America’s College Promise
College tuition has become a major problem in the past fifty years; not only effecting a vast majority of adults out of college, but current students as well. Which poses the threat of debt to any students planning to attend college in the future. The price of school tuition is rising at a dangerous rate where it affects the students now but it also affects the students of the future. There are many effects on college tuition like student debt or choosing a different school just because of the price. Getting an education now is extremely important obtain a good job because most jobs now require a degree, but a large amount of students have problems getting their degree because of how expensive schools are. What they
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“At public, four-year colleges, for example, published tuition and fees increased by 2.9 percent in just one year” (Bidwell). The rise of college tuition is rising slowly but surely and it could seriously affect future students. Many students cannot fully pay the whole tuition cost so they take out student loans that could affect them in a negative way in the future. If the loans are not paid for on time, then interest will hurt them and any student would want to prevent that. Two years of tuition free community college will ultimately help future students. Of course free community college will not be for every student but only for students who want to attend college, have at least a 2.0 GPA, and have at least eight community service hours. By attending community college, students simply save themselves money that can be used in the future. If you wish to transfer and attend a four-year university, then you can use that money towards that school. The amount of money saving options a student can have is great because a student does not need to worry about how they will pay off such a large amount of tuition. The price of tuition has changed over the years for the worse, “tuition at a private university is now roughly three times as expensive as it was in 1974, costing an average of $31,000 a year; public tuition, at $9,000, has risen by nearly four times” (Davidson). Everything from homes, to cars, to education is increasing in price so it is reasonable to save money by going to community college for free instead of paying high tuition for four year universities. Instead of students letting big name four year universities squeeze their money out of their pockets, they should work hard to obtain the 2.0 GPA and necessary community hours so they can save themselves from the high tuition of a four-year
College tuition has been an increasingly intense topic of discussion over the years. The costs of higher education have been debated by many people, and it has been discussed as to whether costs are becoming too high for students to afford. College has become more and more popular, and now as many as 20 million students attend universities reported by The National Center for Education Statistics (1). The value of a college degree is immense, but college tuition is becoming too expensive for students to afford, and furthering the problem are students’ lack of knowledge on how to pay and earn money towards their college degree.
The ideas of equal opportunities that America was built on has been lost and replaced with a structure of education only being accessible for the wealthy. College tuition is a topic that is on every high school and college student's mind. As tuition costs are constantly rising more college students will face the sticker shock of acquiring a secondary education. Unfortunately, college costs do not just end at tuition and room and board people also have to pay for textbooks, meals, and transportation. The cost of college has become outrageous and students are leaving college with high amounts of debt.
The debate of whether community college should be free or not has been going on for many years. For the most part, many students have been able to have free education even if the are low income or high income. Most students are able to have equal educational opportunity to be able to learn for around 12 years. If it has been going on for 12 years, then why not make higher education free as well. In the article written by Joanne Jacobs titled, “As He Promotes It, Some Question Obama’s Free Community College Idea” discusses the main arguments on whether Obama’s plan of making community college free plan can be a benefit or a waste of money. Community college offers the ability to be able to finish one’s first 2 years of their general general education plan at a free or reduced price compared to completing general ed a a 4 year institution. Community college should be free because it allows lower income students the ability to have their tuition paid as well as their books and it allows students to be able to earn their bachelor's at a better rate.
College tuition is an expensive entity to pay for and not many people have the luxury of having college being completely paid for, however, so many people that have previous experience like teachers, counselors, and parents, want students to pursue this expensive entity so their future is brighter. Why is being a college student becoming a luxury that fewer people can afford and attend to? Factors like the actual cost for college tuition, costs for higher education, the working class and their difficulties of paying for other things in addition to tuition, proposals from our government, and tuition remission, is when we begin to see how big of a problem tuition costs actually are. School is an important opportunity that I have taken like many of my teachers, parents, and government have told me to take, but I still struggle paying for it; if school is a value that people should be taking advantage of, tuition needs to be more affordable in order to do so.
Nowadays, tuition and expenses are exceedingly high, to the point that some students are forced to drop some of their courses or even worse stop going to school and continue working. Further, the average student who graduates today from a 4-year school owes $28,000 in student debt. This has alarmed government officials and concerned citizens alike; as a result, yielding many state and federal level proposals aimed at decreasing the financial burden of students. One campaign which recently launched last September 2015 and supports the advocacy of alleviating students’ debt is the America’s College Promise Act, more commonly known as the Heads Up America Campaign.
America always considers education as a basic need to develop one 's personality and character. This is why it proclaims that every student in America deserves a fair chance at a higher education. It is common belief that a highly educated pool of workforce can better help in economy 's growth competing on global front. America’s College Promise Act is also an effort to promote higher education and make it affordable for economically weaker section of the society. This act was unveiled by president Obama by initiating a two year community college program free of cost for responsible students. This scheme is aimed to let the students earn first half of their bachelor 's degree and earn needed skills at no cost. This Act also relieved many students of a lot of stress that they experience in college due to the high prices that only few can pay with little struggle. The opportunity for education should be easily attainable by any citizen to further progress the country and its population. The America’s College Promise Act, therefore, is not only beneficial for the general population but also for economic prosperity.
Even though some feel the degree they get into college is worth the debt, the rising cost of college tuition is having an effect on students. Students are forced to choose a community college or a less expensive college, they have
In the 2016 presidential campaign free college tuition was highly debated. President Obama briefly talked about it as well. Tuition is one of the most expensive pieces of obtaining a higher education. US citizens deserve higher education. The people of America are ready for a change. College tuition should be free, so that more Americans can attend higher education and make something of themselves.
The towering prices of college tuition is an avid cause for the overwhelming ignorance in America. U.S. leaders once hoped that 60 percent of the U.S. population would have college degrees by 2025. Today in 2017, it is closer to 30 percent. Not only do tuition costs dig deep financial holes in a student’s life, the pressure of making the investment causes unnecessary, avoidable stress. Students around the world flourish without the financial commitment. Students in America- the land of the “free”- need the same financial freedoms and opportunities to thrive and contribute to mankind in the changing world of today.
The cost of attending college has risen drastically over the years. Statistics show that there has been a 260% increase in tuition costs since 1980. The increase in tuition cost equates to an increase in money borrowed to fund higher education. An increase in money borrowed results in an increase in debt accumulated over time. As a result of the rising figures, the economy as a whole has also suffered because of the restricted financial space many graduates find themselves in upon completion of their degree. In this paper, we will discuss college costs, reasons why they have risen, and the best way for students to pay for it.
The cost of tuition for higher education is quickly rising. Over half of college freshmen show some concern with how to pay for college. This is the highest this number has been since 1971 (Marill and O’Leary 64-66, 93). The amount of college graduate debt has been rapidly increasing also. With limited jobs available because of the high unemployment rate, college graduates find themselves staying in debt even longer. Although grants and financial aid are available to students, students still struggle to pay for their college tuition. Higher education costs are prohibitively expensive because the state’s revenue is low, the unemployment rate is high, and graduates cannot pay off their student loans.
The cost of tuition at colleges and universities in the United States has seen a steady increase over last several decades. Since the 1980s, the list price for tuition has risen by roughly 7% per year, while the inflation rate has averaged 3.2% per year. The effect of this mismatch in the rise of the cost of tuition versus the average inflation rate has had monumental effects on the ability of students to afford a higher education. This, in turn, has forced more students to take out increasingly large amounts of loans, causing for the national student loan debt to grow to over $1 trillion dollars, more than total credit card
The increasing cost of higher education in the United States has been a continuing topic for debate in recent decades. American society emphasizes the importance of education after high school, yet the cost of undergraduate and advanced degrees continually rises at a greater rate than inflation. According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, cost factors prevent 48% of college-qualified high school graduates from pursuing further education (McKeon, 2004, p. 45). The current system requires the majority of students to accumulate extensive debt with the expectation that they gain lucrative post-graduate employment to repay their loans.
If an aspiring college student doesn’t have the necessary funds to attend school, there is another option they could use to pay for school. Student loans are a popular choice so that the student can pay for school. While this may seem like a great option for affording school, it can be a devil in disguise for many. The New York Times reports that Americans owe over 1.4 trillion dollars in student loan debt (Kelly 1). This happens when a college student takes loans with the belief that the college degree they get will help them achieve a higher salary which will in turn will help them pay off their debt. This often isn’t the case. A student takes the loans and attends school, but does not receive the salary that they were hoping to acquire from attending school. A standard payment plan for students is to pay off their debt in ten years, but according to a study conducted by US News, the average bachelor degree holder takes twenty-one years to pay off (Bidwell 1). This is a common occurrence as well, a report conducted by The Institute for Collee Access and Success shows that in 2012, seventy-one percent of college graduates had student debt (Serrato 1). The current system that the government offers to help those struggling to afford a secondary education is a flawed program that needs restructuring.
American youth have more pressure to get a good education than ever before, but at what price? The cost of education is at an all time high and rising every year. Many Americans are struggling with a large amount of student loan debt weather they graduated with a degree or not. The only way to secure the future of students today is to invest in the students themselves rather than investing their money into the corporate market. By preparing students for higher education and providing financial resources students will have the knowledge to deal with student loans and the debt they may be accruing while in school.