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Essay about constructivism
Essay about constructivism
Essay about constructivism
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In today’s society, the cost to attend college to earn a degree continues to increase, which results in an increase of students needing financial aid. A determining factor of how much a student receives is dictated by the Earned Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is mandated by Congress as a part of the required Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that every student must fill out in order to apply to college. Steve Cohen, an Op-Ed Contributor to the New York Times and author of “A Quick Way to Cut College Costs” believes that the EFC is flawed in that it does not accurately depict how much a family can contribute to the cost of a student’s education. Cohen’s solution is for Congress and the President to drastically cut the EFC to realistically reflect on the unequal rising of college tuition and average household income. Cohen is very effective in utilizing his research to appeal to readers. The statistics and figures he utilizes make it easier to understand his point. Steve Cohen shows the disparity between the rising cost of college and a family’s capability to afford it. Cohen explains “Tuition has risen almost 1,200 percent in the last 35 years, and the sticker price for many four-year private colleges and out-of-state public universities exceeds $250,000.” Moreover, he goes on to say that even at public universities, it is about $80,000 for four years for tuition and other college related expenses. Later in his article, Cohen explains how this leaves middle-class families in a very uncomfortable situation. The parents or other money-making entities in the household want their student to go to college and earn a degree, but now there can be an element of stress in figuring out how the fees will be paid for. Furth... ... middle of paper ... ...es have skyrocketed in recent years, putting the pressure on the student to either take out loans and risk going into debt or to not attend college altogether. If the EFC formula was revised or drastically cut, then maybe the average middle class family could cope better with the tuition bills. Works Cited Cohen, Steve. "A Quick Way to Cut College Costs." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. "Expected Family Contribution (EFC)." Expected Family Contribution (EFC). FAFSA.gov, Web. 21 Apr. 2014. Lewin, Tamar. "Higher Education May Soon Be Unaffordable for Most Americans, Report Says." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Dec. 2008. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. Supiano, Beckie. "3 Things to Know About the Expected Family Contribution and College Affordability Comments." The Chronicle of Education. Head Count, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Education comes at a high price for this generation and not just financially. Going to college can give students plenty of debt with no promise of a job in return, which can set a student father back on their course of life. Young adults trying to start their lives by going to college encounter many setbacks. Today the average cost for a private university is $25...
With more Americans falling to the lower middle class, (Curtis) action needs to be taken to ensure that young Americans are not priced out of college because the price of tuition is so high. In addition, many of our top private universities are in danger of being accessible only to those from the most affluent families.
"Parents with incomes below $40,000 were much more likely to say they couldn 't afford college compared to those with higher incomes. The unsettling aspect of this poll is that in all likelihood, these parents ' perceptions mirror reality," says Tamara Draut, author of "Strapped”. She talks about how most middle class families can 't afford to put their children into college. The highest education they can get is a high school diploma, which we all know in this modern world it cant get you a lucrative job to maintain your whole life. Most American don 't get the chance to develop their full capabilities through higher schooling due to lack of resources like funds to enable them see their full potential. People will say that education is meant for people who can afford to go. And already the government has made schooling from pre-k to high school free for all public school, so making community colleges free will cost the state about 60 billion dollars as said by the white house spokesman Eric Schultz . Education must not be limited to only privilege people,it should be universal for anybody willing to educate themselves to make their life better and help grow Americas economy reducing
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition and relevant fees have increased by 893 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). 893 percent is a very daunting percentage considering that it has surpassed the rise in the costs of Medicare, food, and housing. As America is trying to pull out of a recession, many students are looking for higher education so they can attain a gratified job. However, their vision is being stained by the dreadful rise in college costs. College tuition is rising beyond inflation. Such an immense rise in tuition has many serious implications for students; for example, fewer students are attending private colleges, fewer students are staying enrolled in college, and fewer students are working in the fields in which they majored in.
College tuition is something that parents and students are very concern about. Every year universities raise their tuition. Some parents can’t afford for their children to go to college. Every student wants to experience the college lifestyle. Parents want their kids to have the best education but also want it to be affordable.
With tuition rising every year, students face the challenge paying the debt achieving a college degree comes with. “Student debt surpassed credit-card debt in June 2010 for the first time in history, rising to about $830 billion — or nearly 6 percent of the nation 's annual economic output”(Clemmitt, Marcia). Not everyone has a ton of money just laying around. Being that financial trouble is the biggest problem for students, they begin to question whether college is worth it or not. In recent years, students have taken out loans to help with expenses. Most students choose to attend a community and junior college to help minimize the debt. Even after graduating with a degree, students still face the struggle of finding a job in this economic time. For higher class families this may not be a problem to them. But for the middle class and low income families, they face tougher times being that they don 't have the financial help like higher class families do. For the middle class and low income families, it makes more sense attending a community and junior college rather than a four year university.
College is not worth the financial burden, it isn’t worth the average 23,000 dollar debt. Many of us choose to go through with college regardless of price because a rich fulfilling education is the best thing an individual could ever receive, but only one in three individuals believe their college education is worth the money. In Michelle Adam’s “Is College worth it?” she gathered a lot of evidence from a survey by the
Today a college education is available to many more people, with the availability of grants and Stafford (guaranteed student) loans, given they have the desire, some level of intelligence, and often a willingness to go into debt for their education. According to www.house.gov, "Over the last 15 years, the cost of a public 4-year college education has increased by 234%. In comparison, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 74% and family incomes have risen only 82%." They also state that "The price of a college education has increased two to three times the rate of inflation since the early 1980's." The Global Institute, at www.edgorg.com, says that today there exists a "growing difficulty of moderate income families to pay for college" with st...
Increasing college costs has proven to be a major issue for those who pursue higher learning. With institutions raising tuition and fees, students are forced to make life-altering sacrifices to repay soaring student loans. We have come to a pivotal place in history, where individuals have no choice but to minimize or delay important life decision’s such as moving home with their parents to save money, becoming home owners, retirement saving and forfeiting higher education. The impact of increasing college costs has become so severe that it is at the forefront of politicians, political agenda, inducing conversation and policies like the revised income-driven repayment program. The program proposed to help combat the effects of massive student loans.
Having a college degree is more important now than ever before as there are fewer and fewer high paying jobs available to those with just a highs school diploma in America. This may sound like a good thing as it incentivizes more people to obtain at least an associate’s degree, but in recent years we have seen a steady decrease in college enrollment from its peak in 2010. This decline is focused mainly in community colleges where there were over 800,000 fewer enrollments according to government data (cite 6). The number of students that enroll in community college is particularly telling as these campuses cost far less and therefore draw heavily from low-income households. This data shows us that those in the poor of our country are increasingly less likely to get an education that would get them into the middle class or above. The brunt of this downturn can be blamed on the ever increasing price of a college tuition and the perceived lack of social mobility in America. The costs of a college education would be impossible to pay for most Americans without getting into student load debt that averaged $37,000 for the graduating class of 2016 and is only increasing (cite 8). As inequality grows there are more and more Americans for whom these staggering costs keep them from pursuing a degree. Furthermore, research by
There are several small ways that the government could improve their financial aid policies to make them more responsive to the student. I believe that all of the changes I have suggested are feasible. They might take some tinkering, but in the end they would be a change for the better. These changes would make it possible for the FAFSA to more fairly represent the needs of the student. It would never hurt to have the government put more money into education, but even if they do not, they need to do a better job of distributing the aid they give.
Can they afford to send their child off to college? How much is the total cost for their education? These are common questions amongst parents who are thinking about having their child attend college. With many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, college can seem nearly impossible. Families are trying their best to set aside money for their children but are constantly being put into a bad position as the cost of tuition raises each and every year. “No one should be denied the opportunity to get an education and increase their earning potential based solely on their inability to pay for a college education.”(Scott, Bobby) All children should have access to a quality education and not burden a family nor put the student into debt.
Over the years, college tuition has become such a taboo topic in today’s families. The unavoidable question always rises: how does one pay for such an extreme amount? Even worse, who is responsible for paying it? This controversial topic has seized many conversations for students already stressing about college preparation. Typically, students expect their parents to take on the financial burden. In reality, most middle class families cannot afford the average cost of tuition, so students are left to fend for themselves. However, with the help of various resources and money-saving opportunities, students can be responsible for paying their own tuition into college.
Over the past 30 years, the average tuition at a public, four-year college has risen by more than 250 percent, while family income has gone up only 16 percent, according to College Board and U.S. Census data. Meanwhile, states have been cutting back on their higher education budgets, institutions are reducing financial aid packages, and students are going into deeper debt to pay for college, $26,000 on average, according to a White House fact sheet. After several years of increasing college enrollment, the U.S. Census Bureau reported in the fall semester of 2013, that college enrollment nationwide, including undergraduate and graduate schools, declined by nearly half a million students from 2012 (Washington, Salmon, 2014).
While college is a lofty goal for many, escalating tuition costs threaten the enrollment of lower income students. Obtaining a college degree is a major accomplishment, but can be quite hard to achieve. Jennifer Washburn, a fellow at the New America Foundation, confirms, “In 1979 students from the richest 25 percent of American homes were four times as likely to attend college as those from the poorest 25 percent; by 1994 they were ten times as likely” (140). If college costs become too expensive, students will just circumvent college altogether. High school graduates will opt to pursue employment opportunities instead of obtaining a higher education. Consequently, the United States becomes less technologically competitive when higher education is minimized. Therefore, the rise in college tuition is hurting the country just as much as the individual. Moreover, students who fail to acquire a college degree may find themselves with less promising futures because of the growing demand to hire college graduates. For example, the most enthusiastic applicant, who may otherwise meet all the other employment qualifications,