Effects Of College Tuition

That number has climbed 26% since 2004. The average student loan debt in the country is $26,600. That is a lot of money, that could be used in many better ways by the young minds of the U.S. Not only that but when leaving college it is becoming harder to find a job. College graduates under 25 years old have a 9% unemployment rate. There are nearly 2 million college graduates that do not have jobs right now.

Pros and Cons of Attending College Tyree Thomas Zane State College In 2013, 19.9 million students were enrolled in colleges and universities (college, 2014). Also in 2013, the unemployment rate for college graduates over 25 was 3.6 percent (college, 2014). Those are both great examples of a pro and a con of attending college. Although, attending college has many pros and cons. Most college graduates make more money, but student loan debt is crippling them.

For those students who do decide to attend college, they are forced to take out loans provided by either the government or their university, which has a large interest rates. In a recent study done by Project on Student Debt, it was reported that in the graduating class of 2015 from public and for nonprofit schools, about 68% had student debt, averaging around $30,100. This is a 4% increase from the 2014 class. As of 2016, the debt in America just from student loans is almost at $1.3 trillion, the second highest debt, first being the housing debt. These two debts will continue to increase, as college graduates are pushing off buying their first home, mostly because they cannot afford it.

With many people seeking out higher education, there is a large demand for more affordable schooling. Many students seeking a college education cannot afford to pay out of pocket, so they turn to private student loans to help cover the cost of tuition. Now because of this per The Economist:” the total student debt in the United States has now exceeded 1.2 trillion dollars”. President Barack Obama stated as follows, “Over the past three decades, the average tuition at a public four-year college has more than tripled, while a typical family’s income has barely budged.” Solutions have been proposed stating why education should be made more affordable and in some cases, free. Although the bulk of these options have some basic flaws, they are the

Average tuition, fees and room and board in 1964-65 was $13,233 a year; in 2010-2011, it was $31,395, an 137.2 percent increase (Mathews, 2013).” This 101.7 just goes to show you that tuition is way too high and has been substantially increasing over the past fifty decades, but for what reason? Not only is the tuition increase making it harder to pay for school, its also influencing students on their future careers. "To repay their debts, students are anticipating the need for immediate and lucrative employment after college so they choose both “practical” and “well-playing” fields of study, resulting in the decline of majors such as philosophy, history, and English literature." By the increasing prices its making the students choose more ordinary jobs that they know they will land in order to pay off their debt. There are three main reason for the tuition increase, the first being that at public colleges and universities, the story is mostly that states have cut higher education funding, and schools are making up for it with increased tuition.

The cost of tuition for higher education is quickly rising. Over half of college freshmen show some concern with how to pay for college. This is the highest this number has been since 1971 (Marill and O’Leary 64-66, 93). The amount of college graduate debt has been rapidly increasing also. With limited jobs available because of the high unemployment rate, college graduates find themselves staying in debt even longer.

Studies show that student aid debt has been growing steadily from 1996 to 2009. A 2010 survey, forty five percent American families hold student loan debt. College tuition and fees are growing at a constant rate. The cost of college requires students to take out loans to pay fees. However, what they have to pay back is often more than the degree is worth in terms of income.

." 2). Obtaining a college degree gives an advantage to graduates seeking a job. Although adults with a college degree have a higher salary than those who do not, student debt is hurting college graduates. ProCon says, "between 2003 and 2012 the number of 25-year-olds with student debt increased from 25% to 43%, and their average loan balance was $20,326 in 2012-a 91% increase since 2003" ("Is a College.

Between 2000 and 2015, tuition at U.S. public colleges increased by 80 percent every year (McCarthy). At Northern New Mexico College, tuition increase by 359 percent between 2000 and 2015. This situation is also being experienced in other colleges of the country and creating panic among students (see Figure 1). While being useful and helping many get a college education, the burden the debt of student loans brings seem to discourage many and push them away. However, despite everything, spending on a college education remain an investment that some hope will result in better and higher paying jobs.

More and more things get added to the list of things a person must pay for in college. Books alone that a student must have are very expensive. “The National Association of College Stores (NACS) says the average college student will spend $655 on textbooks each year, but with a single textbook easily costing s much as $300” (Kingkade). Three hundred dollars for one textbook is what a person with a high school diploma may make in one week. The more text books a person needs the more money they will have to spend.