The Price Of College Tuition

For years adults have been questioning whether or not college is worth its cost. Over time the price for college has increased drastically and the potential income of a college graduate is barely following that trend. As colleges become more wealthy and powerful, they’re too pricy for someone to afford without help and debt.

College can be looked at as a life investment. It is an investment for the future of your life in hopes that it will pay off later in life. College is expensive, but can be affordable for all of those who try. In 2008, Students who applied to attend a four-year college received an estimated average of $5,400 in financial aid and state grants (“Trends in College Pricing”). With this estimated $5,400, this can reduce any students’ price of college to around $1,000 to $3,000 per year! This is an

“You don’t have to be a genius or a visionary or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need a framework and a dream” (Michael Dell).College education prices are not worth it. College does not land you a good paying job, you end up in deep debt, and it is not worth it for low-income families. College prices are not worth it. Why, because of the rises cost of tuition and the lack of public school preparation.

Some people think that getting a college education is not really a good idea anymore. According to Abel and Deitz, “In recent years, students have been paying more to attend college and earning less upon graduation—trends that have led many observers to question whether a college education remains a good investment” (2014, p. 1). If the student cannot find a job that pays a decent amount of money, after graduation why should the government ‘fund it?. College costs are rising each year. Future generations may not be able to go to college because tuition will be too high. But Abel and Deitz

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

The trend continues with the skyrocketing prices of college tuitions. This is not an uncommon issue the days of college tuition being affordable are slowly fading into the past. This conundrum has brought to light the idea of using tax money to help pay tuition. This idea has vast potential, but can it reach its potential.

Universities used to be a privilege for most academic students to attend and it was very affordable, but currently the price per year to attend college has drastically increased. For instance, in the “1970’s the average cost was 10,000 dollars a year and today the average cost is 30,000 dollars a year” (CQ Researcher). This is a triple increase in the price per year to attend college. Allowing this increase on college tuition has impacted the student’s attendance rate. This is a significant financial burden for college students and their family. Some believe that college shouldn’t be free because we are risking the value of college education, while others think it should be free because we are trying to avoid having our upcoming generation

Throughout the USA college tuition has increased drastically; in the last five years Georgia colleges have had 75% increase along with other states such as Arizona whose tuition has increased by 77% (NPR). Since 2006 the tuition in Utah has increased by 62.8% and is rising throughout the U.S. (Desert News). Between 1885-2016 the price of college has increased between 2.1% to 4.3% per year beyond inflation (CollegeBoard). Through calculations, that equates to about a hundred precent increase since 1885. It’s no secret that college tuition has skyrocketed, increasing student debt and leaving prospective students to ask “Is College Worth It?” college education is beneficial in that it teaches students valuable life lessons in responsibility, prepares students to enter the workforce and can be relatively inexpensive. The eduction is “college education” is worth every penny but America has created clichés to define the college experience which are expensive and unnecessary. In a radical new world a college education is required in many high paying jobs, which leads to the question “Is the experience of college all it is built up to be?” Through recent research, many articles and news mention about the value of higher education seem to only take account of is the financial aspect. A college education is worth what one makes it and is an investment in a future and in one’s self. The purpose of college the education is to be prepared to go into a the workforce having gained the

“The writing in this essay is my own work. If I have used outside sources, I have acknowledged them through correct documentation.”

Bernie Sanders, senator of the state of Vermont said, “The cost of college education today is so high that many young people are giving up their dream of going to college, while many others are graduating deeply in debt” (“Brainy Quote”). Each year students take out loans to pay for a college education. Is it really necessary? They are just going to be a statistic. I believe everyone should not go to college. College is not for everyone.

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.

In their article “Should everyone go to college?” Stephanie Owen, Senior research assistant, and Isabel Sawhill, former Vice President of the Brookings Institute, argue that many factors lead to individuals not being able to attend college. They go on to claim these factors to be school choice, career field, graduation, and area of study. The article states that while on average the rate of return is usually positive, there are cases in which it is negative. One of their focal points is what it cost to attend college and its affordability. Claiming that with the rise in the cost of college, which progresses at a faster rate than that of the job wage increase, that college is becoming less affordable. In their conclusion a three step policy plan is included for individuals who plan to attend college. While realistically I agree that yes, some individuals should not go to college, my optimistic side would like to believe that everyone should and can go to college without it becoming a sour investment.

There has been a moment in everyone’s life where they have dug too deep to jump back out and abandon the end goal. Students across the country that begin their junior year of high school are thinking about which choice of colleges they have in mind. One of the major problems that keeps a student back like solid steel chain is the tuition it cost for University admission. Students working their hardest throughout their high school career and having the ever conscious situation of financial problems stress them out. Students become discouraged when one of the main reasons for being unable to attend their dream college, is their inability to afford the yearly tuition cost of attendance. Students are then forced to face reality, in the sense that,

Debt can make one’s life become a stressful thing. There is a constant worry the debt will continue to grow or dealing with the struggle of having to pay every last penny back plus more. Colleges are finding fewer reasons to lower prices and more reasons to raise prices. The college perspective is understood by many in this matter though. Colleges, as well as any other business, needs to make money also. The affordability of college is the second most important thing about a child’s college education, right below the actual education itself. “… the cost of college will remain unaffordable, tuition will continue to rise, and the 18-year-olds… will ‘get to’ continue paying for college with student loans” (college cost act does not…). Does it really pay off to go to college though?

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.