The Price Of A College Education

College has become a norm in today’s society so much so, that the average costs of higher education are not really discussed. A public two-year in-district college was $3,520 for a full-time undergraduate student in 2016-2017 (Baum 68). Baum also declares that a public four-year in-state undergraduate tuition was $9,650; a public four-year out-of-state college cost $24,930; a private nonprofit four-year college costs $33,480; and a for-profit college cost $16,000 for that same school year. (68). Across the nation, figures will vary because of the obvious geographical region differences, but also because of price discrimination. Price discrimination allows institutions to discount their prices for a lot of students (Baum 79). Institutions do this based on individual student circumstances, and it segments the market. Institutions

Compared to just 10 years ago, in-state public university tuition has risen a dramatic increase of 40% — about $2700 (“Tuition and Fees and Room and Board over Time”). At the university level, in-state college is the cheapest option. However, in regards to the inflation of the decade, only 15%, university tuition is substantially higher for families today (“Archived Consumer Price Index Detailed Report Information”). Students and families are now paying a 25% higher price for in-state college than those just 10 years ago. Consequently, this has

In 2000, the Board of Ursinus College, raised its tuition from $19,331 to $23,460. This turned out to be a 17.6% increase. Surprisingly, the tuition increase proved to be a positive change for Ursinus College. The college received more than 200 applicants than its previous year (Brickley, Smith and Zimmerman, 2009, p. 110). Other regional institutions such as University of Notre Dame, Bryn Mawr College and Rice University also experienced a similar trend once they increased their tuition rates (Brickley, Smith and Zimmerman, 2009, p. 110). The president of Ursinus College deduced that the tuition increase affected enrollment rate (increased enrollment). She simply stated that “people don’t want cheap” (Brickley, Smith and Zimmerman, 2009, p. 110).

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,

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

A major problem for today’s high school graduates is the rising price in college education. Attending college can add up really fast; it can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars per year (Barkan 1). No wonder, in Steven Barkan’s book of social problems, issues and problems in higher education take up a full chapter. In this chapter, Barkan states that only 44% of all students who attend a four-year institution is lucky enough to have annual tuitions and fees amount to less than $9,000 per year. The aggravating question is, “why does college cost so much?” Not only is tuition part of the cost of college but also fees housing and meals, books, school supplies, and accessories (“What’s the Price Tag” 1). All tuition covers is the money for academic instruction. Fees are charges for specific services such as, internet access, and then the cost of books and school supplies add up. Additionally, one is not paying just for textbooks but also

Kevin Carey takes a deep look into the controversies concerning for-profit colleges. For-profit colleges have received harsh criticism from institutions because of the way they recruit new students and use the loan system to gain even more of a profit, added on to the price of schooling. Even though only 10 percent of students get enrolled, a quarter of all federal aid goes to for-profit colleges. That seems extremely unfair. Carey begins with bringing us bad news, for-profit colleges do abuse the system of student loans, however they also bring educational opportunities for those who may have not had the option to attend college.

According to Lewis and Zaidane, “The cost of college prevents many low-income Americans from even seeking a higher education. Forty-eight percent of adults aged eighteen to thirty-four without degrees told the wall street journal that they can’t afford to go to college” (588). This evidence shows that people are struggling to pay for college and some people are afraid of enrolling in to a college because of the cost. Nonetheless, Allan and Thompson discuss that most of the students who go to Harvard do not end up paying full price, and most students take advantages of taking grants and scholarships (581). However, their information is not true because they only talked about Harvard University, and they did not mention how many students get scholarships or take grants.

Should students who are pursuing or are within higher education be expected to receive students loans solely for college payments? If so, then, will students definitively benefit in college classes and nonetheless feel satisfaction in knowing their money is being used properly? The answer may be difficult to determine and especially understand, but the answer is nonetheless related to whether graduated students have acceptable methods of payment for education. In fact, the authors of “Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission” in They Say, I Say, Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus, argue that college leaders are becoming more inclined to encourage student loans and tuition charges rather than being concerned or dedicated with their role in challenging and educating. However, Hacker and Dreifus propose multiple changes colleges can implement to reduce the possibility of students loans and debt after graduation.

Charles Schwertner is a Texas Tribune who wrote “Tuition deregulation is failing Texas students” in December, 11, 2014 and published in Star-telegram.com website. His main audience are Texas students. His argument presents the “broken system” of tuition and fees at public universities had left many students in debt. Students’ debt accumulated and surpassed credit card debt to be a second source of debt in our country. His argument does have some flaws, but overall it really convinces me that tuition and fees at college are a big problem today.

The words “free college tuition” spark interest in any college student with accumulating debt. In fact, this topic is so incredibly supported that Bernie Sanders implemented it as a core interest in his 2016 campaign. Once Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee, she decided to take it on herself with an extensive plan that guaranteed students free tuition. Unsurprisingly, free tuition resonates extremely well within the student demographic. To forty million Americans, free tuition eliminates the largest problem for students: debt (Hess, 2017). However, free college tuition generates the inverse of what these low-income and middle-income students believe. In fact, free college cripples them from multiple perspectives; students will end up spending more financially, will be less likely to graduate with a degree, and will be subjected to more inequality and less exposure.

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

According to The Rising Cost of College by College Choice, since 1981, the total cost of college has gone up by 500% (2). College tuition has increased faster than inflation and even when state subsidies increased, college costs still increased (2-4). One possible short-term solution to the problem is introducing programs that would help improve financial literacy among students and their parents. By educating students and their parents on how to properly budget, college could seem to be more affordable than previously thought (Holland par. 34). Another solution, based on an article, is making students responsible only for the principle in a loan and making public colleges pay the interest. This would cause colleges to lower their costs since this gives colleges incentives to make college cheaper, because colleges don't want to pay interest on their

As the government keeps making more and more cuts to the higher education budget to try and reduce the federal debt, and as public universities are needing more and more money to keep the school running properly, my tuition costs are steadily increasing every year, at an average rate of 2-4% higher than the inflation rate (Belkin, 2013). This one really hits close to home for a lot of students because the average college student cannot afford to pay tuition on his or her own and so they are forced to take out loans, which in turn adds to the federal debt even more. It makes me wonder who is really benefiting from any of