The tuition for college has quadrupled and was much cheaper for older generations. American taxpayers are charging students for the payments of amenities like dorms, student centers, and athletic facilities. They charge three times the amount any other country would for amenities. A lot of the money people pay for college is to pay the staff and faculty, even though they don’t get paid much. The Quad says, “Professor salaries have barely budged since 1970”. There has also been a decreasing interest from state and federal governments to invest public funding into universities. These governments have been influenced by reasoning like the rise in healthcare costs.
College tuition is important to think about but so is student debt. The cost of college with the addition of costs needed to repay loans becomes way too much. Debt.com says, “Student loan debt has soared from $260 billion in 2004 to $1.4 trillion in 2017; average debt jumped from $18,650 to $38,000 over that same period ”. That is a lot of money for students to pay when they are just coming out of college. The thousands of dollars added to what students need to pay doesn’t add interest as a reason to go to college. College is a lot of money, not just counting tuition but all the other factors that add to the total cost.
It’s practically impossible for everyone to receive free tuition and get a good education at the same time. Free tuition would be amazing but there are reasons behind the costs of college. Even if one does receive free tuition, they still have housing and food expenses. Some families still don’t have enough money to pay off these expenses. The Truth Out says, “The more that college campuses begin discussing college affordability, the better the chance for more sustainable solutions to come to fruition”. By talking to the students about the financial issues they have, colleges can come up with better offers to pay for college.
Image: College Student Debt at OWS 10/9/2011 by hardtopeel on 2011-10-09 16:37:53
