Case Study: A Letter To John Braun
Dear John Braun (Senator of R- Centralia),
“Soaring tuition and shrinking incomes are making college less and less affordable,” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, told Bloomberg. “For millions of young people, rising college costs are putting the American dream on hold, or out of reach.” The price of a public four-year college has increased by 27% in the past five years. I think prices of college, college tuition, should be lowered and more affordable especially for the middle class people.
Many people go to college to find or start a career, which usually means they don’t have money before college. So, some people use financial aid such as grants and scholarships, loans, or “Work-Study”
(a program that lets you work part time to earn money to pay for college expenses). Approximately 57% of financial aid are in the form of grants, and 34% take the form of federal loans. Many times the student loans start drowning people in debt which is hard to get out of. Also getting a well-paying, stable job right after graduating college isn’t easily done. Even with a part time job the money owed to the bank takes a long time to pay off. But still, the loaners usually start asking for money right when you have graduated college.
According to the Project on Student Debt, the average undergrad borrowed nearly $27,000. When you’re in student loan debt it is hard to avoid not drowning in it. For example, Jeremy Cooper took classes in many schools before graduating with an associate degree in Web
Design. He borrowed $45,000 in federal and private loans, but he hasn’t been able to get a job in Web Design since technology is always changing. With the changes in technology, things that he learned in college has not helped him at all. Jeremy hasn’t been able to get a well-paying job and has fallen behind on his payments. His overall debt now is a striking $88,000 (almost double the amount he borrowed.) He now works a full time day job and part time night job and spends only the bare minimum. Even with all that he does there seems to be no way to get out of his debt.
Lowering college tuition would increase opportunities for education for people who aren’t as wealthy. Tuition rates are rising due to the economy being in a bad place, but it should not rise, since parents are losing jobs and the cost of living is increasing as well. If people want to live happy, and healthy lives college tuition will have to decrease. Sincerely, Anika Joarder
“Soaring tuition and shrinking incomes are making college less and less affordable,” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, told Bloomberg. “For millions of young people, rising college costs are putting the American dream on hold, or out of reach.” The price of a public four-year college has increased by 27% in the past five years. I think prices of college, college tuition, should be lowered and more affordable especially for the middle class people.
Many people go to college to find or start a career, which usually means they don’t have money before college. So, some people use financial aid such as grants and scholarships, loans, or “Work-Study”
(a program that lets you work part time to earn money to pay for college expenses). Approximately 57% of financial aid are in the form of grants, and 34% take the form of federal loans. Many times the student loans start drowning people in debt which is hard to get out of. Also getting a well-paying, stable job right after graduating college isn’t easily done. Even with a part time job the money owed to the bank takes a long time to pay off. But still, the loaners usually start asking for money right when you have graduated college.
According to the Project on Student Debt, the average undergrad borrowed nearly $27,000. When you’re in student loan debt it is hard to avoid not drowning in it. For example, Jeremy Cooper took classes in many schools before graduating with an associate degree in Web
Design. He borrowed $45,000 in federal and private loans, but he hasn’t been able to get a job in Web Design since technology is always changing. With the changes in technology, things that he learned in college has not helped him at all. Jeremy hasn’t been able to get a well-paying job and has fallen behind on his payments. His overall debt now is a striking $88,000 (almost double the amount he borrowed.) He now works a full time day job and part time night job and spends only the bare minimum. Even with all that he does there seems to be no way to get out of his debt.
Lowering college tuition would increase opportunities for education for people who aren’t as wealthy. Tuition rates are rising due to the economy being in a bad place, but it should not rise, since parents are losing jobs and the cost of living is increasing as well. If people want to live happy, and healthy lives college tuition will have to decrease. Sincerely, Anika Joarder