Rising Cost Of College Essay

Studies have shown that college graduates on average earn more money in their lifetime than non-college graduates. But college grads who didn’t have scholarships spend years paying off student loan debts. Ronald D. Lankford, an editor and writer for the journal The Rising Cost of College, and Richard Vedder, a writer and economics professor at Ohio University, have written articles on their views of college costs and the reasons they think why it is so steep. Lankford, author of Introduction to the Rising Cost of College, explains why he thinks college costs are so high and how it affects people. Vedder, author of Pell Grants Raise the Cost of College and Cause Education Inequality, cites Pell Grants and financial aid as important factors in the rising cost of college. Although both authors offer strong arguments, I think Vedder presents the stronger argument because he has more credibility, being and economics professor.

When students are looking for colleges to apply to, one consideration might be how much it will cost them to attend that college. This is a very important matter to consider because the cost of going to college is the highest is has ever been. Even though there is some aid to assist students in paying for college, those services are not available to everyone. Some students are awarded scholarships but some of them are only for a few thousand dollars, which means that they still have a considerable amount of debt to pay off. When you take into account the cost of text books, classes, application fees, and room and board, the final bill ends up being overwhelming. The large total at the end of the bill could scare students who cannot afford all of this. Lankford poses the question “Can anyone attend college?” He ...

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...students are so busy with homework, their jobs, and their classes, it is a lot more convenient to go to the stores on campus.

Vedder and Lankford both offer good reasons and evidence to answer the question of why college costs are increasing, but I think that Vedder made the better case. Because Vedder is an economics professor, I think he can better offer opinions on money matters and the specifics of money problems. Vedder went more into detail on the issue of college costs. There is no question that college costs have significantly risen in recent years and it is becoming a problem. Students are using financial aid but it could be turning out to be actually contributing to the problem. If a solution is not devised soon, then colleges will begin to see a dramatic change in their enrollment numbers because students will no longer be able to afford to go to college.