Hmongs in America

Kyle Urbaniak

Social Problems

809-202-0008

College Tuition Keeps The Poor, Poor

From the time the college system was set up, it was focused on having students in the best atmosphere possible while they succeed through learning. Colleges were once a thing that only the most studious and wealthy attended. There hasn't been a time in history when all the poor were attending universities in huge numbers. College is allowing people to focus on certain jobs and master them. Tuition is a price that many people are willing to pay to become who they are and to have a well paying job. In the United States most people think that if a person works hard enough they will have equal opportunity with the rest to succeed. The way the college system is set up is not allowing this. Tuition is still ever rising and it is forcing more and more low and middle class families to not send their children to college (Schumer, 2004).

Over the last twenty years college tuition has gone up 224% while inflation was only 84%. Colleges are faced with economic pressure to spend heavily on new technology and facilities to remain competitive (Silverstein, 2004). A figure like 120,000 dollars is becoming a norm at schools around the nation (Schumer, 2004). In 1995 the average public college student paid about 2,800 dollars for tuition and fees. In 2004 the average had gone up to around 5,100 dollars. Private colleges charged around 12,200 dollars in 1995, by 2004 the price was more around 20,100 dollars. In 2003 the cost went up 13 % from 2002, which was one of the highest price raises in a while. Such price changes can result in lower income students not finishing because they don't want to get in such a debt. They fear they will never be able to pay it back.(Silverstein, 2004). State budget costs have forced public colleges to pass on more of the costs to students in recent years (Pope, 2004).

Throughout the United States there are organizations and groups that are doing all they can to try and get everyone an equal chance at learning. Students are the people that are affected the most and are a good number of the people trying to make things better. Groups like the American council on education, college parents of America, and student run organizations help to try and not let the college get too out of hand with tuition costs (Pope, 2004). On the other end of the spectrum, some people believe that investing in college is just good economics. On average a person with a four-year degree will earn around 2.1 million dollars in their lifetime. A person who has only earned their high school diploma will make around 1.2 million dollars. Not only will you make more over time, but they believe that the transformational experience is worth the time and money. Four years of college will give you critical social and life skills. It builds confidence, drive, and determination while forming a network of friends and supporters that will last a lifetime (Kryzanek, 2004). These people insist that federal student aid has rose 10 percent above inflation last year and getting loans through banks and private sources are helping students pay for college. 16% of all education loans were from these sources (Pope). According to the College Board, going back 27 years, tuition rises exceeding 10% in one year have only happened seven other times (Silverstein, 2004). Most students do not pay the full price; with student aid tuition alone averages around 1,800 dollars a year, which is far less than the full price (Pope, 2004). The other side to the argument feels that tuition costs create a barrier between economic classes in our society. College tuition has gone up 224% in the last twenty years while inflation has only gone up 84% which has kept the price of college so high that many people feel they cannot afford it. Poorer families are being forced to not take family vacations and make hard decisions on how many or whether or not their children will be able to go to college (Schumer, 2004). State budget cuts have forced public colleges to pass on more of their costs to students recently. These groups argue that even though the average debt of 20,000 dollars is not a ridiculous amount because graduates will have more earning power, poorer students do not benefit as much form tax breaks that wealthier students can take advantage of (Pope, 2004). Colleges are giving out less and less grants to students based on their financial needs, which causes a big problem for the lower income students. By making the cost of college so high that lower class citizens cannot

afford it doesn't give them equal opportunity. Costs vary widely but some top-notch colleges cost up to 40,000 a year for students (Silverstein, 2004).

Although a few different suggestions have been made on what to do about ever-rising tuition costs not much has changed in the past few years. One of these ideas is that students would be given an option to lock in tuition rates at state run universities. This fixed tuition would allow student to pay the same thing each year for four years of schooling. Although the tuition would most likely be higher during the first year, it would give parents stability and might reducing the number of students dropping out because they couldn't afford it. Sudden price increases can be devastating to a low-income family that is trying to have a child go through college. The thing that really made this suggestion get almost looked over is that it would be hard to predict a fair price for four years of fixed tuition. One of the main reason this would be hard is because state funding happens every two years and you never know what expenses might happen. The universities would then set the prices slightly high to make sure that they have a little bit of leeway so it might cost more to do it this way. If the university does underestimate the cost for four years, students who have chosen the traditional method would suffer by paying more (Wrenn, 2005). A different approach was one that was proposed by Tony Blair for the United States. He states that 80% of college student go to the public colleges and middle and lower class student are having a hard time, even with student aid, paying for all the costs of a college education. The poor are by far the least likely to get a four year degree. Fewer than 5% of al students from low-income families ever get a bachelors degree, which is a number that hasn't moved in 30 years. He proposes that students don't pay any tuition until they graduate and get a job. Once they have a job they will pay for their education according to how much they are earning. Loans that are pending on how much the student is going to make, unlinking college admission from family income. The facts right now seem