Imagine waking up at the break of dawn to go to work from six to eight in the morning, rushing to the 8:15 class at the university nearby that lasts till 10:30. Then going back to work around 10:45 for a four hour long shift at a minimum wage job, only to finish the shift around 2:45 in the afternoon. Exhausted at this point, but none the less traveling from the end of the shift to the rest of the classes from three to seven in order to be considered a full time student. This is a realistic outline of the typical American who needs to have a full time job in order to put themselves through college. This seems mentally and physically exhausting for the student/ employee. Would it not be easier on the student/ employee if they did not have to work as much, so that they could prioritize academics as a main focus? This scenario personalizes the argument for lowering college tuition. While college is a privilege and not a right, and colleges have to …show more content…
pay for the services they provide to students, given that most Americans struggle to pay off amounts of student loans, lowering college tuition would make post-secondary education more affordable and remedy a burden of debt on middle class families. Without changing either the cost of college or the interest rate on student loans, Americans will continue to sink into the blackhole known as debt. Background: The topic of college tuition has been around for decades. Millennials are just now bringing this topic to light as they are having to move back into their parents homes due to intense students loans. An article from TIME Magazine entitled “See Which College Majors Lead Graduates to Their Parents’ Basements” written by Chris Wilson discusses how its not only the about of college debt that puts millennial back in their parents basements, but also the type of university they choose to attend combined with their major. Students who pick schools like liberal arts colleges and humanity majors do not tend to find a well paying job quickly after graduation. Millennials see their parents still paying off student loans and do not want the cycle of debt to continue to repeat by the time millennials have children. Inflation has caused the price of college to increase drastically in the past decade. At this rate, by the time millennials have children their children annual tuition will be around $100,000. Most millennial would not be able to afford those type of rates which is why this increase needs to be stopped. Primary Sources: The primary sources show that the cost of college is much higher than it needs to be and negatively impacts Americans. Hillary Clinton, a 2016 democratic presidential candidate, believes that community colleges should be free but not four year universities. She strives to make certain that no student needs to borrow to pay for college. She also wants those students who have previous student loans to “refinance at current rates" to help lower their costs (Clinton). Hillary has a new visionary idea that ensures cost is not a barrier for Americans to better themselves entitled “The New College Compact” (Clinton). Clinton plans to have Pell Grants which will cover the full cost of living expense for students attending four year universities; students who attend technical colleges will receive free tuition with the Pell Grant. All students will work for ten hours to contribute to furthering their education. Families will make their own personal contribution. States will invest in furthering “higher education funding and reinvesting over time” (Clinton). Clinton goes on to explain there will be a twenty-five billion dollar fund supporting “HBCUs [Historical Black Colleges and Universities], HSIs [Hispanic Serving Institutions], and other MSIs [Minority Serving Institutions]” that will help lower the price of college and increase the amount of students that attend from low income backgrounds (Clinton). Another 2016 presidential candidate, senator of Vermont, Bernie Sanders is an advocate for making all forms of college free for American citizens. He believes any American who desires to pursue an education base higher than high school deserves a chance. By making college free, every American would be granted the opportunity to better themselves. There is a six step plan he would use to improve the economic state of Americans attending college. The first step is to “[m]ake tuition free at public colleges and universities” (Sanders). Bernie goes on to show how Germany, Finland, Norway and Sweden have all made college free in their countries and America can as well. Senator Sanders wants to cut the interest rates on student loan to half of where they are now. He plans to help Americans refinance their student loans to today’s lower interest rates. He makes a comparison of auto loan interest rates being at two and a half percent while educational interest rates are between five and seven percent. Fifthly, he strives to “[a]llow students to use need-based financial aid and work study programs to make college debt free” (Sanders). This way low income students could use state, college, and federal financial aid to cover all their educational needs. Finally, the program would be paid for “by imposing a tax on Wall Street speculators” (Sanders). This means that the seventy- five billion dollar plan would be paid for by a tax that speculators should pay for, because they nearly demolished the American economy seven years ago, therefore needing to do this for the public in return. An article from The Washington Post entitled “The Tuition is Too Damn High…Reasons Tuition is Rising” written by Dylan Matthews discusses the reason of high college costs.
He opens with the two main reasons the price of college increases. Firstly, colleges spend more money then necessary by over-paying faculty, building elaborate sports arenas, and more scientific research projects. The second reason is that college increase their tuition, because of spending habits. An example of spending being shown, when the government is pulling out of funding that the public universities are depending on, the public universities then end up charging the students.
An article from The New York Times entitled “Is College Tuition Too Low?” written by David Leonhardt discusses efficient ways to cut wasteful “spending on higher education and redirect this money to lead to more” productivity (Leonhardt). This source helps highlight that the cost of college is far too high for the average American through factual evidence.
Secondary
Sources: The secondary sources examine the cost of attending a public form of higher education. The Planning For Higher Education text discusses the financial perks of attending a public university or college. This research document emphasizes the true financial cost of a public university and all the components that make up the programs (McPherson). A Social Forces article entitled "Debt And Graduation From American Universities,” discusses the increasing amounts of debt college students go into every year, and shows how the higher the debt the less likely a student is to complete their degree. This paper discusses the larger scale changes that can impact each individual student. This research article suggests what changes can be made to funding colleges and subsidizing student loans to help students stay in college and overcome their student debt (Dwyer). Reason 1: One of the most important justifications for providing lower college costs is because the interest on student loans are at an all time high. Bernie Sanders argues that the interest rate has almost doubled since 2006. Sanders came up with a plan to help lower the interest rate back down to “two point thirty-seven percent from four point twenty-nine percent” (Sanders). He argues that this should be do able, because banks are only charging “two and a half percent interest rate” for motor vehicles (Sanders). Bernie shows how in the next decade the government will profit “over $100 billion on student loan programs” and how this is simply ethically flawed (Sanders). A solution for this is to lower student loans by allowing “Americans to refinance their student loans with today’s low interest rates” (Sanders). Hillary Clinton also wants to lower interest rates on student loans through her New College Compact by “providing grants to states that commit to the goals, and by cutting interest rates on loans” (Clinton). Both of these presidential candidates believe lowering the interest rates on student loans will help provide a lower cost for college. In addition to sky-high interest rates, proponents of increasing interest rates argue that interest rates should remain as is or even increased because it benefits banks who, by lending their money, feel entitled to some sort of profit. However, due to a large interest rate on student loans, the bank should be willing to compromise and lower their interest rates. Although the bank will lose a profit, it will help American students. Reason 2: As the anecdote at the beginning of this paper indicates, it is impossible to survive financially with a full-time minimum wage job and a full student schedule. A large portion of college students have to have full time jobs in order to pay off student loans for their tuition needs. Therefore scholarships need to be given to help these students attempting to make all ends meet while keeping their grades up. People that say tuition needs to exist tend to use the argument that colleges need funding to operate successfully. The dilemma is finding a financial balance that student and college officials can agree on. Colleges and Universities spend a majority of their money on paying faculty, building elaborate sports arenas, and research projects. They need an increasing amount of funding because of currently spending habits, for example when the government is pulling out of funding that the public universities are depending on; the public universities then end up charging the students (Matthews). Reason 3: A key reason why the federal government should subsidize college tuition or provide financial aid is that without this help college would be restricted to elite members of society. Students that come from a lower income background would not be able to afford higher education with out financial aid or other forms of scholarship. Hillary Clinton agrees that there should be more use of the Pell Grants as only about eight percent of the undergraduate students use the scholarship (Leonhardt). There is a larger population of students that could benefit from grants like the Pell Grant to help take the stress off of financial responsibility. Reason 4: By far the most compelling reason for a government-lead effort to lower college costs is to ensure a well educated citizenry which is essential to a strong democracy. Offering more people a chance to attend college will better the overall social conscience of society for future generations to progress and be successful. In addition, a more educated workforce will lead to a better future and a thriving economy. An article from The Huffington Post entitled “Why All Public Higher Education Should Be Free” written by Bob Samuels, discusses how America needs more then just a well educated work force, but also well educated citizens. Samuels found that the higher the educational degree the higher the level of heath and happiness. There was a study done that highlighted the number of societies that had a “high rate of degree attainment” also possessed less crime and social welfare (Samuels). Conclusion: Even though college is a privilege and not a right, and colleges have to pay for the services they provide to students, most Americans struggle to pay off debt like student loans. By lowering college tuition post-secondary education would become more affordable and remedy a burden of debt on middle class families. Without changing either the cost of college or the interest rate on student loans, Americans will continue to sink into the blackhole known as debt, which is why there needs to be a change made. Those concerned about this issue should vote for candidates who have clearly addresses the topic of tuition and vote for them in the election to see a change in society.
As McArdle points out, the cost for a college education has gone up over the years, leaving students in debt. I agree with this statement, because a college education was more affordable years ago and now it has doubled it’s cost. According to the article, McArdle states “The average price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college
Lankford, Ronald D. "Chapters 2 and 3." The Rising Cost of College. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. N. pag. Print.
Students are in colleges because they are told to, or because they still want to be financially depend on their parents and not have to worry about growing up to face the real world. The author in her article writes such ideas. Furthermore, since colleges became a big industry in the 60’s, and now the number of people attending has fallen, colleges use marketing skills to bring more students in. They try to make college sound as easy as possible to make more people register. Students, once in college are not happy and drop out,...
The argument about whether college is worth it or not has been one of the biggest arguments throughout the media for decades. Students suffer a lot from the debts that they get from college and also the amount of studying that they do in college and when they graduate they ask themselves “is graduation from college really worth all the money that we paid and all the work that we have done?”. Leonhardt and Matthews are two journalists who talk about whether college is really worth it or not, and they both have different perspectives. David Leonhardt thinks that college is absolutely worth all the money you pay and the work you do, stating that “Americans with fouryear college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.
Throughout the years, America has always debated whether education is needed- if it helps people succeed or not. The argument in the past was always over high school education, which is now mandatory. That decision has helped the US rise economically and industrially. Today, the US is in the middle of the same debate- this time, over college. Some, like David Leonhardt, a columnist for the business section of The New York Times, think a college education creates success in any job. Others, such as Christopher Beha, an author and assistant editor of Harper’s Magazine, believe that some college “education” (like that of for-profit schools) is a waste of time, and can even be harmful to students. Each stance on this argument has truth to it, and there is no simple answer to this rising issue in an ever changing nation full of unique people. Any final decision would affect the United States in all factions- especially economically and socially. However, despite the many arguments against college, there is overwhelming proof that college is good for all students, academically or not.
College is one of the most fundamental institutions in our modern world. It is a place where most of our future politicians, doctors, scientists, and leaders are made. Though, it seems that the price tag that comes with a college education is something that is too hefty for some students. Countless debates go on about whether the price of college should be abolished or whether the cost still is on the students to pay for.
Allan and Davis mention the spike of college cost since 1995 has increased by 150 percent; student debt has increased 300 percent since 2003, and with education, second to the mortgage industry in the nation’s debt, America needs to redirect their attention to the future and focus on education (Allan n. pg). Budget cuts from national to state
Students then wouldn’t have to stress about working at the same time just to pay tuition fees. Students today over work, using the rest of their money to get energy drinks, keep going from doing homework and attending college courses daily. According to the New York Times article “College for the Masses”, studies have claimed, “Enrolling more students in community colleges may well make economic sense. So, in all likelihood, would create more and better vocational training, for well-paid jobs like medical technician and electrician, which don’t require a bachelor’s degree.”
How does the rising cost of college tuition affect us? Every year thousands of students attend a college or university, usually of their choice, with the goal of achieving a higher education and to better their future. The cost of attending college is too high and it needs to go down; there needs to be more scholarship and grant opportunities. The high cost of attending college is a major reason that students aren’t able to achieve higher education; others take this as a challenge and it is motivation for them to work harder to achieve their goal. One might ask why would someone want to spend money to receive more education and miss out on more years of work that they could’ve performed? For many, it is so they can receive more salary for the jobs that they will have later in life, also so that they can get training for their wanted career. The cost of attending college is high and continues to rise without indications of decreasing. The rising cost has many benefits such as earning more pay, but it also has its disadvantages such as the debt that is accumulated from student loans. Not everyone can afford to drop down thousands of dollars and attend school for a few more years. Students who wish to receive a post-secondary education must decide whether it is the right choice for them depending on their financial standpoint, meaning that they must decide if they have the resources to further their education.
Attending college has changed quite a lot throughout the years. When it first arose, it was only accessible to the wealthy, and it was unheard of for everyone else. Only a few decades ago a bachelor degree could almost guarantee a comfortable job, and it was another advantage to any resume. In our current times, many students struggle and are unable to go to college due to the rising price tag that is not showing any signs of slowing down. A college degree is what most employers look for now-a-days, making it more essential than ever before. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attain one. College tuition and fees should be lowered because 1) student loan debt is crippling for college graduates, 2) lower tuition will increase the accessibility of education, and 3) regulated tuition would lead to a
First of all, many high school graduates cannot handle college. Isabel V. Sawhill and Stephanie Owen describe college as a place, “one can obtain a traditional four-year bachelor’s degree”. The work load outside of the classroom could be compared to working a full time job. For example, if a student is enrolled in four college courses and is in class a minimum of four hours the student should spend at least four to six hours of studying. This may be extremely agitating and stressful to a student that is not good at studying. The new college student may realize that the schoolwork is too much for him to handle and instead drop out. In Pharinet’s blog post, Is College for Everyone? He states that “…it is estimated that in the U.S., approximately 50% of students who begin college never graduate. There exist students who are not yet ready for the academic and financial challenges of college. There exist students who do not have the desire for college or learning.” This statement is important because if 50% of students that begin college never gradua...
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 is unaffordable for so many people, teenagers and adults alike. Nowadays so many people choose not to go to college because it costs too much, yet it is getting harder to find a career job that does not require a college degree. It is nigh on impossible. Then, once one obtains a degree, it is still difficult. College websites brag about 50% of people finding a job in their certified field as if this is good, but it should be higher. I believe if college was more affordable, more people would be able to pursue their desired degrees without swimming in debt and not being able to find a job after college. This would help people receive a higher education that people would circulate into more diverse jobs instead of those that do decide on going to college being funneled into one program, for instance the nursing program. This is why it should be government policy to apply for cheaper college education for those who do two years of public service prior to attending college for participating volunteer programs.
With the rapid growth of college tuition, it has become an important issue in higher education. College Tuition is simply defined as the charge or fee for instruction, at a private school or a college or a university. Most people agree today that college tuition is too high or that it needs to be completely dismissed. There are some however, that may disagree with the claim about college tuition and state that college tuition is necessary for college growth, and it’s primary purpose is to pay for college expenses to support the institution financially. Research shows that college tuition is too high and that debt has become a standard in America after attending post-secondary school.
A raise of tuition fee does not necessarily guarantee an increase in revenue. Price is by far the most important determinant of demand. Other factors affecting demand are referred to as conditions of demand. Price changes result to a change in quantity demanded. An increase in tuition fee is likely to result to a decrease in demand for university education more so among potential students who are yet to enroll. The resulting outcome will be a decrease in revenue since the number of students enrolling for university education in the institution will reduce. There exists an inverse relationship between tuition fee (price) and the quantity of students enrolling for university education (quantity). It follows that since revenue is a product