Why College should be Less Expensive

 Why College Should Be Less Expensive

For me and many others, it’s about that time to start thinking about colleges. Along with college, one of the main factors of deciding a college is its affordability. Since 2000, college tuition is up 33% and is only rising. This not only causes more debt for students but decreasing the tuition cost will allow more people to go to college. Lowering the cost of college will also level out the playing field for students. Giving students with less money a better opportunity to attend better colleges.

For many students, the main problems with college come after they graduate with student debt. According to nbcnews.com, “ One in every five adults carry student loan debt.” America has the 4th most expensive average college cost in the world. The average cost for a year of college is $20,770. This number is astounding which makes sense for all the student loan debt in America. Lowering this cost would allow students to have money for other uses. This could include investing, saving up for a house or even paying off student debt. According to uopeople.edu, “In the U.S, the average student debt per person is $31,172.” With the average starting salary after college being roughly $55,000, lower income students would be able to focus on their living expenses rather than on college. 

 With lowering college expenses, more student will be able to attend college. According to nasfaa.org, “Low-income students cannot afford 95% of colleges.”  This is a huge amount when you think that 11.8% of Americans can’t even afford college. This is hard for the students because they could think high school is not important if they know college isn’t even an option. With the tuition getting cut, these students would have something to work for and would make them able to go to college.  According to ed.gov, “ 1 in 10 people from low-income families attend college.” This proves how many people from low-income families don’t go to college. With the tuition cost being lowered, this number would go up and allow lower-income students to go to college. 

There are many reasons why college is so expensive. There is lower state funding, growing demand, and mainly the increase focus on financial aid. Although financial aid is great, it still limits students from getting into top colleges. Students shouldn’t be limited to what school they go to just because they can’t afford the school. I personally think there should be more state funding for college. I know this money would come from taxes, but a slight increase would still make a difference. These tax increases could also be only put on families labeled as middle class or high income. Countries with free colleges like Germany, Brazil, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark have all done this and the response and results have been positive. This shows that having a slight increase in taxes shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Overall, if college costs continue to rise, the investment in college might not be the right move and we might see better paths than college in the upcoming years. 

www.nasfaa.org/news-item/11623/Report_Low-Income_Students_Cannot_Afford_95_Percent_of_Colleges.

Chiwaya, Nigel. “These Five Charts Show How Bad the Student Loan Debt Situation Is.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 24 Apr. 2019, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/student-loan-statistics-2019-n997836.

Drake, Jordan. “Free College for All Is a Bad Idea.” The University Star, universitystar.com/30626/opinions/free-college-for-all-is-a-bad-idea/.

Hochman, Allison. “5 Reasons Why College Should Be Free.” University of the People, 30 Jan. 2020, www.uopeople.edu/blog/5-reasons-why-college-should-be-free/.

“Should College Be Free: Pros And Cons - College Raptor.” College Raptor Blog, 5 Feb. 2020, www.collegeraptor.com/find-colleges/articles/affordability-college-cost/pros-cons-tuition-free-college/.