A Solution to Help Make College More Affordable

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...

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...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.