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Kaylee Propst
Mr. Halterman
Government II
8 May 2015
Skyrocketing Prices
In the world today there is so much competition. All around America there are nations
that are swiftly rising to the top in academics and technology. Soon America will be left in a trail
of dust, but what can be done? For the past few decades this country has been facing the issue
with the rise of college costs. In the world today, people strive to be successful. They want to
make a decent living, and go far in life. As studies show, in order to achieve this, it requires
going to college. Aristotle once said, Education is the best provision for lifes journey. Many
students wish to go to college but the problem is the cost. The cost of a college degree today
hinders young students aspirations for a higher education, but research shows that there are
multiple ways to address this problem.
America has already identified the problem. They realized this problem had been around
for decades. Back in the 1940s, college use to be thought as something only the wealthy people
could do. It was a different society and just was not a norm for a lot of people to go to college
especially for women. It was not until after World War II when the GI Bill of Rights was passed.
This made college affordable for some veterans. This sparked a fire that lead to the creation of a
program. In the article, How The Cost Of College Went From Affordable To Sky-High, it
states, It spawned the National Defense Student Loan program, later called the Federal Perkins
Loan program, which did for civilians what the GI Bill had done for veterans and opened
college gates even wider (Sanchez). With this program, the enrollment into colleges began to
rise and soon colleges began to invest out of their own pockets to help with financial aid and

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building new campuses. College around this time soon became affordable for many families and
one sees the action to even have more women and minorities enroll in college, but around 1970
is when the prices began to rise uncontrollably.
Some of the reasons that Sanchez states that caused college costs to rise included
inflation, the unsteady economy, and an oil embargo. According to, Top Issues Facing Higher
Education In 2014, it says that, Much of the cost increase over the past five years can be
attributed to reduced state tax support for public institutions which has forced an offset through
increases in tuition and fees (Ebersole). With the economy that is unstable it leads to college to
do the best they can with what they have. Families are spending money to go to college but they
have to take out loans that end up having interest added on it over the years. Students simply
cannot afford to college anymore. It has become a distant memory for many and for those who
can afford it start to question if it is really worth it. Table 1 shows the cost of tuitions for the past
40 years (Tuition and Fees).

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As the table indicates a private nonprofit four year college costs 42,000 for one year. That will be
a total of 168000, and that does not include the other expenses one may have. Is college really
worth 168,000? In, Do The Benefits Of College Still Outweigh The Costs?, studies show that,
However, an analysis of the economic returns to college since the 1970s demonstrates that the
benefits of both a bachelors degree and an associates degree still tend to outweigh the costs,
with both degrees earning a return of about 15 percent over the past decade (Able). College not
only trains one for the outside work field, but it helps one to develop life skills. Having a college
degree makes a person look more valuable in a sense because they have that extra training and
years of specified learning. They have had professional's help to mold them into what the field is
going to be.
There are many actions that are being done to help with this problem. The first group that
is trying to help is the government. In the article, A House Divided Over Tuition-Control Bill,
it states, Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives appear to be sharply
divided over a bill that would prevent colleges that raise their prices too high from participating
in some federal student-aid programs, but on the other hand it also says, Most, and possibly all,
House Republicans agree that the government should encourage colleges to curb the growth of
their tuition rates. But some Republicans are joining their Democratic colleagues in questioning
whether penalizing colleges by excluding them from student-aid programs is the best response
(Burd). This shows how the government is trying to make and find ways to prevent colleges
from raising tuition prices. The government is a big factor in lower the cost of tuition. Every state
has their own college, and that college is determined by State Tuition and Out of State Tuition.
So having the government enforcing laws such as the Higher Education Act and enforcing
colleges to curb the growth of their cost rates, will help to make a change. The second person

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that is trying to help is the President. Mr. Obama has actually come up with a plan to help with
the lowering cost of colleges. The president can do almost anything, but his plan needs to be
approved by the Supreme Court. As the leader of America, it is important for him to address this
problem because it has to deal with the growth of America for the future generations. An
example of his plan being put in action, is in the article, Obamas Plan Aims to Lower Cost of
College. It states, In his 2012 State of the Union address, he said he was putting colleges on
notice that if tuition did not stop rising faster than inflation, financing from taxpayers would
drop (Lewin). The state colleges are helped funded by taxpayers and by taking out that support
will cause colleges to lose a valuable source of income money. The president is also trying to
sway Congress into his way of thinking. He is also trying to appeal on the side where colleges go
out and experiment. He says that they should try to not use the credit base hours, but use the
knowledge based scale. He has also made proposals in the past about making community college
free. The president feels just as passionate about helping. Honestly, the president being involved
in this situation is going to make a big impact because he is the leader and can actually make
changes. He can help to influence other people to take action.
So what can be done? There are many plans that are being tossed in the air and people
who are striving to fix it. But what is the actual answer? Well first to understand how to solve it,
means understanding the other side of the story. According to the article, Understanding the
Rising Costs of a College Education, it lays out that College costs are very high because of the
need to replace technology, the amount of classes offered, and because the demand is high
(Clark). As the reader can comprehend is that the reasons for high costs reach farther than just
economy and inflation. It is also the Colleges choices to raise prices, but it is not just because of
the money need, but it is to help create a better education field for their learners. There was an

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article that was written that looked at a few answers of why and what can be done to lower
tuition. In, Sticker Shock: What college leaders say about costs, the writer uses evidence from
a college professor on what he believes is the solution to lowering college costs. He states, All
financial aid recipients are meritorious. We should cease to employ the distinction between 'need'
and 'merit.' To do this will bring down our discount rates and also allow us (as my institution has
done) to lower tuition. (Foster). The key is to cutting down on excess financial aid. If one are
able to cut down on financial aid then one will be using that money for other purposes. Colleges
should not be giving financial aid money as a merit but as something that a student really needs.
Another aspect that can be addressed in helping with loan debt. Is furthering tools in preparing
kids for budgeting their money better. Many teens that start off college are wanting to party and
do other things with their money and little do they realize that the numbers start to add up that
could be going to paying off their tuition. The article, The Right Way to Borrow for College,
deals with ways that students can help to borrow money wisely for college. She addresses the
points of taking federal loans first, weigh alternative loans also, and pick a repayment plan. The
author really stresses the importance of picking a retirement plan because she states, Failing to
repay your student loans will haunt you long after youve forgotten the name of your freshman
roommate (Block). The solution that would work nicely is the plan of letting students work off
their debts at the place they are going to work for. For example a doctor is finished with his
graduate program and has over 200,000 dollars to pay back to the bank. He finally finds a
company that wants to hire him. So included in the contract the doctor agrees to work for the
doctor for so many years and in return the company pays off his loans. This will help with both
sides because the company gains a reliable worker, one that cannot just get up and quit. The
other side is that the doctor has a job, and his loans are being paid for. The investment of a

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company in their workers college will help to show that they want the best experienced student
for their positions.
The cost of a college degree today hinders young students aspirations for a higher
education, but research shows that there are multiple ways to address this problem. College is a
great idea and everyone should have the option and access to it. Hopefully people that are in
higher ranks will continue to help kids keep on dreaming to get a higher education. Having the
more people go to college will ensure the success of America. As Tom Hanks once said, While I
was (in college) I was exposed to this world that I didn't know was possible." America is known
for it opportunities and it needs to stay that way. The investment in Americas students will help
America to strive better and even get further out in the globalization field and make an impact on
the world.

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Works Cited
Abel, Jaison R., and Richard Deitz. "Do The Benefits Of College Still Outweigh The Costs?." Current
Issues In Economics & Finance 20.3 (2014): 1-12. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Block, Sandra. "The Right Way To Borrow For College." Kiplinger's Personal Finance 88.11
(2014): 54-59. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Burd, Stephen. "A House Divided Over Tuition-Control Bill." Chronicle Of Higher Education 50.20 (2004):
A27-A28. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Clark, Ken. "Understanding the Rising Costs of a College Education." About Money. About.com, n.d.
Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Ebersole, John. "Top Issues Facing Higher Education In 2014." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 13 Jan. 2014.
Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Foster, Margaret. "Sticker Shock: What College Leaders Say About Costs." American Scholar 82.1
(2013): 120. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Lewin, Tamar. "Obamas Plan Aims to Lower Cost of College." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Sanchez, Claudio. "How The Cost Of College Went From Affordable To Sky-High." NPR. NPR, 18 Mar.
2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
"Tuition and Fees and Room and Board over Time, 1974-75 to 2014-15, Selected Years." - Trends in
Higher Education. The College Board, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

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