Price of College Education

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For the past decade, The United States has stressed the importance of college education, to those seeking employment, and better careers. For most people, college is the logical next step in education, as it provides a working knowledge of a desired field and opens the door to many opportunities, but college has become increasingly more expensive as time goes on. Many people feel that college is no longer an option financially. Even with financial aid and scholarships, the cost of a college education can still be very taxing. This is due to massive price increase across the boards, but the main issue on most people’s minds is the debt that will be acquired from higher education.
The debt associated with higher education is one of the biggest factors of deterrence for most people who are interested in college, and it is not at all surprising. 71 % of college seniors who graduated last year had student loan debt, and the average debt for a college student with a four-year degree is $29,400.This number has gone up an average of 6 % each year. Keep in mind that this is just the average debt, and there are students who are in debt upwards of $30,000 dollars (projectonstudentdebt.org). Now in order to understand why the debt is so high it is best to break down the different costs of higher education. The first and most important of which is tuition.
Tuition is the cost to take classes at a college or university and is the most expensive part of a college education as it makes up 60 % of the overall price tag (Bashkar and Gopalan). Tuition has become increasingly more expensive over the years and has increased by nearly 500% since 1986, which is far more than inflation or tuition (Willie). The question is, why has there been such a mas...

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... Textbook Prices Increasing Faster Than Tuition And Inflation." Http://www.huffingtonpost.com/. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.

Guide to Online Schools. "A Breakdown of College Education Costs." Guide to Online Schools. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .

Kowal, Julie, Joe Ableidinger, and Bryan C. Hassel. "Tenure Reform Options in K–12." By Emily Hassel. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Teacher Tenure Reform. Public Impact. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. .
Center for College Affordability and Productivity. "25 Ways to Reduce the Cost of College." Center for College Affordability and Productivity, Sept. 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. .

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