Custodio 1
Brianna Custodio
CWP101
Prof Aramini
5/1/18
Why college tuition should be reduced
College tuition is something that most college student mind. Over the years, the cost of college is becoming increasingly outrageous leaving most of the students in debt for years on end. With that being said most people can’t even afford college, which is something that shouldn’t be common. For those who can’t afford it, should be able to. I think its important that everyone should be able to get a college education at a reasonable price.
With the amount of money college students are paying you would think their education is would be catering to their expectations and be able to find their career job after graduating. In my opinion, colleges are way more interested in students getting into their school then they are in giving a top quality education. Most schools are funding in getting pools, rock climbing walls (Alfred State College), spas and much more. Although most of those things sound fun and wonderful, the main point is that these kids came to study and not play games all day. When most of the students are graduating and not finding jobs with tons of debt, wouldn’t you think that these students should spend their money on receiving a quality education that actually focuses on things that they will face in the real world. So with that being said maybe those high school seniors should consider going to a school that is more technical which focuses on certain skills which can also be a lot cheaper then going to a top university.
Scholarships is one way that can help college students but at the same time it doesn’t necessarily help the individual 100%. Most of the time it focuses on minorities, financial aid students and athletes which not everyone is. One thing about a student getting a scholarship for athletics, the amount of money received is really just to play sports at the school which became ridiculous. The amount of money for scholarships went directly into the school could possibly decrease the price of the tuition all together. It is often apparent that those student athletes that are held at high Pedestal receive more even though they might not have the best grades and receive special treatment in comparison to a student with great grades but isn’t an athlete. In my opinion I don’t think that’s fair at all. It demonizes those with high grades and gives the wrong ideas to those student athletes.
Community college is an option but most of the time is not socially acceptable because all high school seniors want to get away to get that experience and most of the time when do you ever hear a high school senior say they are interested in going to a community college. Which make students look at com. College as less of an option as a university is. Also when applying for a job the university may look like a better look for the person who is applying.
Another thing to point out is that those who have a college degree make around forty-thousand dollars more then people only with high school degrees. In many ways this is important because if we get the chance to lower college tuition and the more that people get their college degrees the stakes are higher when they are looking for jobs to get one. They could also get better jobs which helps them make more money which also leads to less people being at poverty, and poverty itself is already a big issue. If by lowering college tuition, maybe those who have dropped out of high school will actually consider in going back to school because then it will be much more affordable.
For college to be something that most people need in order to get a successful job. With college being something where people from all over go to, out of state students seem to get cost them more then someone from in state would. It cost them somewhere around $26,890 on average. College itself is just way to expensive for the majority of the country and those who are in the middle class. Plenty of people sacrifice all they can so when its time to graduate they wont exactly be drowning in debt.
Approximately $1.3 trillion student debt has been exceeded the credit debt which impacts close to 43 million Americans around the country. Studies have found that in the recent year 43% of roughly 22 million Americans with student loans have been behind payments, so with that they were able to get their payments postponed because of issues trying to pay for it. Another point to think about is how most students who do have jobs that do try to pay these debts off it’s a challenge because they have plenty of school work they should be focusing on. About only 36% people leave college not in debt with student loans, which is quite low.
According to, two thirds of seniors in college that graduated in 2011 had an average of $26,600 debt per student. While unemployment was 8.8% in 2011 which is mind-blowing to the fact that most student who do graduate have a difficult time finding jobs after graduating. So with that being said how can most of these grads even pay back their debts with no job?
Most people who look into things such as a topic like this go to worry about how some institutions seem to try and stay financially stable during the tough economy. Experts agree that the factor of college tuition Is becoming higher since the last two decades. Meanwhile salaries of faculty has risen at many colleges.
Colleges have been allowed to raise tuition for decades now. Unitl now that parents and students and the federal government through loans to students and through grants. The president at the time, Obama acknowledges that the issue of getting college to an affordable price for all those who want to attend college. The white house plans to get the idea of trying to get funds together for school around the united states. With that of course more steps will need to be taken in order to follow through with that idea first. Ways to provide the quality of a college is to start scrutinizing how colleges and universities use their federal money.
The debate for-profit schools legislators were strongly disagreeing with how they spend the majority of federal money. When in reality we actually don’t know what they spend the money on and as usual the response is that its in use for financial aid and research dollars. The president should release some research on what it goes to and show us data.
During college research, many future students tend to look at tuition first which is common. But frequently fees started taking up in the larger share of the bill which was seen at public campuses. “Student fees have traditionally been used to fund specific campus programs such as student unions and recreational facilities,” Kelchen wrote in his study, “but the number and types of fees have increased substantially over the past two decades.” Says the washing post.
This usually includes fees for technology, library and athletics usage. Public colleges use fees when its necessary to raise an overall price because typically they keep the revenue generated.
Kelchn stated that in his study fees are a very popular way to pay for amenities such as for student unions, athletic centers, and recreation centers which in order they want to look good in compare to other universities. In a way this can be called an arms race because the school only in a way has one interest and that’s about getting people to apply and use their money on the school.
Another factor to weather fees will keep increasing in unclear. One thing that kelchon found is that a few of public colleges are using fees to improve on campus buildings which is maybe why it is sometimes slow for construction to be completed at such a fast manor. Higher education as a whole industry heads to lean a period of growth with growth of high schools enrolling in to schools.
With the trend of an increase of college tuition and low income students that will requires colleges to start competing at a reasonable price and so when that start to happens prospective families and students or who ever would like to join college can do so and will more likely be able to see how and what they are charged for and will most likely be able to fully pay the loans or bill when its time to do so.
In a way the government should be able to fix this problem head on. In many cases you see many people who work hard and that are very smart but sadly cant afford it. They, the government should make sure that they the colleges are using their money wisely and correctly. Ways that they cold use their money wisely on is on quality professors. An article from the Huffington post, is that on average, 26.7% of the money that most universities/colleges use is on instruction, which is the highest out of most other categories. Clearly the professors are the one who are responsible in giving the education they the students are supposed to receive.
College is a moment for young adults to be enjoying their time and is also known for being the best time of your life. But when most young adults can’t afford it, is a disadvantage. When students who are not finding a job after finishing school something should immediately change because I myself don’t want to deal with something like that. I strongly believe that by the government at least lowering college tuition, more people who are willing to want to get a degree can do so with no problem and can possibly make a difference in the world.
References
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2017/02/28/how-to-reduce-college-costs/#13641c835530
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-postsecondary/reports/2012/02/02/11082/making-college-more-affordable/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/08/01/colleges-say-they-could-lower-tuition-if-only-they-could-talk-to-each-other-about-it/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c12ebcc79bde
