College Tuition Limiting Later Success

College Tuition Limiting Later Success

        When it comes to college tuition, student-loans grow into an enormous topic of discussion. The goal of attending college is to earn a higher education so that a person is able to find a better job, but this is not the case as of recent. Many students are finding college tuition to be a major problem that may come back to haunt them later in life. The student loan problem seems clear enough: students are suffering from oversized student debt, and they are failing to pay on that debt which threatens their ability to access future credit.

        Some people feel that college tuition and students loans are well worth it because of the known pay-off later in life. Richard Ekman, the president of the Council of Independent Colleges said, “Student debt is not out of control. Taking on some debt to earn a college degree is, on balance, a wise financial decision.” (396). He and others feel that a person makes enough money in a lifetime to pay off their student loans. “First, over a lifetime, a person who has a college degree likely will on average earn $700,000-$1 million more than a high school graduate.” (392). Many people would argue that college has a high reward in terms of salary and wages earned after receiving a degree. But in fact, our country suffers from a recession where parents and students cannot afford college. College is not a guaranteed reward for the amount of money that has to be paid. It is not a wise decision for a person to take expensive loans out with no guarantee, which is considered a risk, similar to opening a business.

        On the other side of the argument, a great number of people including myself feel that college tuition is causing a huge economic problem in our nation today.  “If college costs were rising along with family income, there wouldn't be a problem. But college costs have risen way ahead of income.” (Bernasek). The argument is that college tuition is not affordable for the average American family, causing many other economic problems. “With a typical family earning $51,017 -- the U.S. median income -- college tuition for just one child will absorb almost 40 percent of their income.” (Bernasek). If college tuition is not affordable by the parents of a child, then that child is forced to take out a student-loan, where many other problems occur like debt. Debt is a huge concern because people are not able to spend money on things that help balance the economy.

        College tuition is by far one of the biggest economic problems that our country faces today because it leads to many others issues. “Tuition has been rising faster than the inflation rate for years, even through the Great Recession.” (Lemann 23). If colleges continue to raise the tuition rates then it is forcing more students to invest in to more student-loans. This will only increase student-loan debt as a nation causing a deeper hole to overcome after graduation. When it comes to Ivy league schools, they are the worst in increasing tuition. “That’s because the precieved value of their degrees continues to rise.” (Lemann 24). Ivy league schools such as Harvard are beginning to make their tuition rates based on supply and demand, which brings profit. They understand that they’re offering some of the best college degrees, so they are continuing to increase their tuition limiting people’s success later in life.  “Harvard’s tuition was $1,520 in 1960. Adjusting to inflation that would still be only $11,990 today, but the actual cost is $46,846.” (Quirk). So is college tuition really worth it? Our nation is struggling through tough times, and college tuition rates are no help to getting the country back on track.

        The government itself is sending students into the student-loan market, causing a massive amount of student-loan debt. “State Governments are cutting funding, and thus pushing more students into the loan market.” (Lemann 23). Everyone can see the problem with student-loan debt because it has to be paid back in a certain amount of time. With the government cutting budgets, student-loans have become a lot more common. “More than 80 percent of law students borrow it to attend school.” (Suvor). There are too many students who rely on student-loans because cost of education is too high for them or their family. “Hundreds of thousands of students start college every year, but only three fifths get a degree. (Lemann 23). If only three-fifths of college students are receiving a degree, than how are the student loans going to be paid for. College tuition and the cost of higher education is hurting today’s economy because it is automatic debt for kids who are trying to become more educated.

        After it took nearly twenty three years for federal student loan programs to lend out their first billion, it is now a normal thing to do. “Now the federal government lends substantially more than that each year, and more than $1 trillion in federal loans are outstanding.” (Bergeron). This is a vast problem because each year more than a billion dollars is being loaned out, and students have no choice but to pay that back, even if they don’t land a job after graduating. Some of the debt is just not easy to overcome even if a student graduates and gets a job with respectable pay. “Two-thirds of graduates leave college with student loans, owing on average $26,600.” (Quirk). That amount of debt is some people’s annual salary, and young adults are expected to find the money to pay it off. It is setting people up for failure. Law students too will struggle after they graduate, even with the chance of getting a job with great pay. “And the average law school debt load for a 2005 graduate was $83,181 for a private school, and $54,504 for a public school.” (Suvor). The reality is, if you aren’t rich then you probably will come out with student loans. Law students may make great money when they find a job, but being almost $100,000 in debt is setting someone up for rough times. The cost of higher education is absurd, and unfair seeing how people attend college to gain more knowledge, which in the long run helps the nation out.