Argumentative Essay: The Rising Cost Of College

Rising college tuition costs is an issue that hits close to home for many of us. Being a student, will always coincide with money struggles. During ones college search, numbers are all we are told to focus on. These numbers include ACT scores, GPAs, AP tests scores, and the biggest number of all, the cost of college itself. The rising cost of college has three main effects; debt through student loans, less people attending college, and an increasing number of college graduates moving back home. Raising tuition year after year will cause a drop in applicants and affect current students’ retention rates. That is because tuition is already at an all-time high, making it harder for underfunded students to even think about entering higher education.

College is one of the most important and life changing times in the life of an American. Leaving high school behind and venturing out to the adult world is an amazing experience that every individual should experience. However, young adults from every corner of the country leave college with crippling debt or do not go to their preferred college of choice. College education should be cheaper as it will help families and students financially and give them the satisfaction with having the opportunity to go to their first choice for college.

Reducing College Tuition College can either be a rude awakening for some students or it can be an opportunity for higher learning, but the goal is the same: to obtain a higher education and become successful. The purpose of college is to open people’s minds to new thoughts and ideas. Higher education offers knowledge and wisdom, but most of all, it offers experience, which is what people look for and desire when they think about attending college. Unfortunately, there is just one barrier keeping people from obtaining higher education, and that barrier is the price tag of college tuition.

Attending college is an important life choice everyone should make. Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, the authors of Should Everyone Go to College?, explore that “…the median earnings of about $30,000 for 25-34-year old high school graduates working full-time in 2010, this implies that a year in college increases earnings by $3,000, and four years increases them by $12,000” (They Say/I Say pg.209/para. 3). In the Owen and Sawhill article they provide information on the difference in a person’s salary with a high school diploma compared to a person’s salary with a one year certificate and a bachelor’s degree. Owen and Sawhill continues on to state that, “there are many non-monetary benefits of schooling that are harder to measure but no less important” (They Say/I Say pg.210/para.3). The authors used information gathered from research reports that they conducted to determine salary and/or wage earnings for an individual who attends one year of college versus four years of college.

College tuition The cost of going to college is getting ridiculous. If a student were to apply to an out of state public college in 1997 they would be paying on average $8,840; now at the same out of state public school they would be paying around $26,010. Are we expecting people who have little money to stop their education even if they want to keep going or be in a huge amount of debt? If colleges were tuition free or had minimized costs the economy would be better or could improve and so would the lives of millions of people.

Is The Cost of University to Excessive? College and universities are the final steps in someone’s educational journey. To go away to college is the dream, the American dream. College is where students find their future, to work for a degree, and to find out what they want to be, but at what cost?

The first thing that they might bring up is that college education makes more money which in return can pay off your student loans as said, “While the income for those with a bachelor 's degree was $65,482, and $92,525 for those with advanced degrees. [110] The median income for families headed by a bachelor 's degree holder was $100,096 in 2011.” (college-education) The next point they might bring up is that more and more jobs are requiring people to have some sort of college degree as said here, “According to a June 2016 study, 99% of job growth (or 11.5 million of 11.6 million jobs) between 2010 and 2016 went to workers with associate 's degrees, bachelor 's degrees or graduate degrees. [104] Based on economy and job projections calculated by Georgetown University, in 2018, approximately 63% of jobs will require some college education or a degree.

Is College Worth the Cost? Life’s success is achieved in different ways. (Director, n.d.) A lot of television programs and magazines instills the idea in us that being successful means; having a fulfilling career, having a lot of money and being powerful. Most religious and spiritual organizations, in contrast, claim that success means being at peace with God and finding spiritual happiness.

The fact that not everyone needs to go to college is the main point that Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill write about in great detail throughout their essay. Even though the authors do say that people that go to college usually earn more, they state that this is on “average,” and that the key focus of their essay is to focus on those that the benefits are not greater than the cost of going to college. (Page 211, Paragraph 1). They also include a graph right under the text that shows how “on average” people with a college degree earn more than those that are just high school graduates. (Page 211, Figure one).

Though, you might not be able to make much more per hour, than say an employee with a high school education. But, college allows you to get the job before the applicant without the degree does. To me, a job is better than no job, and I view college as job

Living where we live, you begin to comprehend that living off of $11.00 per hour including with your family will never suffice your needs. Getting a college degree can ensure the graduate a higher chance of being able to earn more financially. In the article “Why College Isn't And Shouldn't Have to be For Everyone” by Robert Reich, he states that “A degree from a prestigious university can open doors to elite business schools and law schools-and to jobs paying hundreds of thousands, if not millions. ”Even though Reich’s article is on the opposing side of the argument, he fails to overlook the fact that in the long run having a college degree will, and can open doors to many new opportunities. One of those opportunities is to be able get a well paying job that can earn more than the average non college graduate.

The total U.S. student loan debt now surpasses $1.2 trillion and there is more than 40 million recipients owing on federal and private student loans (Malone). Most of the college students in the United States can’t afford their education by themselves and, as a result, students end up drowning in student loans in order to earn a degree. Student debt is a major problem in the US, and it is a major influence on the gap between rich and poor. A more accessible college education would help reduce the gap between rich and poor in the United States.

Long ago, there have been massive arguments about whether or not community college should be free. Nowadays, a college education has become fundamental in today's society. Each year, education is becoming challenging in today's marketplace. Thus, many people, including students question whether community college tuition should be free given. I firmly believe free community college should be provided and financed by the U.S. government. It will encourage learners to concentrate on their studies, and encourage them to work harder in school. In result, a significant increase in student grades will rise. Therefore, the opportunity will create student, specifically low-income student to have more advantages.

For many people, college is an important key for their future. Some people go to college for the job opportunities and the new windows it can open. Others go just for the education and experience. A good education is beneficial from many different viewpoints; in truth, it is a possibility that one's adult life could be much harder than people care to think. One can have better wealth, is less likely to be unemployed, and a much higher chance of being closer to your family.

Society often believes college is a necessary experience for a better future, but I argue that the future will not be any better when student debt becomes a part of life for those who follow that mainstream belief. Most parents often dream of the great colleges and universities that their children will get accepted into; however, they fail to think of the cost to attend those institutions. Financial aids! Financial aids! Yes there are financial aids that students can apply to lessen the student debt. Yet the amounts of financial aid they receive are generally never enough for most students, and they continue to carry the debt for most of their miserable life.