The document discusses rising college tuition costs in the United States and the impact of student loan debt on recent graduates. It notes that college tuition has increased 400% over the past 30 years, leaving more than half of students with debt but not a degree. As a college student, the author reflects on taking out loans without fully understanding the long-term financial implications. While college can provide career opportunities, high tuition costs mean student debt burdens many graduates and prevents them from achieving milestones like homeownership. The author argues that earning a higher education should be more accessible and attainable for young Americans without financial hardship.
The document discusses rising college tuition costs in the United States and the impact of student loan debt on recent graduates. It notes that college tuition has increased 400% over the past 30 years, leaving more than half of students with debt but not a degree. As a college student, the author reflects on taking out loans without fully understanding the long-term financial implications. While college can provide career opportunities, high tuition costs mean student debt burdens many graduates and prevents them from achieving milestones like homeownership. The author argues that earning a higher education should be more accessible and attainable for young Americans without financial hardship.
The document discusses rising college tuition costs in the United States and the impact of student loan debt on recent graduates. It notes that college tuition has increased 400% over the past 30 years, leaving more than half of students with debt but not a degree. As a college student, the author reflects on taking out loans without fully understanding the long-term financial implications. While college can provide career opportunities, high tuition costs mean student debt burdens many graduates and prevents them from achieving milestones like homeownership. The author argues that earning a higher education should be more accessible and attainable for young Americans without financial hardship.
The document discusses rising college tuition costs in the United States and the impact of student loan debt on recent graduates. It notes that college tuition has increased 400% over the past 30 years, leaving more than half of students with debt but not a degree. As a college student, the author reflects on taking out loans without fully understanding the long-term financial implications. While college can provide career opportunities, high tuition costs mean student debt burdens many graduates and prevents them from achieving milestones like homeownership. The author argues that earning a higher education should be more accessible and attainable for young Americans without financial hardship.
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Shannon Rawley
Instructor: Malcom Campbell
English 1103 31 March 2015 College Tuition: Collecting Debt before Establishing Credit Most of us think we have our lives planned out. After high school, many of us live under the assumption that college is the next best thing. Following college, most of us plan to start a career, begin a family and live happily. What if things dont go as planned? We live in a world where sometimes the things we strive for are unattainable. But why should going to the college be one of those things? Studies from a post on takelessons.com show that going to college today is 400 percent more expensive than it was thirty years ago. This dramatic rise in college tuition could take the blame for why many students arent able to finish and earn their degrees. According to statistics from the US Department of Labor, of the three million students, ranging from age 16 to 24, who went to high school, only two million of those students continued to college. Being that I am I college student, I am a part of that statistic. I successfully finished high school but what about college? Another article from thinkprogress.org states that the United States finishes last in comparison to other countries with only 46 percent of students finishing college and earning their degree. This leaves a little more that half of American college students without a degree but still buried in debt. With over half of students enrolling in four year programs dropping out before graduation, one could only wonder why. Is it because every two out of three college students graduates with student loan debt making it harder for students to complete their four year degrees? Or maybe because the debt most students accumulate averages
to about 20,000 dollars? Both of these are possibilities that every student attending an institution of higher education must accept from the start. The reality of it all is that college is considered somewhat of a necessity in certain career fields. Specific jobs require certain credentials that are only attainable through a college education. More often than not, when working to earn these credits, students find themselves drowning in an overwhelming amount of stress and more apparently, the cost of tuition. The only thing standing in between young adults in America achieving their dreams is a price tag. As a college student, understanding and sympathizing with the millions of other people in my generation is my motivation for pursuing this topic. I began with the most common question, why? Why is the price of college tuition so high? It all begins with competition. In the 1950s, tuition at the University of Chicago was on average, around 870 dollars. This was considered one of the most expensive schools in the country at the time. Colleges all around the United States shared tuition prices that mimicked that of the University of Chicago. As time progressed and technology blossomed, well accredited institutions were expected to offer more. Competing schools began to make their most wellknown programs more prestigious which in return, caused other universities to do the same. More advanced programs demand better professors with larger salaries and pricey equipment thats efficient and up to date. In addition to these upgrades, the appearance of college campuses became more relevant as well as their location and other things aside from academics such as athletics and extracurricular programs. An article from alternet.org suggests that Universities competed for prominent faculty by offering larger salaries. They expanded and modernized their laboratory space to attract prestigious government grants. Although most schools chose to raise the cost of tuition to keep up with competitors, some universities chose to try and help students through different types of financial assistance. The article continues by saying, Some schools, to
their credit, responded to the growing demand for fairness by offering more scholarships to disadvantaged students. All of these factors played a role in increasing the cost of tuition. But are all these things really necessary to the value of an adequate college education? Does the price these luxuries make going to college worth your while? Unfortunately, the long term effects of student loan debt dont wither off into the sunset to make way for an easier life. Piles of college debt follow the young adults who commit to these loans at the ripe age of eighteen. Even Senator Elizabeth Warren recognized the long term effect that student loans have on the lives of many young Americans in an interview she did with CNN. She stated "Millions of young people... can't buy homes, they can't buy cars ... all because they are struggling under the weight of student loan debt." The burden of debt is overwhelmingly heavier than the sense of reality carried by the high school graduates who commit to thousands of dollars worth of school loans. I am a teenager. Just under a year ago, I still lived with my mother and had a respectable curfew. Within a matter of months, everything I knew changed. I was living on my own having to learn things about life. Things that werent a part of my high school curriculum. Within the time I transitioned from a high school student to a college freshman. I had to learn about debt. Prior to applying for college, I knew what debt was but I had never had to truly consider the effects that the loans I signed for could have on my life directly. The only thing I knew for sure was that I had to go to college and I needed a way to pay for it. Like other eager young college freshman my age, the reality of the loans Ive committed to paying hadnt settled. Even know as Im approaching the end of my first year as a college student, Im just beginning to realize what Ive signed up for. In a survey conducted by Northeastern University, researchers took the time to interview students who are a part of what they refer to us as Generation Z. In this survey, they found that nearly two thirds of the participants admitted to being concerned about finding
employment after college graduation while 60 percent of them said they worried about being financially stable as adults. A common pattern shown in the responses from people a part of Generation Z was in response to what we see happening now economically in our country. After facilitating this survey, researchers found that many people in my generation take the time to think more carefully about all their possible options in an effort to avoid the same mistakes that our parents and the generations before us made. Although while in our first years of freedom its no secret that we can be unpredictable and sometimes irresponsible, the majority of our generation is legitimately concerned with our future and what we can do about it now. As my research came to a close over the past few weeks while attempting to conjure up a relevant inquiry analysis, I realized that the last part of my project had to do a lot with selfunderstanding. After graduating high school, most teens dont know what they want to do. Most of us just have a bunch of scattered dreams that we dont understand how to work towards. College is a place most of us are told to go by esteemed teachers and trusted family members. Being that we trust their judgment, were quick to adhere to their suggestions. What they dont tell us before we sign our names on the loans and apply for financial aid is that college is a choice. It is not the only way. Dont get me wrong, expanding your education and furthering your knowledge in any subject is something we should all strive for however, there are many ways to go about it. Each career path requires a different set of skills that you can obtain through some other form of learning if college isnt the place for you. After grasping that understanding, young adults may give life after high school more of a serious thought and take into consideration the great responsibility that college truly is. To conclude my research, the main question I asked myself was where does all this madness begin? The answer is us. Too often we dive head first into things that we dont know
much about. The more we know, the better we can be. My generations outlook on collecting college debt is somewhat different that than the generation prior to us. An article from insidehired.com suggests that my people in my generation suffer from financial anxiety. Financial anxiety is just what the title suggest. A form of anxiety caused by stress due to potential or current situations concerning money. My generation has survived many things including a recession giving us firsthand experience as to what its like to struggle financially as a country and even more importantly, as an individual. That same article states The great recession was a formative experience for this generation, they saw their parents or their friends' parents suffering real setbacks. These lessons our parents have unintentionally taught us have helped influence our outlook on the future. The dreams and goals each of us have shouldnt be unattainable. We should be able to accomplish the things in life that we work hard to earn. Especially if theyre beneficial. Although college is considered an alternative form of secondary education, the people who work hard to make it there shouldnt be overwhelmed by debt by the time they earn their degree. College can play such a strong role in the future careers of the students who take advantage of the opportunities that come along with it. Regardless of that simple fact, the price of tuition plays a very dominant factor in the future of young adults in America who do want to pursue a career that requires certain skills only taught at four year accredited institutions. Earning a higher education should not have to come at a price. Its a freedom that we should all have and be able to take advantage of.
Works Cited "College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2013 High School Graduates." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. L., Megan. "Facts about the Cost of College Tuition" TakeLessons 13 May 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. New, Jake. "Study: Teenagers Want to Go to College, but Are 'particularly Averse' to Student Debt Study: Teenagers Want to Go to College, but Are 'particularly Averse' to Student Debt 8 Nov. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015 Waldron, Travis. "Study: Nearly Half of Americas College Students Drop out before Receiving a Degree." ThinkProgress. Center for American Progress Action Fund, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. Zimmerman, Bill. "How Did College Education Become So Ridiculously Expensive?" Alternet., 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
