Making College More Affordable For Students

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 United States needs to look to other nations that have figured out the necessity of higher education to be at an affordable cost if not free. In 2015, college graduates are facing on average just north of $35,000 in student debt (Berman). In part, the government has reduced the federal funding that each college receives each year. Therefore, colleges have constantly raised the

Research indicates a steep upward trend in the cost of higher education throughout the 20th century. In recent decades, America has witnessed a widening gap between inflation and tuition. An incoming freshman at a typical college incurs charges for tuition, university fees, books, room and board,

Jeffery J. Selingo stated in The Washington Post, “How long can we go with tuition until it is to much?” This statement is what many people think, who are struggling to pay off there tuition. The cost of tuition is extremely too high. Earlier in the 1900’s the cost of tuition was merely 200 dollars a year, but now tuition can be from 15,00 to 50,00 dollars a year. ("UNIVERSITY HISTORY." Educational Costs (1900-1909), University of Pennsylvania University Archives. Web. 14 July 2015.) Those statistics show that the cost of tuition has more than tripled from a century ago. In this essay I will be discussing the hurtful side to paying so much tuition from, student loans to financial aid. Also I will be giving you five major reasons why tuition is so high.

In the 1980s a first-year college student could attend a public four-year university for $2,500 and a private university for a little over $5,000. Although, most of these universities are offering the same mediocre education from the last three decades; the cost of tuition has more than tripled for public universities and for private universities, it has gone up a staggering 85%. Canada holds an average educational cost of 5,974 and England follows with an estimated average cost of 5,288. In spite the tuition in the United States being more than twice that of its allies; the main problem contributing to the continuing rise of tuition are the billions of dollars owed in both federal and private student loans. Unfortunately, out of 15 countries the United States held the number one position when it came down to the cost of a higher education (including books, fees, room and board).With that being said, I will thoroughly explain in the following essay how student loans have affected the cost of tuition, compare US tuition to other countries, and analyze the average spending budget for most universities that prove to influence the rise in tuition.

A widely discussed problem in the United States is the high cost of college education along with the soaring levels of student debt. A major factor argued to be causing the problem is the easy access that students have to loans when financing a college education. Allowing students to borrow money without regard to their credit or ability to repay the loan enables colleges to continually raise tuition rates.

In today’s world there are few things more important to obtaining a good career and being successful in life than acquiring a college degree, but this increased importance on getting a degree has also coincided with a large increase to the financial cost of obtaining one. This majority of this cost comes from ever increasing tuition rates and the rising price of textbooks, neither of which appear to be slowing down. Additionally, as the financial burden of attending college continues to grow, the students who are being forced to shoulder the majority of these costs are acquiring large amounts of debt due to college loans or simply foregoing a college education altogether. As the cost of education nears a breaking point, we must ask ourselves what measures we can take to improve the situation.

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.

There is an obvious problem when over half the population can not afford education. Most jobs now require employees to have some college degree if you want to make decent money. Millions of people in the nation are having difficulties affording college. The affordability of college is not just a problem faced in the U.S., but a national problem. “The U.S. isn’t alone with this confusing financial predicament. In Sweden, for example, universities are free. But the average debt carried by Swedish college students at the beginning of the year was nearly $19,000”(mic.com). This only shows information for one country. Imagine getting

A simultaneous groan can be heard across the country by every college student as a new semester begins. Everyone knows how expensive college can be and a lot of students fresh out of high school don’t have enough money to pay for it. In 1980, when taking into consideration the cost of both private and public universities, the average four year college tuition cost was $23,000 (Melchor). Recently, the average four year cost can be $70,000, and the average debt per student is $27,000 (Melchor). Because of these rising numbers, there has been an increase in research ways to lower these costs. An analysis of raising college tuition reveals one challenge facing college administration and students: finding infallible solutions to lower the cost of

First, as a college student one of my personal concerns has been the ever-higher costs of education. I happen to be writing to articulate one of these concerns.

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 escalating amount of college tuition and the declining aid from the government creates an opportunity for students to view the college education system from a different perspective. To view college from an economic standpoint is to consider the characteristics that perceive college as a rewarding investment. Students should know what they are paying for and the stability of their contribution for obtaining a degree. College students should be informed of how realistic their college and career choice will be and what they will get out of the investment. Best and Best emphasize, “In short, student loan debt need not be understood as a result of people rushing headlong into irresponsible borrowing; it could be portrayed as the product of rational

College is something that is brought up during freshman year of high school and again in junior to senior year while visiting and sending in their applications to attend or have a plan if not attending college. Most student’s freshman year in high school their decision then is based off if parent didn’t go they wouldn’t go. During freshman year in high school their going through phase where they are discovering who they are based on what they see around them. But in senior year in high school it changes completely now the answer is “can’t afford it” and then the teacher says there is something called financial aid! (This from

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.