Proposal For Lower Student Costs

As it is, there is about $1 trillion in college debt in America. A Philadelphia Enquirer article warns that, “The average debt owed per person is $25,000 -- the highest level of student debt in the nation's history,” and that the number is increased by tens of thousands of dollars for those who go on to get higher degrees. $25,000 is a lot but the reality is that a lot of people have even more than that. For example, what if someone goes to an expensive private college and their tuition is anywhere between 30 and 70 thousand per year. In total they could be paying between 120 and 240 thousand dollars per year. The majority of the country is most likely unable to easily pay for that and could end up with extensive amounts of debt just because they went to the college that they wanted to. Student’s education shouldn’t be compromised just because the school they want to go to has a high tuition. Alarmingly, “Study after study has shown the number one barrier to attending college is the published rate of tuition.”(Lowe) The amount of student debt as a result of a school’s high tuition should decide where people should go to school. If tuition is decreased then simultaneously, student debt would be as well.

“Ensuring quality higher education is one of the most important things we can do for our future generations” (Ron Lewis). There are more students enrolling in post-secondary schools than ever before and consequently there are more students acquiring large debts. Once a student graduates, they enter a $33,000 or more student loan debt (Students Loan Resources). These student loans continue to place graduates into large debts, which is largely caused by their lack of knowledge of available resources, and this impacts their everyday lives and future generations.

You got the letter in your hand. The envelope holds your future. Months of SAT and ACT classes, years of working for that perfect GPA. It all comes down to that one letter, now clutched in your hand. You open it and the first word pops out to you, “Congratulations”. You are finally in college, and that summer you can finally sit back and relax. The bliss ends abruptly though once you start realizing how much college will cost. According to a CBS Money Watch poll, only 0.3% of incoming freshman will get a full-ride scholarship. If you’re the other 99.7%, then college will cost you, which will result in considerable debt. While some argue that college debt is worth it, others argue that this debt is crippling. College tuition should be lowered significantly because it places students under overwhelming amounts of debt.

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.

An education is one of the most important tools a person can acquire. It gives them the skills and abilities to obtain a job, earn a wage, and then use that wage to better their lives and the lives of their loved ones. However, due to the seemingly exponential increase in the costs of obtaining a college degree, students are either being driven away entirely from earning a degree or taking out student loans which cripple their financial prospects well after graduation. Without question, the increasing national student loan debt is one of the most pressing economic issues the United States is dealing with, as students who are debt ridden are not able to consume and invest in the economy. Therefore, many politicians and students are calling

Today, Susan Hansen, Admissions Director of East Liberal Arts College, wishes to increase tuition and reduce financial aid available to students (Brickley, Smith and Zimmerman, 2009, p. 110). Moreover, she has expressed that “increasing tuition and reducing the amount of financial aid will solve the schools financial problems” (Brickley, Smith and Zimmerman, 2009, p. 110). This will be done by “increasing an effective tuition from $15,000 to $25,000” (Brickley et al., 2009). She also projects that the tuition increase enrollment from 400 to 600 students (Brickley, Smith and Zimmerman,

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

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

Colleges are noticing a drop in students’ interest in a higher education, because it forces them to fall into poverty. Obtaining a higher education is a dream of many working class citizens, but the price to go to a choice college is not available economically. The majority of students use some type of student loan, they have become the norm for attending college (Johnston, Roten 24). College is becoming unaffordable to many lower class students. With tuition prices this high, students are backing out of school and looking for jobs that only require a high school diploma. Student loans should help people, but it is only hurting them because they feel like they can never repay it. Especially since student debt continues to rise. “Student loan debt rose by 328 percent from $241 million in 2003 to $1.08 trillion in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York” (Johnston, Roten 25).

Tuition and student debt at colleges and universities in America have been rising far more quickly than inflation for over four decades. This is a trend that will continue without intervention. Student debt drastically affects students’ lives and decisions from getting married, to buying home, or to starting a business. The amount of debt held by students after graduating not only negatively affects the individual, but the economy as well. Loads of economic activity is currently halted by students working to pay off their loans. This is a consequential problem and the increasing number of student debt in America must be addressed.

In the year 2007, 18.2 million students enrolled into college. About thirty-nine percent of those students were between the ages of eighteen to twenty-four (Marcus). College is seen as something one must do to be able to have a successful life or career. Student debt is almost guaranteed for anyone that goes into college. Seventy percent of bachelor's degree recipients graduate with student debt. Student loans in just the U.S. alone are up to 1.2 trillion dollars, this is the second highest level of consumer debt, just trailing behind mortgages (Snyder). Student debt has been an issue for anyone thinking about going into, that is attending, and graduating or leaving college. How to solve this issue is very simple, which is to save money, lower

The tuition increases have come in response to the lack of federal funding to universities, leading them to find their own way to provide for their upkeep. “Recent increases in university tuition fees are part of a new entrepreneurial trend in higher education in which institutions are expected to generate more of their own revenue” (Quirke). The universities have decided that since they can no longer look towards federal funds to fuel their costs of maintenance and revenue, they must find a new route towards attaining much needed funds, and they have chosen to

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

Despite all the benefits and the minimal research proven effect tuition rates have on students, a major issue that arises from this topic is the idea of the current national problem: student debt. Now although tuition costs play a role in the national problem of student debt, financial aid and admission policies should be examined and formed a solution to as well. Davidson claims that “problem is that [financial] aid is distributed unevenly”. Davidson reports that because public colleges “often behave like elite private schools, [use] aid to attract the best students, typically the ones who would probably go to a decent school without government support” (Davidson). There is an uneven level of distribution of financial aid because the “best” students are the ones receiving too large or too small financial support where as those really struggling receive the polar opposite. Also supported by Senior Economist at Consortium on Financing Higher Education, James Monks, reports that the problem roots back to financial aid policies and admissions. Monks claims that “meeting-full- need, limiting loans, and graduating students in high paying majors can have a larger impact on student debt levels than simply

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.