Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Costs of Colleges are Skyrocketing

By Abby Tucker

“Getting into college isn't as tough as many families fear, as 76 percent of freshman were accepted into their number one college” (CBS News). But getting accepted into college isn’t the real issue anymore, cost is. The average cost for a public college nowadays is around $22,261 and the average cost for a private college nowadays is around $43,289. (College Data) College is only getting harder to afford, even as it becomes more necessary. According to Daily Finance, “Over the last 30 years, tuition has increased 1,120 percent; by comparison, even the "skyrocketing" cost of health care only rose 600 percent, and housing costs have gone up a paltry 375 percent.”
            Even though college is a necessity to make a good life for yourself in today’s age, it is now being considered an unaffordable luxury. Since college is an elastic good, most students aren’t willing to pay for college if the price rises too high. Most would rather go to a technical college or get a two year degree just to avoid the escalating costs of college.
According to “The Guardian: Reasons Why the US Economy is Stuck,” the cost of a college education is now 50% higher than it was 30 years ago. Public colleges and universities are cheaper, but not cheap enough. As states cut funding, the cost of attending a four-year public institution has risen by 5.2% each year of the last decade. Student loan debt in this country now exceeds $1trillion and will continue to rise every year.
Although college degrees are exorbitantly expensive, they're increasingly necessary to even get in the door for a decent job. There are alternatives to help pay for college such as applying for as many scholarships as you can and by taking out student loans or getting financial aid. Most private schools will give students a good amount of scholarships if you attend their college. Private schools can sometimes reduce the costs of college by almost half with just academic scholarships.
A huge decision for many people right after high school is to decide to go to college or just start working full-time right away and not go to college. Some people believe that by working right after high school and not attending college you will earn more money because you aren’t having to pay thousands and thousands of dollars on education. But today, nearly 60 percent of all jobs in the U.S. economy require a higher education. “Educated workers are becoming increasingly valuable for two reasons: Many lower-skilled jobs are being shipped overseas, and computers do much of the mundane, repetitive work now. What's left are more complex tasks that require people to solve problems and work together.” (Georgetown University)
Money is very scarce but so is time. The best time to go to college is now because it isn’t going to get any cheaper. By getting a college degree it increasingly raises your chance of getting a stable job that will be able to support you and your family. College-educated people not only tend to have higher earnings than people without degrees, they are also more likely to have health and retirement benefits with their jobs, and they are far less likely to be unemployed.




"Why college tuition keeps rising - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-57517032/why-college-tuition-keeps-rising/>.
"CollegeData - Pay Your Way - What's the Price Tag for a College Education?." CollegeData: College Search, Financial Aid, College Application, College Scholarship, Student Loan, FAFSA Info, Common Application. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064>
" 10 reasons the US economy is stuck | Moira Herbst | Comment is free | theguardian.com ." Latest news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | theguardian.com | The Guardian . N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/24/10-reason-us-economy-stuck>.

"The High Cost of Higher Education Explained in One Simple Graphic - DailyFinance." DailyFinance - News and Advice for a Lifetime of Financial Decisions. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/college-costs-tuition-rising-student-debt-infographic/>. 

3 comments:

  1. I like your choice for this blog post, it’s an issue that affects me directly and I can really relate to it. I agree with the fact that now students’ number one worry isn’t that they’ll get into college, but that they won’t have the money to pay for it. Looking at the increase in tuition and that it’s over 1,000% is shocking to me. I wonder how it’s possible that tuition could have gone up that much for education. It makes me think, is college even worth it? We aren’t even guaranteed a job out of college, so why pay for it?

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  2. I think the cost of college is ridiculous. Higher education has just become a money-maker. There is no reason why it should require this much money, and time to pay off the money just to get a background on a specific field. However, we are willing to pay this much for our education because it has become a necessity to have a college degree for a future job. I agree with Alex, and think it is unfair to pay this much to not even be guaranteed a job, but if we want a job in today's workforce, it is necessary

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  3. This was a great piece as it was well written, and written on a very relevant topic. As you said college is an elastic good, and students are only willing to pay so much before they decide not to go. I guess what can be taken out of this piece is to what extent is college worth it, because as you said, time is money, and 4 years at private schools could only cost you who knows how long after you graduate. Then again at the same the time the economy is requiring more complicated jobs to people with degrees, in the same sense that people with degrees make much more in a life time than do those who do not have one. All in all it's a really tough choice, but only time will tell if those young adults if they made the best choice for themselves, whether it's working after high school or going to college.

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