Effects Of Loans On Students By Suzanne Mettler

College has become a significant chapter in the lives of many Americans today. In most cases, to reach the well-paying and dreamed-of careers, students must have a bachelor's degree or higher in a certain field of expertise — typically from a university. While this is true, many students have realized that university-level education, even in-state, is not cheap. With tuition rates on the rise, college is beginning to be seen as more of a burden than an opportunity. Although scholarships and financial aid decrease the net cost of attending college, the majority middle class students are not equipped with enough aid to graduate debt free, or even close to it.

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 higher education and advanced degrees continually rises at a greater rate than inflation in the 1970’s. 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 rewarding post-graduate employment to repay their loans.

As a recent analysis, America’s colleges and universities are quietly shifting the burden of their big tuition increases onto low-income students, while many higher-income families are seeing their college costs rise more slowly, or even fall” (Eskow). Though education is the basic human right, most of the people in the U.S. are not being able to gain it as because of its rising cost. Since the 1970s, tuition and fees at public institutions have increased by more than 350 percent, while pay for working- and middle-class households has stagnated. As a result, the cost of a public-college education now accounts for almost 15 percent of the average family's annual income; 40 years ago it was about 4 percent (Kenneth W. Warren and Samir Sonti). The tuition and fees are increasing in such a way that the young Americans aren’t as educated as the young citizens of many other developed countries. The U.S. ranks 14th in the world in the percentage of 25-34 year-olds with higher education (42%).” When all adults of working age are considered, the US is still one of the highest-educated countries in the world. But when this age group is considered, we are falling behind (Richard Eskow). That’s the personal loss for the young people of the U.S. Education is not a privilege of the rich and well-to-do; it is the inalienable right of every people. It is a powerful tool by which people can lift

The articles also argue on how the most expensive education is the one that does not lead to a degree. While graduating with high levels of debt, it does more damage to a student that takes on a debt but never graduates. Time after time, students always look for ways to pay for college and try to manage to have good grades in order to stay and graduate. Information and facts support throughout the article on how there needs to be more access and more affordability to students who want higher education opportunities. Reasons that include affordability are either lowering tuition or making college free, having more students in 4 year universities and focusing on the outcome of student entering college for the first

Degrees of Inequality: How the politics of higher education sabotaged the American Dream is a well-written and well-researched book that helps readers explore the intricacies of higher education policy while allowing them to discover how the policyscape has furthered inequality and enhanced classism in America (Mettler, 2014). The text itself is empirical in nature, and is the culmination of eight years-worth of mixed-methods research. According to the “Acknowledgement” and “Notes” sections of the book, Mettler, the researcher, author, and American Institutions professor at Cornell University, conducted interviews, document analyses, and statistical analyses for this study. Statistical graphs from sources like the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) and the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are embedded throughout the text along with a masterfully woven comprehensive history of higher education that not only supports Mettler’s data and arguments, but also enhances the book’s readability.

Many high school student and young adults who dream of becoming well educated are unable to because they do not have access to higher education due to their economic status. Nearly 85 percent of middle school aged children in the US say they would like to earn a college degree yet only 44 percent of students from poor families are enrolled by October following high school graduation (Haveman, 2006). About 59 percent of students finish their

In the United States, a college degree comes with the promise of a bright future, but also the guarantee of an average of $33,000 in debt (Izzo). Many of us have hopes and aspirations to attend prestigious Universities across the country, but perhaps that dream may be more expensive than we envisioned. Costs of a college education in America have skyrocketed since 2005 (Izzo), and have left newly graduated students searching for help. In order to offer a helping hand to those affected by tuition costs, we must first look at the root issue: The high cost of tuition. Lowering tuition will not only save thousands of people from debt, but it will also boost the economy, and keep us competitive with other countries. The cost of attending college

Even though a majority of high school graduates enroll in college, 34 percent of students do not enroll in college. The statistic of high school graduates enrolled in college reached a record high of 70.1 percent in 2009; however, this percentage descends each year (Norris). There has been many varying causes that have influenced the decline, but the number one reason seems to be the cost of higher education. Many people believe education should remain costly; in fact, the cost of college continues to rise. Although there are many college scholarship options, the price tag on a degree intimidates most students. If college tuition was eliminated, current and future generations would have better access to education. “Free college has succeeded in Germany, Brazil, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, and Norway. Our nation's student loan debt has exceeded $1.2 trillion, a debt that well surpasses credit card and mortgage debt (“Why College Tuition”). Free college would, as a result, allow more students to continue their education through college and have a better chance for a successful future.

Today colleges are growing more and more necessary for attaining a solid path towards a successful career, yet the rapidly increasing cost of tuition is driving students away from their dream of attending college, due to the preposterous amount of money that is now being demanded by colleges across the nation and world as a whole. It is sad to see students being turned away from a successful future due to the money-hungry nature of the universities that dot the globe. More and more impossible it is becoming to have a “rags-to-riches” scenario that used to highlight the American Dream, as if a student doesn’t have the riches to afford a higher education and the tuition that is drug upon its coattails, then our society is doomed to be clothed in rags forever, unless major changes are brought about to restructure and end the indefatigable growth of tuition rates across the board.

THESIS: This essay will shed some light on the perpetual argument that politics, economic theory, and income lead to cause and effect inequalities within the higher education system, which is said to be vice versa, and counter-argued that higher education has cause and effect inequalities leading to economic and income inequalities.

For the last couple of decades the United States faced some serious problems within its higher education. Despite the fact that many US universities are considered to be one of the best in the world, there are many unknown problems that come with it. Unfortunately, today’s US higher education can’t guarantee its students the bright bridge into the future. American education became very disparate in terms of its quality, causing the decline in its value. For example, regardless the fact that American’s society faces shortage of qualified workers,after graduation millions of students can’t find a job, while others dropped out and were left with nothing (The Economist, 116). This illustrates that American universities become less efficient with every year, that creates a competition between the US college students and better educated immigrants who occupy many vocations. Notwithstanding the low productivity, universities in the USA are very expensive. According to Ben Branstetters in the past ten years the tuition fees have risen by 80%, making schooling a luxury for the nation. Every year the universities become

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, college education has been available for everyone and anyone who is willing to develop their knowledge regarding a specific professional field. Currently in the United States, the percentage of high school graduates going to college has increased considerably: 68 percent in 2011 compared to 49 percent in 1940 (Menand, 2) and the record high set in 2009 with 70 percent of total high school graduates enrolled in college ("Bureau of Labor Statistics"). Notwithstanding, it has come to the attention of many that the college tuition and fees have been increasing at an accelerated rate. According to The New York Times, college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 (Lewin, 1). This

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.

With each passing year, the importance of a higher education degree becomes more and valuable. Most jobs now require applicants to have Bachelor degrees, and the need to be educated has never been more important for personal wealth and satisfaction. Fortunately, access to higher education has increased, thus making it possible for individuals to have the opportunity to pursue a higher education degree. However, even though access has increased, equal attainment of a college degree has not followed suit.

In today’s modern world higher education is a touchy yet never-ending subject of study, argumentative claims, theories, hypothesis, and ideologies which believe educational inequalities exist and have both cause and effect relationships due to politics and income inevitably affecting both society and social structures. However, the same is said vice versa that both politics and income cause educational inequalities. Through the subject matter, I will explore these issues and concerns as well as provide credible sources for which a college prospect, present college student, and graduate students whom could gain more insight and knowledge of the ongoing dilemma and truths that are underlying within educational attainment in regard to its cause and effects directed toward higher education and society as a whole.