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Victoria Page
Professor Grant
UWRT 1102-003
4/1/2015
Why is College Tuition so Expensive?
The cost to attend an institute of higher education has increased dramatically over the
years. Students are struggling to pay for it and have severe student loan debt, making them
wonder if college is worth it. The cost for higher education is not fair because it limits the
amount of education available to certain people and theres not enough financial aid from the
government to allow everyone to attend college. If the U.S. government does not make any
changes, then the U.S. will not be the first place to come for higher education. The big question
is why U.S. colleges are so expensive and is there any hope in the future for the cost to lower?
The opportunity to receive a higher level of education at a college or university is a
privilege and a chance to gain more knowledge to put towards a successful career. In order to
attend the school, the tuition has to be paid. According to Reynolds, Colleges are raising tuition
and fees every year, at a rate of increase that far outpaces any reasonable expectation. One might
think this is the kind of thing that couldn't continue forever, but that's precisely what has been
happening over the past several decades. Prices have gone up, and buyers have poured in
anyway, buoyed by a flood of seemingly cheap government money in the form of student loans
(Reynolds 22). The government does set aside money to help students pay the outrageous costs
of tuition, but students dont realize they will be trapped paying the money back for many years
even after they graduate from college.

The cost of tuition limits certain people from experiencing the college life and their
chances of becoming successful in the future. In this day in time, most jobs prefer (or even
require) their employees to have at least an associates degree, even if they have been working
the same job since they started. Corbett, a fundraiser for a nonprofit, says a high school diploma
just won't get you very far. And he knows; he doesn't have a college degree. I think about it all
the time, because I realize [how] it has limited me, by not having that piece of paper, he says
(Sanchez). Not everyone can afford to go to college or think the all the money is worth it,
especially in the recent years because the degree opens the door to higher paying jobs, but it may
enough or not enough to pay back student loans. According to Reynolds, Total student loan debt
in America has passed the trillion-dollar mark. That's more than total credit card debt and more
than total auto loan debt. Students graduating with heavy burdens of student loan debt must
choose (if they can) jobs that pay enough money to cover the payments, often limiting their
career choices to an extent they didn't foresee in their undergraduate days (Reynolds 22). Its
not fair to the citizens of the U.S. to not be able to go to school and get an education because
their finances cant cover the thousands of dollars it costs to attend. The government needs to set
aside more funds and pass laws that will lower the cost of higher education, so everyone can take
advantage of it. This would allow the U.S. to be in the top choices of places to get a higher
education, live a better lifestyle, and get higher paying jobs. If the cost of tuition and student
loans were to decrease, most citizens would be able to attain a degree and do their jobs better
with the knowledge and experience they gained.
Being a student is a full job and its difficult to have a part time job while in school
because its so work intensive and doesnt leave much free time. Also, around the 1960s college

wasnt seen as it is seen today (a necessity) and most people stopped going to school after high
school and started working.
Young people in my time had access to an additional advantage students are
unlikely to have today: part-time jobs during the school year and full-time
temporary jobs in the summer. The extra money allowed me to pay for my own
living expenses and graduate without debt and without having burdened my
parents. I was typical. The robust American economy at the time allowed many
students like me to work our way through college. That phrase sounds quite
hollow today since most of those jobs no longer exist. (Zimmerman)
Zimmerman grew up in a time that working and going to school was slightly easier and the
money he made covered all his expenses, like school, and still had money to spend. In recent
years, working and going to school is a challenge and most students will drop out because they
arent making enough income to cover the tuition costs and drop out. With costs exceeding
$60,000 a year for many private schools, and out-of-state costs at many state schools exceeding
$40,000 (and often closing in on $30,000 for in-state students), some people are graduating with
debt loads of $100,000 or more (Reynolds 22). No matter if people attend an in-state or out-ofstate private or public school, the cost is overwhelming for only one year at that institute. People
have living expenses that they also have to pay on top of school, so student loans or not going to
college are usually the two options left, if not enough money is saved up.
Laws have been proposed in the U.S. government to bring to their attention that the costs
are too much for most people and not everyone wants to spend that much money on an
education, especially if they already have years of experience in what theyre going to study.

The law permitting the most generous subsidies lapsed this week. The
government will still offer students loans, but at an interest rate of 6.8%, twice the
previous one. The change does not affect any of the 39 million Americans who
currently owe the government a collective $1 trillion in student debt. Their rates
were fixed at the time of borrowing; the new one applies only to new loans.
Moreover, only about a quarter of the loans to be issued this year will be of the
most generous sort, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. Others
already carry rates as high as 9%. (Degrees of Debt)
The law allows more money to be available to people to borrow to pay for school, but the
interest rate doubled from the previous rate. The students, who already have their student loan
plans set up, are possibly paying up to an interest rate of 9%, which is difficult to pay if there is
no steady income. Just because students graduate with a degree, doesnt mean they are
guaranteed a job during or right out of college. This is why many people contemplate on
investing a lump sum of money into their future because its a risk of whether it will be paid off
in the years to come or be a waste.
In conclusion, the question of whether the costs to attend U.S. colleges will ever decrease
is continuing on today. A degree is demanded more by employers to make sure their employees
have the expertise to do their jobs. The unfair costs limit who get the benefits of going to college
and those who do will more than likely have student loans. The government is considering laws
to pass to set aside more money to help its citizens, but at this rate it wont be enough with the
ever increasing cost of tuition and interest rates on student loans.

Works Cited
"Degrees of Debt; Student Loans." The Economist Jul 06 2013: 29, n/a. ProQuest. Web. 22 Mar.
2015 .
Reynolds, Glenn Harlan. "Where Higher Education Went Wrong." Reason 44.11 (2013): 22.
Points of View Reference Center. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
Sanchez, Claudio. "How The Cost Of College Went From Affordable To Sky-High." NPR. NPR,
18 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.
Zimmerman, Bill. "How Did College Education Become So Ridiculously Expensive?" Alternet.
Alternet, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.