Rising Cost Of Higher Education Essay

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,

“College Prices Soar Again!” “Budget Cuts Cause Even Higher Tuition!” “Higher Education Now Even Less Affordable” These are all statements that have been seen all over the media: newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. (3 SV: SV) Rising college tuition in America has been a problem for years. Many students drop out after a single year due to the pricey costs of tuition. The rapid rise can be attributed to many aspects of the economy, not just a single source. There have also been some propositions of how costs could be lowered, but these have yet to be seen. The United States has gone into a tuition crisis.

College tuition prices are rising and so is the amount of student loan debt. To many students getting a good education to start off their future is very important. With the rising prices of college tuition, often many students have to get a student loan in order to pay their way through college. Student loans are there to help one out, but can become a huge burden to one. Although student loans come with a lot of responsibility, if one plans a way to pay it off the loan can be very helpful and stress free.

One of the culprits hindering higher education for Americans is the tuition rates. A report by the Delta Cost Project indicates that if tuition had grown in pace with inflation, the average tuition at in-state public colleges would only have been $2,052 in 2010. The actual price of tuition was around $7,500, and it is increasing at around 5% per year, about twice as fast as the rate of inflation. Whereas everything else in the economy doubles in cost about every 32 years, college costs have been doubling around every 15 years. In a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, titled How the Changing Market Structure of U.S. Higher Education Explains College, the author, Caroline Hoxby, states that universities have little incentive

The rising cost of education in Texas colleges started in 2003 when the deregulation was lifted. Then, soon after, the Texas State legislature cut the education budget because of a drop in the economy in 2008. The cut in funding and the removal of the deregulation law allowed colleges across Texas a way to recoup lost resources by raising the cost of tuition. The raising cost of tuition has limited the amount of attending students from graduating in the expected time frame, left students in debt, and has denied the chance of countless others from attending the college of their choice. This essay will reflect on supporting evidence to demonstrate how the increase of cost of college tuition over the past 10 years has affected future and current student enrollment.

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.

Loans are clearly intended to increase people going to college, there is a risk students take by taking loans out. “Sociologists Rachel Dwyer, Laura McLoud, and Randy Hodson put it best: ‘There is a certain irony that those who were expected to benefit most from expanded college access are also most vulnerable to the risks of carrying too much debt (Freedman).’” Having college loans is a scary thing that may discourage people to starting or even finishing their college degree. If a student started school, with loans, but dropped out, they would still have to pay off that debt and suffer by not having a degree. Those students would not have a degree to get a high income paying job, which will effect their ways of paying off the loans (Freedman).

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.

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.

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.

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

One year at the prestigious Yale University will cost an average of $38,300 (collegeboard.com). Many students who deserve to go to this school may miss out because of the cost and lack of financial aid. The rising cost of college may put higher education out of reach for the average American. This paper will look into the reasons behind the steady rise in prices, the legitimacy of a college education, and why recent graduates are struggling to find jobs in this tough economy.

I think that one of the biggest issues in America is the rising cost of college and the student loan debt problem. College costs are constantly rising ahead of inflation, and the amount of people borrowing money for college is steadily increasing. According to Kelly Holland from CNBC, in 2015 there was over $1.2 trillion in student loan debt out of a total of 40 million borrowers (par. 1). On average, that means each borrower owes $29,000 in student loans (par. 1). When people are in that kind of debt, the economy falters. People are less inclined to invest, buy things, have a family, and even start a business (par. 20-22). The one thing that drives the United States economy is incentives and when people don’t have the incentive to contribute to the economy, the economy suffers.

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.

The rising costs of formal education has become a real and concerning issue for most Americans. Whitehouse.gov states, the average income of families has remained roughly the same in the last three decades. In that time the tuition rates have more than tripled. This leaves families struggling to get their kids through school. According to Forbs, universities and colleges have been raising their tuition fees by 2 to 5% each year. Forbs also found that in public schools while students are paying more for their education, the college or university is spending less money on the student’s education. Forbs explains that the 2008 recession is largely to blame. On the contrary, that was 6 years ago and public schools are still spending less money on student’s education but charging the student more for it. This means that the tuition students are paying is not being