College Tuition

The Rise of College Tuition

In today’s society, college has become less of an option and more of a necessity. College is required for many various professions, and the cost of tuition seems to have a lasting effect on many Americans. Although having a college education will help someone receive higher pay and become more successful, the stress of college debt is taking a toll on graduates. Most college graduates will be paying for college loans for many years after they graduate. The continuing rise of college tuition is also hindering many people to have the desire to attend college. Like anything, education has its cost and it doesn’t come cheap. The average college student graduates with a minimum of 30,000 dollars in debt ("College Costs:
FAQs"). As it may seem, college is expensive enough. If colleges lowered tuition, people may have more opportunity to attend. College costs are becoming higher, and they keep rising every year.
College education has many wonderful benefits. Someone may find more career opportunities, receive higher pay, and have a life with more choices and possibilities. With a college education, it is easier to transition from job to job, especially if you are educated in a particular field. This is harder for others who may not have had the opportunity to attend college. Unemployment rates are also affected by higher education. It is less likely for a college
Wetmore 2 graduate to live in poverty if they have earned a college degree. “The BLS showed that those with high school diplomas experienced a 7.5% unemployment rate in 2013. The unemployment rate for those who held bachelor's degrees was only 4%” ("What Is the Importance of Higher Education?"). A few decades ago, college was looked at as more of a luxury and not essential for such opportunities. In recent years, jobs have become more competitive with more people attending college. Many base success on a career choice and status, which is often founded by a good education. Although higher education is a tremendous need in today’s society, it is not practical many Americans to afford college.
Many seek out financial support, but it is not the cure to the problem. If higher education was more of a practical cost, more people would attend college without the fear of being in debt for many years after they graduate. Tuition is the defined as the total price a college charges for a class. Students may also pay other fees related to enrolling and attending college. The cost of tuition and fees varies by college. On average, a public two-year college in-district student pays $3,347 a year, including fees. A public four-year college in-state student will pay $9,139. A public four-year college out-of-state student pays $22,958, and lastly a private four-year college will spend $31,231 a year on tuition ("College Costs: FAQs"). The College Board study reports today’s students are paying more than three times what students paid more than 30 years ago to attend a public four-year college ("College Costs: FAQs"). The national average for in-state tuition plus fees increased this year to $9,139, a 2.9-percent increase over the last school year (Hernandez). The inflating cost of college
has
Wetmore 3 three main effects: debt through student loans, less people attending college, and an increasing number of college graduates moving back home.
Tuition and fees correlating with college have been outpacing inflation for decades.
Inflation is the general cost of living that increases over time. With the price of foods, goods, and services increasing, it’s only befitting that the cost of college will continue to rise. According to data from the Labor Department, the price index for college tuition grew by nearly 80 percent between August 2003 and August 2013 (Kurtzleben). Nearly twice as fast as growth in costs in medical care, another area greatly recognized for fast-rising prices. It's also more than twice as fast as the overall consumer price index during that same
period.
Upon deeper inspection, this is a vast jump, considering inflation is sitting at just 3.2 percent. Inflation also provokes cost of close-to-campus restaurants, textbooks, and other miscellaneous materials to swell in sum (Kurtzleben). These fares make a direct impact of students’ pocketbooks. But inflation is not connected by a sole act. It permits those surveying it to know the absolute percent of fluctuation during a certain time. However, because of inflation, the call for higher education, technology, and resources, college cost is increasing at a rapid rate that will not only affect the common student, but also take a toll on society as a whole.
Now, more than ever, students are graduating with titanic amounts of debt. Compared to past generations, parents are paying less of the college tuition bill. Some attempt to explain this by turning