Rising Cost Of College

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.

College tuition is a subject that I am certain is on every college student's mind. The current cost of college has become so outrageously high and so students are graduating college with what you think is a feeling of excitement for their lives starting, when in reality they are entering a pool of stress due to high amounts of debt and no job guarantees. With that being said overly expensive College Tuition is merely taking away opportunities from potential students. According to Collegefactual.com, you will see that 20 years ago the average college tuition for a student at any University was around $6,285 for the room, board, and tuition. Today, according to Niche.com, the average tuition for almost any college is over $30,000 for those same things. Today, this isn't even offered for those same colleges, we don’t even know what is actually causing the raising tuition. At this point in time, we are paying for the name. Just like clothing, we pay more for the “high end” (a.k.a the college name) items. This is an issue that not only affects college students, but people who want a good education. College tuition should be lowered because the average student debt is too high, FAFSA results can be misleading and not high enough, and there is not enough access to college for deserving students.

An article by HO, J.D says, “the National Center for education statistics reports an average tuition of 25,409 for the 2014-15 academic year at four-year colleges and universities.” It’s amazing how costly is to get an education. Where many questions, Should the amount of wealth you make determine whether you attend college or not.? Many students going college are in college debt College expenses are getting higher, every individual that is thinking of going college goes through the financial struggle. As many think of a question of how much income they need to pay college tuition.? In regrade to making their college life, usually, student tend to go school and work. although, going school and working becomes the habit but the student will have a dangerous effect on their study. They would have less time to study and take a rest. Education has given many an opportunity to change the world and taught people to saves other people lives. Now our world has doctors, pilots, engineers, scientist and much more that people are not seeing. The life cycle of humans is amazing where we lose another and get even smarter and betters. In this cycle, many have not have gotten an opportunity to show the talent because of college tuitions rising every year. There have been different college grants and some help on college fee if you are under poverty level. Education should not be compared with the price, we can buy a nice dress with a good price but we cannot buy an education at a price

A lot of people will argue, that college is too expensive. Not everyone can go to college, for financial reasons. Also, they may get into college, but end up having to leave because they cannot afford the remaining balances; or, they received financial aid, but end up having to take out loans they are going to be paying back forever. It is like once they graduate they will be working mostly to pay off their student loan debt. This also discourages some students. In some cases, they will not even take the initiative to try because it is so costly. I do not understand why it cost so much to want to better yourself, and possibly put us in debt for the rest of our life just to receive a higher education. Not only has the cost of college risen over a period of time, but it continues to go up. Yes, they have alternatives for paying student debts, but what if you do not qualify? Lastly, you are not guaranteed a job just because you graduate and have a college degree(s).

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

Tuition rates have been on the rise since the start of colleges. In 1988, the average college tuition was about $2,800 for a year of schooling. In 2008, that number had risen 130% to nearly $6,800 for one year; according to Annalyn Censky of CNN Money, if the average income had raised the same amount, median family earning would be roughly $77,000 a year, instead of the current $33,000. Americans are making $400 less on average than they did in 1988 says Censky. Over the past twenty years, college has risen 5% of the median family income from 12% to 17%; private colleges went from 27% to 47% says Economist.com. (1 SV; SV.) Tuition isn’t the only thing rising at colleges: room, meals, books, and other fees are rising as well. (4 SV: A,B,C,D.) This also takes its toll on families as well as the students themselves. Many students

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?

The topic of rising college tuition costs is an issue that hits very close to home. Being a student, it is very hard to deal with attending a school that has high tuition costs. The University of New Hampshire has one of the highest tuitions for state schools in the country. For out of state students UNH is one of only 22 schools out of 575 listed on CollegeBoard.Com that costs more than $20,000 for tuition. This fact is a major problem today when more schools each year are raising their tuition costs for students.

Today the average college student spends eight hundred seventy four dollars on a nineteen unit college semester. Plus an average of five hundred dollars for their textbooks that semester. The numbers mentioned don’t even include health fees, parking passes, necessary at home tools, or the cost of living. How do you think college students pay for everything? Some students receive financial aid but the majority do not qualify for aid. Many students work part time jobs to afford everything but still have to juggle the responsibilities of bills they already have plus the outrageous cost of college. It seems like in today’s world, the cost of college keeps raising and raising forcing students into huge amounts of debt. O’Brien author of the article “A ‘necessary’ of modern life? A very expensive college education” shares the cost of attending Middlebury College in Vermont.

The cost of education for Texas colleges can vary depending on where you are taking your classes, how much the classes are, how much the materials cost (i.e.: books and online text, etc.) and are you the student getting what you paid for in terms of your education? We all hate to waste money, especially if it’s hundreds of dollars on the line that could have gone towards something else more beneficial. In the state of Texas, higher education includes learning at state funded universities, private universities and at the community college level. What is the reason for the sharp increase of public and private universities’ tuition cost in Texas?

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.

In my own opinion I believe that the three main causes of increases in the rising cost of college has to do with: state funding, a college degree is in higher demand these day, and bills for everything has just skyrocketed in all areas of our economy otherwise known as inflation. College has never been cheep but has it been more afford able? Yes. I here my parents who are in their 40’s talking about still paying off their student loans but I’ve never heard my grandparents ever having to worry about theirs. This must have to do with the difference in the economy from each generation.

For most people going off to college will place them in large amounts of debt. That is if they are unfortunate in receiving some type of scholarship. College is expensive because students have to pay tuition, housing, and for their books. One way colleges could cut down cost for students is to make textbooks free. Textbooks should be free for college students because they are expensive, they are becoming useless, and producing them is bad for the environment.

The majority of American students graduate from high school with hopes of continuing on to higher education. Getting a degree is part of the American Culture, yet it is becoming more difficult to achieve. Recent graduates have incurred an average debt of $35,200 with incomes remaining still. This has caused many Americans to wonder if trying to obtain a college education is worth the cost. The average public university tuition rate has risen to $21,000, with the private college tuition rate rising to $42,000. High tuition rates continue to affect most Americans in a variety of ways.

I have selected to write about the rising cost of higher education in the United States. In mass media we see discussions of how expensive it is for students to afford admission to a four-year college, student debt being higher than it ever has in previous years, and how these consequences make it difficult for graduating students to attain social mobility. As a student, it is within my best interest to discover the social factors that influence the cost of attaining a college degree. Many of my associates have struggled with college due to the costs associated with it, and are individuals who I feel could be very successful if debt and budgeting was not as large of an issue. I feel that the pursuit for higher education is a goal to be valued, and students should not be heavily crippled by financial issues or debt in following this pursuit. It is in having understanding in the problem and the circumstances that influence it where we as a society can work towards an effective solution.