Unaffordable College Education

Higher education in America is facing many challenges, i.e., low retention, low graduation rates and less funding. Postsecondary institutions are scrambling to remain a competitive entity within society. In order to do so, students must remain in school (Talbert, 2012). The Office of the White House states (2014), educational attainment is critical to our county’s economic success. In essence, the work force is creating more jobs requiring more education and a higher level of skill than was previously achieved. Individuals with only a high school diploma will not make into the middle class sector because of

For students to have an opportunity to have a high quality education, many do not have the assistance to afford or navigate their way in college. Such as the first generation entering college with not enough

This has been a discussion for the ages. The debate over raising the minimum wage has been a hot topic. Raising minimum wage would reduce poverty, be better for lower paid workers, and to reduce expense for social programs.

With a higher rate, students can save more money helping with later on expenses. These students will be able to look into their future but, this time, with less debt due to student loans. Increasing the minimum wage will take off a burden for student loans, country-wide.

Raising the minimum wage will help keep up with inflation. For example, this piece of evidence supports the fact that poor families are even poorer than what was expected. The article "pros-and-cons-of-raising-the-minimum-wage "stated, "The minimum wage hasn't kept up with inflation. As a result, the pay of man workers, particularly those with families of three or more people, are no well below the poverty level." Minimum wage is already so low to the point that it is considered poverty.

The price of tuition is increasing and is not affordable to everyone, despite assistance such as FAFSA, students are still required to pay loans. Colleges do not suggest working over twenty hours a week because it takes time away from their studies and leads to exhaustion. This makes the lives of college students a lot more difficult. The irony of the situation is that college is meant to help students get better jobs in the future. However, if they can not afford to attend college, then it limits them from moving on to better jobs. Those against raising minimum wage feel as if increasing it will cause less people to want to get a better job, when in reality, in order to get the education people need to get better jobs, they need to be able to afford college

Studies suggest that fifty percent or more of new jobs that will appear in the upcoming decades will require their employees to have a postsecondary education (America’s Promise). However, the rising price of a college education is preventing many students from achieving their goal. This only adds to the number of unemployed young adults and the number of Americans living in property. People always say if you’re tired of being poor then do something about it but it is not as simple as it used to be. In the past thirty years the cost of getting a college degree has increase by 1,120 percent (Mosbergn). Not only that, but if you do manage to get a degree after you graduate you are often left paying off student loan debt. As of 2013, the amount of student loan debt to be paid off has surpassed one trillion dollars. Another reason why many student opt out of going to college is because they believe it is a waste of time. While that may not be the case for all students a recent poll showed that forty percent of college graduates are unemployed and left struggling to pay off a student loan alone with no job

The conventional wisdom has been that if you want to make something of yourself, you need to go to college. Hence, President Obama created a lofty proposal, the American College Promise to provide two years of free community college for all high schools students who attend school at least part-time and maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA. If this bill is passed, over the course of the next ten years this sixty-billion dollar national investment is estimated to save around nine-million students an average of three-thousand eight-hundred dollars a year. This proposal is an effort to increase economic prosperity in America by widening the access to higher education. On that note, as three time Pulitzer prize winner, Thomas Friedman, author of the international bestseller, The World is Flat, writes,“The truth is, we’re in a crisis now, but it is a crisis that is unfolding very quietly (340).” Basically, Friedman is warning us about the steady erosion of America’s motivated and innovative young people, due to having to compete in the globalizing world, that he has aptly nick-named the ‘flat world.’ The American College Promise is Obama’s crucible moment, he asserts that this will turn the tide by ultimately providing an opportunity for all young people to have access higher education.This being said, while I believe that the American College Promise is formidable, I believe it should be applied to

Throughout American history, there has been waves of different economic standpoints. From the thriving economy in the early 1900s, to the infamous downfall of the stock market that lead to the Great Depression in the 1930s. America has always faced different obstacles that has shaped the modern day American society. Poverty levels have increased rapidly which sparked interest in some organizations to create a campaign called “Do Something”, which advocates improving American lives through better education and higher quality of living. One statistic given was that, “In 2011, nearly 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty” (11 Facts). With many occupations requiring some type of post-secondary education. How can the quality of life be improved if a myriad of people are facing such high levels of poverty and cannot afford the cost of that higher education? Obstacles in obtaining an education beyond high school come from the prejudice in education by making it affordable to those with the ability to pay the out of pocket costs. Social inequality has kept people who reside in the lower income classes from progressing through a higher education . It is prevalent that in American history, that those who are privileged white men can obtain a higher education than one who is a minority. Post-secondary education must be made accessible to all in order to ensure that everyone has equal access to a higher quality of life.

According to staticbrain.com tuition costs average in America around $14,446 for a public university. For a private university costs are much higher at around $33,231 a year. These costs a well above what people paid for an education even just ten years ago. From the information on inflationdata.com tuition costs have risen two and a half times faster than the inflation rate since 1979, this means a degree that would have cost $10,000 in 1980 would cost $21,500 today, if tuition costs rose at the same rate as inflation, but instead costs $59,800 today. Tuition costs are way higher than they were before but the cost of textbooks have rose even higher.

The United States is a growing nation with many issues that should be addressed. The biggest issue, as stated above, is education. Unfortunately, politicians tend to stray away from the topic of education and focus on Health Care or the economy. There is no doubt that both of those topics equally important; however, without education the future of the nation would become obsolete. There is no denying that children are the future generation, and it is up to citizens to take back the education system and build a better tomorrow for the United States.

According to Forbes, since 1982 a typical family income increased by 147% while college education rate has risen nearly 500%. So making $10,000 in 1982 and paying $1,000 to send your child to school in 1982, has now become making $24,000 and paying $6,000 for tuition. We’ve gone from spending a tenth of our income, to a quarter in just over thirty years. There seems to be some hope this trend will end as many private universities are beginning to drop their tuition costs to make college more affordable in the past year. Ashland

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.

Education is, without a doubt, one of the most highly-sought-after goals for most individuals nearing the completion of their high school careers throughout America. From a very young age, it is driven into us that we need to get a post-secondary education if we want to survive in the world of tomorrow. In most instances, I would be inclined to agree. But that education, of course, has a price. Robert Borosage with the Campaign for America 's Future (co-director) was recently on The Young Turks, an online progressive news/commentary program which is primarily featured on XM satellite radio. During an interview with the host, Cenk Uyger, Mr. Borosage brought up

In today’s society, American youth are facing a major crisis. The government’s statistics show that a large percentage of young men and women are joining the ranks of the unemployed. The most startling fact is that many of these individuals are recent college graduates. Many studies stress the importance of a college education, calling it an “economic investment” and the “most important choice made in a person’s lifetime”. Indeed, the decision to pursue college education is important, but many people do not consider the risks of doing so. While going to college seems like a noble pursuit, it is simply not feasible for this generation of young people, as the astronomical expenses, fierce competition of the job market, and the increasing obsolescence of the college degree are major deciding factors against the idea of getting a college education.