Make College More Affordable

Make College More Affordable

In the past 30 years, college tuition for private institutions has increased by 146 percent, two year colleges rose by 150 percent and state four year universities by 225 percent (trends.collegeboard.org). Because of these drastic increases in tuition, college is becoming more unaffordable for the average American. People are starting to question if college is worth the expense. According to Washingtonmonthly.com, state support for public colleges and universities has fallen about 26 percent within the last 20 years. If the states are spending less money on their own colleges, why should the average American have to spend money on those same colleges? Even though college tuition is raised every year to attract students by improving facilities, to make it more affordable for everyone, tuition should be lowered, an alternative to loans should be implicated, and colleges should recognize that the average 18 year old American cannot afford full tuition.

Because the states have started to cut funding for the state schools, it is argued that it’s not the school's fault for having to raise tuition. As Washintonmonthly.com points out, “as long as colleges can raise tuition, well, why not raise it a little more?” Why not hire more professors, build more buildings, spruce up the campus a little? Making all these improvements will attract more students and the school will be able to become more selective and therefore prestigious. The school will end up benefitting greatly from this, however the bank accounts of the students