Essay On Rising Tuition Prices

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.

College tuition is a subject that I am certain is on every college student's mind. The current cost of college has become so outrageously high and so students are graduating college with what you think is a feeling of excitement for their lives starting, when in reality they are entering a pool of stress due to high amounts of debt and no job guarantees. With that being said overly expensive College Tuition is merely taking away opportunities from potential students. According to Collegefactual.com, you will see that 20 years ago the average college tuition for a student at any University was around $6,285 for the room, board, and tuition. Today, according to Niche.com, the average tuition for almost any college is over $30,000 for those same things. Today, this isn't even offered for those same colleges, we don’t even know what is actually causing the raising tuition. At this point in time, we are paying for the name. Just like clothing, we pay more for the “high end” (a.k.a the college name) items. This is an issue that not only affects college students, but people who want a good education. College tuition should be lowered because the average student debt is too high, FAFSA results can be misleading and not high enough, and there is not enough access to college for deserving students.

The U.S. is home to some of the greatest colleges and universities in the world. But with an overwhelming 1.3 million students graduating with an average student loan debt of $29,000 each and with youth unemployment elevated, the question of whether or not college tuition is worth the money arises (The Institute for College Access & Success, 2013). Higher education faces intimidating challenges: continually rising costs, access and completion problems, constant changing of technology, and responsibility pressures from state and federal officials. But no challenge is more intimidating than the fundamental question that many Americans face to ask themselves, "Is college worth the cost?" As a result of the economic turn down, many students who graduate are not finding well-paying jobs, either within their field of study or not.

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.

Since 1974, tuition has been on the rise and has reached new heights. One reason why tuition is increasing is because of “the state governments’ unwillingness or inability to raise per-student financing” (Davidson). The government is spending less on college and moving those funds into other categories, such as the military. Furthermore, colleges are spending less on each student than they did during pre-recession (Fox). Even after the recession, the government is continuously cutting more and more from education funds. As the government cuts more from education funds, tuition cost will steadily increase to compensate the loss. Tuition increased from 1994 to 2015 is depicted in the graph on the next page. Drawing a conclusion from the graph, it is possible that if this trend continues, public colleges will approximately reach the same price as private colleges one day. The amount of financial aid given is unable to meet the needs of lower income students,

There is no escaping the fact that the cost of college tuition continues to rise in the United States each year. To make it worse, having a college degree is no longer an option, but a requirement in today’s society. According to data gathered by the College Board, total costs at public four-year institutions rose more rapidly between 2003-04 and 2013-14 than they did during either of the two preceding decades (Collegeboard.com). Students are pressured to continue into higher education but yet, the increasing costs of books and tuition make us think about twice. Sometimes, some of these students have to leave with their education partially finished, leaving them with crushing debts. It is important to find the means to prevent these

Tuition rates have been on the rise since the start of colleges. In 1988, the average college tuition was about $2,800 for a year of schooling. In 2008, that number had risen 130% to nearly $6,800 for one year; according to Annalyn Censky of CNN Money, if the average income had raised the same amount, median family earning would be roughly $77,000 a year, instead of the current $33,000. Americans are making $400 less on average than they did in 1988 says Censky. Over the past twenty years, college has risen 5% of the median family income from 12% to 17%; private colleges went from 27% to 47% says Economist.com. (1 SV; SV.) Tuition isn’t the only thing rising at colleges: room, meals, books, and other fees are rising as well. (4 SV: A,B,C,D.) This also takes its toll on families as well as the students themselves. Many students

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.

The increased costs of tuition and fees are making it more difficult for individuals to attend college, and they are being forced to drop out, having a major impact on graduation rates. Data stated that was stated in FACT SHEET on the President’s Plan to Make College More Affordable: A , Better Bargain for the Middle Class (2015), “The average tuition at a public four-year college has increased by more than 250 percent over the past three decades, while incomes for typical families grew by only 16 percent” (“Fact Sheet”, 2015). This is causing major stress and becoming a burden on the finances of the student and their families. In order to attend college, a large percentage of students will have borrow money because of

Crippling student debt is stifling the growth of the United States economy because it inhibits graduates from being able to spend money on consumer goods and home purchases. One of the biggest decisions every high school graduate has to face comes at the time of applying to college. Deciding to go, and where to, is going to have a big impact on the student life, and in most cases a big factor for this is money. As an effect of that concern student loans were developed. For many students going to college in the U.S. comes with a very important economic decision.

Wanting college to be cheaper is not a new idea. However, over the past couple of years, the conservation regarding the expensiveness of colleges, has slowly turned into a debate. The media aggregates this topic and it is no longer just an opinion. Now it is a political, economic, and social justice issue. For instance, the Democratic and Republican parties include the state of higher education in their political agenda. The Obama administration made it exceptionally clear that community college should be free, and at all costs. The Trump administration has swung the pendulum the other direction, under President Trump’s lead. Citing Rules Committee Print 115 Congress has increased the Pell Grant amount by $105 and reinstated summer Pell Grants. Yet, the Trump administration has made it painstakingly clear no attempt to decrease the expensiveness of college will be made any further. Even though Pell Grant amounts are at an all-time high, more support needs to be given to students. Ultimately the best thing schools, states, and the federal government could do to help students locked out of the middle class is to make public college tuition-free.

From the politician to the student, everyone agrees that education is key in creating upward mobility, but the community colleges in California are turning out to ineffective in serving the students that need them the most. There is a huge conflict on what type of changes need to be implemented to reform the community colleges, but as with most debates and no central consensus, nothing is being done about the community colleges in California. Burecracy from the central governing body to all the way at the administration of each community colleges seem to stagnate the changes required for improving community colleges.

Higher education costs have been increasing at a rapid pace, faster than inflation for the economy as a whole, for the past fifty years. It started in the 1960’s when the federal government passed the Higher Education Act to increase the amount of people able to afford and attend college. Regardless of the Unites States Government efforts to increase the affordability of college, federal aid programs have not risen to expectations due to the ever-increasing college prices. To lower the price of college, the government needs to cut back on student financial spending to go only to the lowest income families and create tax incentives for families to start saving up on their own.

As a result of this, states receive pressure to make up for this and must raise tuition. Grant donors are also becoming less generous in their contributions to students as well. This makes affording college even harder for students.

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.