Affordability Of Our Education : Is A College Education Worth The Cost?

Marty Nemko, in the article, “We Send Too Many Students To College,” acknowledges that colleges have become obscenely expensive and that it is possible to be successful without going to college. Arguing that too many students are sent to college without realizing that it is not imperative, Nemko targets parents in his claims that colleges focus on educating in the cheapest way possible and most importantly, that the advantage of past college graduates in the job market is declining. One of his main reasons is that even though the average college graduate makes more money, hundreds of thousands of students in the bottom half of their high school class do not succeed in higher education. Nemko’s article is the most persuasive article on whether college education still has value as he argues that college is not beneficial to everyone through demonstrations of hyperbole, and figurative language.

In Rodney K. Smith’s essay “Yes, a College Education Is Worth the Cost,” he argues that Americans should invest their time and money on college because of all the positive things that come from it, including the impact that it will have future children in the family. Along with lower unemployment rates and higher wages. Smith is concerned with the fact that people are not willing to spend money on college but they will blow their money on fancy toys. He believes a college education “is more than an investment” (30). Smith shares a story about his dad’s road to a college education.

A major problem for today’s high school graduates is the rising price in college education. Attending college can add up really fast; it can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars per year (Barkan 1). No wonder, in Steven Barkan’s book of social problems, issues and problems in higher education take up a full chapter. In this chapter, Barkan states that only 44% of all students who attend a four-year institution is lucky enough to have annual tuitions and fees amount to less than $9,000 per year. The aggravating question is, “why does college cost so much?” Not only is tuition part of the cost of college but also fees housing and meals, books, school supplies, and accessories (“What’s the Price Tag” 1). All tuition covers is the money for academic instruction. Fees are charges for specific services such as, internet access, and then the cost of books and school supplies add up. Additionally, one is not paying just for textbooks but also

Universities used to be a privilege for most academic students to attend and it was very affordable, but currently the price per year to attend college has drastically increased. For instance, in the “1970’s the average cost was 10,000 dollars a year and today the average cost is 30,000 dollars a year” (CQ Researcher). This is a triple increase in the price per year to attend college. Allowing this increase on college tuition has impacted the student’s attendance rate. This is a significant financial burden for college students and their family. Some believe that college shouldn’t be free because we are risking the value of college education, while others think it should be free because we are trying to avoid having our upcoming generation

St.Amour 1Mitchel St.AmourProfessor OlsonComp II8 February 2018The College ProblemThe investment of higher education has been debated for a long time. By today’s standards, it can either be too expensive or seem to be too high of a risk for so low of a reward. It surely doesn’t help that other alternatives can contest the outcome of higher education, but should that influence the question of: should all Americans go to college? To say that all Americans should go to college is a blanket statement; instead it should ask: Should Americans attend college? To that question, many of the same concerns arise with the price of higher education and payoff of a diploma. While the cost can be a detriment to the wallet,

Since the mid 1980s, student fees have increased at a rate approximately double the rate of inflation (Hauptman, 1997, p. 24). A 1996 study by the General Accounting Office indicates a 234 percent increase in tuition and fees at public institutions and a 220 percent increase at private universities since 1980. This compares to an 80 percent increase in inflation since 1980 (Barry, 1998, p. 39). Families today spend a considerably larger percentage of their family income on college than families two decades ago. In 1979, the average four-year tuition at a public college consumed approximately 36 percent of a family’s annual income, while a private university consumed 84 percent. By 1994, the percentages jumped to 60 and 156 respectively (Reiland, 1996, p. 36). In addition to increases in tuition, an attitude shift in regard to paying for college contributes to the problem of financing higher education. Parents today are more likely to budget college expenses out of their annual income instead of from savings, and students are expected to contribute more to financing their own education than in the past (Kiesler, 1994, p. 67).

College is a dream that almost every American wants to come true, however, with the extreme rise in the costs of tuition it is a dream that has quickly turned into a nightmare. “Tuition at a private university is now roughly three times as expensive as it was in 1974, costing an average of $31,000 a year; public tuition, at $9,000, has risen nearly four times,” (Davidson). “For the average American household that doesn 't receive a lot of financial aid, higher education is simply out of reach,” (Davidson). That is why many students have begun questioning the worth of a college degree and if the amount of debt that is received upon exiting college is all for the better. And considering that costs have risen much faster than the rate of inflation, many are starting to believe that college just isn 't necessary any more. However, according to White, economically, the answer would still be a yes. “While unemployment rates for new grads and experienced workers alike have fluctuated throughout the recession and recovery, the earnings premium that college-and advanced-degree holders enjoy over their peers who didn 't attend college has remained relatively stable, and in some instances, grown, according to the report that was released this week,” (White). A study was shown that many college grads are able to get earnings that are significantly higher than those who did not get enough education or only hold a high school diploma (White). Even

Jeffery J. Selingo stated in The Washington Post, “How long can we go with tuition until it is to much?” This statement is what many people think, who are struggling to pay off there tuition. The cost of tuition is extremely too high. Earlier in the 1900’s the cost of tuition was merely 200 dollars a year, but now tuition can be from 15,00 to 50,00 dollars a year. ("UNIVERSITY HISTORY." Educational Costs (1900-1909), University of Pennsylvania University Archives. Web. 14 July 2015.) Those statistics show that the cost of tuition has more than tripled from a century ago. In this essay I will be discussing the hurtful side to paying so much tuition from, student loans to financial aid. Also I will be giving you five major reasons why tuition is so high.

The choice of whether or not one should attend college has been a great topic of interest over the past few years with the increase of college tuition. This increase of college tuition questions whether attending college will pay off in the future since numerous amounts of students are left with an excessive amount of student loan debt. Stephanie Owen, a former research assistant at Brooking’s Center and current research associate at the Urban Institute, alongside Isabell Sawhill, co-director of the Center on Children and Families and a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings, wrote Should Everyone Go to College? In an attempt to answer that question. In their report they breakdown the cost and benefits of going to college often relying on logos throughout the

College rising tuition is currently the hottest topics debated by political and social interest’s groups who pretty much understand that if this is not fixed soon, it will have long damaging effects on our convalescent economy. It is important to be reminded that college education play a tremendous multiplier role in our economy that holds more the 50% of college graduates. (College Has Been Oversold by Alex Tabarrok.)

There is no escaping the fact that the cost of college tuition continues to rise in the United States each year. To make it worse, having a college degree is no longer an option, but a requirement in today’s society. According to data gathered by the College Board, total costs at public four-year institutions rose more rapidly between 2003-04 and 2013-14 than they did during either of the two preceding decades (Collegeboard.com). Students are pressured to continue into higher education but yet, the increasing costs of books and tuition make us think about twice. Sometimes, some of these students have to leave with their education partially finished, leaving them with crushing debts. It is important to find the means to prevent these

“The hardest thing about going to college should not be paying for it” (Hillary Clinton). In the past decades college tuition has skyrocketed. Many aspiring students who dream of college education cannot afford it. Education used to be accessible to all forms of family situations, now it is only a privilege for those with substantial incomes. Because everyone deserves education, college tuition should be affordable and economically feasible for all students and their families.

Families are now aiming low when it comes to college- or are simply not going at all. Money could play a huge part in this decision- after all, the cost of college has skyrocketed over the years, and so has the amount of student loan debt. This is something even Leonhardt admits, stating that, because of this, only about 33 percent of young adults get a four-year college degree today, while another 10 percent receive a two-year degree (Leonhardt). And even though many colleges offer financial aid packages, that money may soon be cut and the cost of college will continue to grow. It is true that, in my personal experience, just because a student is awarded financial aid does not mean they have a golden ticket to University. This leaves many desperate students the only option of taking out as many loans as they think they can handle- often more than they should. Debt is not a new issue for America, but it is still a problem. Although David Autor, an M.I.T. economist, laments: “not sending [young adults] to college would be a disaster”, no one can ignore the rising rates of loan defaults, and some think it

Its sad the amount of students not going to collage based on tuition in the United States. Anymore, 47% of junior high and high school student’s parents feel they can't afford college for their kids anymore with the cost of tuition and it still increasing. I feel college tuition is way too high in the United States for most families in today's economy. Over half of the students going into college show some concern with how to pay for college. The amount of college graduate debt is rapidly increasing. Also, the little amount of jobs available because of the high unemployment rate, are having a harder time paying off debt. Even though the students can get loans and financial aid. Although some claim that higher education is still worth it,

College tuition has been an increasingly intense topic of discussion over the years. The costs of higher education have been debated by many people, and it has been discussed as to whether costs are becoming too high for students to afford. College has become more and more popular, and now as many as 20 million students attend universities reported by The National Center for Education Statistics (1). The value of a college degree is immense, but college tuition is becoming too expensive for students to afford, and furthering the problem are students’ lack of knowledge on how to pay and earn money towards their college degree.