The Cost of a College Education vs. the Financial Return After Graduation

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In contemporary society, the need to acquire some form of higher education has become almost compulsory to leading a successful life. While this does educate society and allow people to be well equipped for higher-level jobs it comes with definite negative aspects. The largest of which is the cost of attending these institutions. Unfortunately the prices of colleges and universities cause major debt and financial problems for the people attending, in some cases the price alone deters potential innovators. These places of higher education expect to be paid tens of thousands of dollars for tuition from their students but in reality only an extremely small portion can pay this without some form of assistance. This unrealistic expectation of pricing comes not from the necessity for money; instead it arises from interests that are purely for the sake of monetary gain. Essentially these institutions are taking advantage of the fact that their system is needed to achieve a better life and in doing so set the prices at which one can attain this at exuberant amounts. It is the view of Andrew Delbanco that college tuitions are vastly overpriced and that it is merely a system put in place to glorify some institutions over others. It is the belief of many, including Delbanco, that the system is unfair to those of low incomes and tough situations, that there needs to be some form of alternative payment method if the system is going to stay the same way, and that the current financial and post secondary educational system is broken and requires a complete overhaul. One of the largest deterrents of young people pursuing some form of higher education is the absolutely ridiculous price that it costs to attend such an institution. A limiting facto... ... middle of paper ... ...it stands now it seems only to serve the investors and high officials within the university instead of the students it was made to. Very few can afford even fewer can full price. In order for this to change there needs to be a total reconstruction of the system; specifically the one proposed by Delbanco seeing as it promotes both learning and equality. Works Cited DuBois, WEB. "The Souls of Black Folk." Cultural Conversation. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 130-46. Print. "The 50th Anniversary Of The Peace Symbol." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 23 Mar. 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Garvey, Marcus. "Motive of the NAACP Exposed." Cultural Conversation. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 153-54. Print. "Our Mission." NAACP. NAACP, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mother's Garden. Cultural Conversation. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 163-71. Print.

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