Niko Thanopoulos

College Composition

Keeley/Rhoney

09 February 2023

The Price You Pay

The average cost of college in the United States is $35,551 per year. What if you cannot

afford such a costly investment? As acceptance letters start coming in, students have the difficult

task of narrowing down the list of schools. What begins as excitement quickly turns into anxiety

since they not only need to figure out which school is the best fit for them, which has the best

reputation for their major, what size school they feel most comfortable in, whether or not they

like the campus vibe, what extracurricular activities the school has to offer but most importantly,

how much will this education cost? The biggest complaint nowadays seems to be about the high

sticker price for each school. Colleges all send out these amazing brochures advertising the perks

of going to their institution, highlighting statistics about success rates, rankings, and random

facts about the school that makes it seem irresistible and worth every penny. It seems like every

school sounds like the best place to be, even the ones no one has ever heard of.

When taking a deeper dive and starting to calculate the numbers, many students and their

families are finding it very difficult to afford higher education. This sways lots of decisions on

whether or not they should attend a two or four-year institution, a trade school, or just to head

straight into the workforce and skip college altogether. This puts a lot of stress on incoming

freshmen and their parents. And what is to be said about students that have a dream of becoming

a doctor or lawyer in need of a doctorate degree or law school? It seems very out of reach for
most. There is a rule of thumb to not take out student loans for more than what you will be paid

in your first year at a new job after graduation according to our high school counselor Mr.

Miocic. At the rate the schools are going and the average salary jobs are hiring at, this makes a

lot of students very worried.

Growing demand, rising financial aid, and lower public funding are just a few of the big

reasons that this is an issue that is worth addressing. Higher education is a privilege that most

wish they could continue to. According to Chris Burt from University Business, “the average

student can only afford to go to 24% of four-year institutions of higher education in the United

States. They can only make 40% of two-year colleges work financially.” Schools strive to push

their students to move on and look forward to college, but what is the point when it is out of

most people’s financial reach. It is an extremely unlucky situation to be in, but it happens more

than we could ever imagine to so many people.

The recent pandemic did not help at all; Collin Binkley with PBS News, found that

nationwide, undergraduate college enrollment dropped 8 percent from 2019 to 2022, with

declines even after returning to in-person classes. However, this may come as a surprise to many

due to the apparent increase that educational institutions are seeing influxes of students coming

in on a year-to-year basis. It was speculated that since the pandemic ended and mandates were

lifted, rates of students coming in would significantly rise as well. The demand for schooling is

increasing regardless of the tuition costs. For colleges and universities to make ends meet when it

comes to tuition, a few things need to be considered. The more students that attend, the schools

need more housing, food, supplies, and transportation, to just name the basics. There are so many

more expenses a school must incur in order to run properly. And that only covers those who live

on campuses through the school. No matter if a student lives in a dorm or not, they still are there
for a reason, to go to classes. Teachers have salaries, the buildings they teach in need power to

run, and there are maintenance crews that keep those buildings up to code and running. The costs

are endless. The higher demand for going to college directly increases the costs of all the things

mentioned before.

A few years ago, Georgetown University conducted a study where they found that by

2020, 65% of jobs will require at least a bachelor's degree. In a recent report by David Trent with

Truthout News, he found that 75% of new jobs insist on a bachelor’s degree, while only 40% of

potential applicants have one. The prediction from Georgetown was a little more than accurate.

The push to get a degree to even just get a job is higher than ever, with the majority of employers

requiring a degree. Competition becomes a factor in the college application process, so those

who are willing to pay more, and have more to offer typically get a greater chance at acceptance.

Institutions know that jobs require degrees, so the opportunity to raise costs is there. Colleges

seem to advertise certain perks that one would have over another, and in that sense, they work

similarly to a business. Whether that be the sporting teams, Greek life, campus, or even just the

quality of education, schools market themselves to people, and that requires huge sums of

money.

On November 8, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed The Higher Education Act.

This was a legislative document that was signed into law that's goal was to strengthen the

educational resources of our colleges and universities, and to provide financial assistance for

students in postsecondary and higher education. The financial burden of higher education has

been a crippling factor for many families. According to the Census Bureau, “in 2021, the average

household income in the United States was $70,784, which is actually the highest since 2007.

The lowest average income was from 2010-2014 averaging right below $57,000 annually.” Just
doing the math with an average household income of $70,784 per year and the cost of university

attendance being $35,551 per year, college seems unaffordable for the average household whose

size averages a family of four. Obviously, households have many other expenses such as

housing, food, transportation, and healthcare to name the major ones. According to the Bureau of

Labor Statistics, “in 2021, the amount average households spent in a year was $66,928. That

does not leave much remaining toward education.” The statistics showed that only 1.8% of those

expenses went toward education. It would make sense that the goal of many working families is

to save money for emergencies and retirement, however, not many plan to save for college.

According to Indeed, a company that focuses on helping people find jobs, the top

financial savings goals for people are retirement planning, vacation, student loan debt, credit card

debt, becoming a homeowner, launching a business, paying college tuition to avoid loans,

emergency funds, and enjoying financial freedom. It does not seem like those goals are attainable

by the average US household based on the statistics already mentioned. Based on a survey by

CNBC, “75 percent of Americans are winging it when it comes to their financial future, and most

live paycheck to paycheck and cannot even afford an unexpected expense such as a $1,000

repair.” This brings us back to the question, how can a family afford another costly expense such

as college? According to Cappex, a web-based search engine that allows students to find colleges

and scholarships, “41% of families borrowed money to pay for college and 73% of families used

grants and scholarships to pay for college.”

In Illinois, the IDHS, the Illinois Department of Human Services states that filling out the

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is now a mandatory requirement for

graduation. Not many people know what exactly FAFSA does for the cost of tuition. People also

do not realize that it is mandatory. Many people think it is up to them whether they want to fill
out the FAFSA in order to be considered for financial aid, but that has changed. Other people

think that filling out the FAFSA automatically gives them aid, which is also not true. The types

of aid that are awarded are scholarships, grants, or loans. Generally, people are looking for

financial assistance that they do not need to pay back in the form of scholarships or grants, but

FAFSA always includes the balance that the family must take a loan for as their form of aid

when breaking down the total cost of attendance. It seems that loans are just temporary bandaids

and no aid at all in the long run. With the price of college rising faster than wages, it seems the

route most people use is borrowing money. Whether it is from a bank or the government, there is

a shoulder to lean on when it comes to borrowing money for higher education. This is the

primary reason many Americans are in debt. The short-term satisfaction of borrowing creates a

long-term dependency on the government or other lenders.

When it comes down to it, and the student has chosen to attend the university of their

dreams, loans may be the only way to achieve that dream if no scholarships or grants are

awarded. In an article written by Alyssa Fowers, published in the Washington Post, “About 1 in 5

Americans hold student loans. More than half of those 45 million people with federal student

loans have $20,000 or less to pay, with about a third of all borrowers owing less than $10,000.

Seven percent of people with federal debt owe more than $100,000.” It is almost like a trap, no

matter what most Americans will be stuck paying off loans inevitably. Historically, student loans

have been a relatively newer concept, and have only been around since the mid-20th century, but

it looks like they are never going away.

Along with debt never going away, it seems like funding for schooling in the US is also

decreasing year to year. According to the National Education Administration, “between 2020 and

2021, state funding for higher education declined in 37 states, by an average of 6 percent…in
California, for example, state lawmakers cut funding by $1.7 billion, and the budget was 10

percent smaller than it was in 2020. In Colorado, the budget was cut by 47 percent.” The lack of

funding directly affects the school's budget when it comes to the things mentioned earlier, such

as housing, food, supplies, and transportation. Someone has to pay for it, and since the school is

not going to, families are next in line. Between 2008 and 2018, Arizona and Louisiana reported

the highest increases in public school tuition. “In Arizona, tuition increased an average of $5,384

per student during that time; in Louisiana, it increased by $4,810.” This being a driving factor in

the student debt crisis goes to show how much public funding matters.

The common question that is asked is, “Where is this money going instead?”, and there

are a few answers. NEA data shows that the number of administrative positions at Long Beach

City College in California has increased by 78% in the past 20 years. Schools are hiring more

and more administrators and focusing less on student resources, and faculty who are meant to

teach students. “Colleges and universities seem to be cutting lower-level staffers to hire more

expensive, more specialized administrators.” It is a common trend where colleges and

universities continuously push their debts onto students and families. Business Insider noted,

"Roughly 80% of America’s students attend public colleges, so it’s not an exaggeration to say

that the biggest determinant of the price they will pay for their education is the budgetary

decisions made by state governments."

An alternate route that most students take in efforts to combat steep tuition costs is online

school. The problems that come from lower public funding could be slightly avoided when it

comes to online education. It may not include the whole “experience” that is often associated

with college, but if people are looking for ways to cut costs, this may be something to consider.
Alternate costs that are cut are then introduced because students who choose to do classes online

no longer have to commute.

Ultimately, the overlying issue is that college is very expensive. We as students and

family do not have much of a voice to instantly fix this issue, but being aware of what exactly is

happening is important. There are a few alternate routes to take which could cut costs, but the

unavoidable problems still stand. It is an unfortunate situation, but it is nevertheless very real for

so many families. The problems will never outweigh the importance and benefits that college

offers. The opportunities that come from college are incredible and should not be taken for

granted, regardless of what stands in the way or what price you pay.
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