going to attend college, the price is so high, that the only option for those wanting their education is taking out student loans. Student loans should be there to help students who cannot pay for their entire education, not hurt them. According to Christine Armario, four- year university prices have increased 15% between 2008- 2010 ( "Average Cost of Four- Year University up 15%"). This means that students are going to be paying more for an average college education that is necessary to get a job in the field that interests that student. Student loans seem to be the only option for students who want and need a college level education to begin or further their careers, so why are student loans so hard to pay

Paying for college should not be the hardest part. Lowering the cost of tuition would lead to less student debt and allow more students to attend college, which would increase the amount of educated people in the general public. Due to the fact that a college degree is necessary for most people to achieve success in today’s society, it should be cheaper or even free. Many entry-level jobs won’t hire people without a degree, and having one gives graduates more options.

For people who are all for free college, and or debt-free college, the cost would be majorly reduced and should satisfy the needs to give more students the opportunity to participate in college at a lower rate. This would make it easier for many to earn a degree of their own to obtain a job, and support themselves on their own being needless of anyone. This allows for more successful jobs to earn the makings adults need to survive in today’s society. This should also mean less debts, with college costing less for the poor, there shouldn’t be as much as a need to take out loans to pay for college. This works for people against free college and or debt-free college because college would not be completely free. This plan also would not take away from any other necessities in today’s society. Although it may raise taxes, this will only for the higher income families who should not majorly be affected. This also wouldn’t be limited to whoever is willing to pay because it would be mandatory for all higher income families over $200,00 to pay 7% higher in taxes compared to lower income

According to an article in the Economist, “Is College Worth it?”, the wage gap between full time employees with a college degree and full time employees with only a high school diploma is around $17,500 a year, with differences in regard to which degree a worker has. However, the price of education is going up. In 1970, the annual tuition for Yale was $2,550, while the minimum wage was $1.60 an hour, meaning in order to pay a year’s tuition to Yale; one had to work an average of 6.4 hours a day for 250 days a year. The 2014 tuition for Yale is $45,800, which means at $7.25 an hour a student would have to work 25.3 hours a day for 250 days in order to pay (Natalie). Many students take internships and work minimum wage jobs in order to reduce the debt they must take on in order to graduate, and the current minimum wage cannot support the cost of a college education. Logically speaking, if no one can afford a college education, employees with a college education will become rarer, and the wage gap will increase, making it more important to get a college education, increasing the amount a debt people are willing to take on to gain a degree, increasing the cost of a degree, all the while reducing the quality of life of everyone except for those who stand on the financial pillars supported by inadequate

Attending college does not change the outcome of a graduates wages compared to someone with only a highschool diploma. There are still more people that get jobs with a degree than those without. A big part of a successful future is having money, and college graduates don't earn enough to handle all of the things they have to pay for, including their debts for attending college. Firstly, “Since 2000, America’s young college graduates have seen wages, adjusted for inflation, deteriorate” (Shierholz). Students go to school expecting to earn far more than those that didn't attend college but they usually don't because of the way the money and costs of things change. Secondly, “Now, with unemployment expected to remain above 8% well into 2014, it will likely be many years before young college graduates - or any workers - see substantial wage growth”