College Costs Too Much!

Posted by Siani Davis in English 3 · Pahomov · A Band on

Americans value college a lot. It is encouraged heavily in schools and at homes. But the reality is that money is an issue for a lot of people. People are often excluded from success because the college they want to go to costs more than what their families can afford. One has to chose whether it is worth getting into more debt for a potentially better paying job or living within means and work hard to climb the ladder of success. The result of all of these costs makes a college education more of a barrier to success than a gateway.

College education has never been cheap, but it is more expensive than it has been in the past. According to the College Board,  inflation-adjusted increases were 0.8% in 2013 to 2014, 0.9% in 2014 to 2015, and 2.7% in 2015 to 2016. Average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities increased by 13% over the five years from 2010-11 to 2015-16, following a 24% increase between 2005-06 and 2010-11. To put into better perspective, Harvard’s annual tuition and fees (not including room and board costs) will set a student  back with a $45,278 debt each year, which is more than 17 times the 1971-72 cost. This is showing how drastic things have changed overtime and is evidence of how the present people attending college are being affected.

With higher ranked universities, graduating from that particular school alone can land someone a better job with higher pay. Potential employees may think that the higher price tag is worth paying for that better job. But only a select few are able to afford to go to these schools, thus creating a cycle of people who can afford college getting paid more than those who cannot. High school dropouts make on average $18,734 annually, while high school graduates on average make $27,915. By contrast, people who can afford to earn  a bachelor's degree on average make a salary of 51,206, and advanced degree holders make an average salary of $74,602. More recently updated websites show an even larger gap between people that go to college than those who do not which shows that going to a college that has higher quality levels will benefit lots of people in the long run.

Reasons given of why some colleges charge more money than others varies, from better technology, to student housing, or expert teachers, than other colleges that do not have the extra perks. Specifically focusing on teachers or positions though, from 1978 to 2014, administrative positions rose 369 percent, according to the AAUP report. While the amount of part-time workers increased by 286 percent; and limited-time positions grew by 259 percent. Contrarily, full-time positions increased solely 23 percent during the same period. “These amenities are extremely expensive and contribute to the escalating cost of college,” [job title] Reich says. “Moreover, they have very little or anything to do with the education of most young people.” Additionally colleges tend to focus on eye-catching things like dining halls or marble staircases instead of focusing on getting quality professors that will actually help the students grow mentally. These aspects do not improve college education directly which makes it a not necessary addition.

College is a huge part of the system that Americans live by, and it being so expensive is not anything but a barrier some people can not overcome. As a potential college student it will be essential to have to weigh was in more important, the perks or the education. Sacrificing getting a high paying job for less debt, eventually will allow someone to be able to prove themselves at a position and get that promotion with the higher wage and be able to afford student loans. In the long run it is really up to the individual. Employers may make assumptions based on where someone graduated from, if that is from a prestigious school they assume that the person worked hard to get that degree because that school is a tough school to get into whereas a mediocre school may let most applicants in and may be more lenient in their courses.

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Comments (2)

Emma Schwingel-Sauer (Student 2018)
Emma Schwingel-Sauer

You included some good statistics that really helped strengthen your argument. Your conclusion paragraph was really good too as it wrapped up all you were trying to say. I definitely agree with you and I like how you posed the ultimatum of giving up a higher paying job or going to college for more money because it shows both sides of an argument.