Is the Price of College too High?

The cost of college tuition is high and getting higher. The price is getting so high that some potential students can’t afford to attend college and don’t have the same opportunity more wealthy Americans have. Every American student, rich or poor, should be able to go to college at a reasonable cost if they have the desire and good grades. Students that can maintain good grades and have the will to finish college deserve an equal education regardless of their wealth. Many students who do not receive a scholarship or enough government funding may not be able to afford college and instead start looking for low-income jobs right out of High School. According to CollegeBoard.com, the average tuition and fees at public colleges rose 8.3% this year, and with room and board, now exceed $17,000 a year. After seeing this data, I feel that public colleges and governments should lower their yearly tuition and make more scholarships or funding programs available to students who don’t have the money to pay for college and chase the career of their choice.
The key questions are; is a college education worth the time and cost and should society do more to assist low income students? With 19.9 million US college students in 2013 and the average student debt at over $26,500, the debate whether it is worth it or not still continues today. Many people have been debating the issue about whether or not college is worth the amount of time and money, or should young people start earning money sooner with less expensive skills right after high school. People, who say that college is worth it, argue that students who go through college have a higher chance in employment, bigger salaries, and more work benefits than high school graduates. People, who argue against college, contends that debt from college is too high and it delays graduates from entering “real-life”; being self-reliant, entering the workforce, getting married, buying a house, and saving for retirement. After all, many millionaires and billionaires did not attend or finish college like Bill Gates. Also, many in America believe that increasing student assistance is a “handout” and don’t agree with spending public money on others.
Most opinions that I have heard on this topic have been on the side of colleges being too expensive and more needs to be done to lower costs and improve enrollment. It is understood that private universities like Stanford and Harvard can set their own rules but more is wanted for public universities to be less expensive. Some even believe that Junior Colleges may be too expensive and don’t provide enough education. I asked my dad for his opinion on this topic and this is what he had to say, “This is a very current and relevant topic that needs to be discussed.” He believes that the government should help students more because society would benefit as a whole from a more educated populous and equal access to college without a lot of debt should be a standard policy. Both of my parents have had experiences of having student loan debt after graduating from college.

Now days, four year college degrees are becoming a minimum requirement when competing in the global marketplace. People starting their careers are not just competing in their communities or countries but across the entire globe. Other countries are supporting 0their students to complete college and America is falling behind. More and more jobs today require advanced and international skills that are taught in college. High School attendance is required and paid for in the US but simple labor jobs in America are disappearing. One could make the argument that college should be required and funded that same as K-12.

There are several programs today that assist students in paying for college. For instance the Nevada Millennium scholarship ensures successful Nevada High School students can receive low cost college tuition at any Nevada school. But more could be done. One idea is for the government or the college could fund specific majors that are needed like; teachers, doctors, and nurses.
I firmly believe that earning a college degree is a great benefit in the current job market and everyone should have access to college regardless of wealth. I am saying that colleges and society should do more to lower tuition. If colleges can lower their costs they would most likely receive more students and more tuition money. I also believe asking a college student to go to school full time and work to help pay for school is way too difficult and may cause a lot of stress on the student.

As a conclusion, college is not only worth going to, but it is becoming a requirement. But the cost of college is too high for many students. Colleges should examine their costs for the benefit of students who do not have an extensive amount of money and society should offer more programs to help these students. With the help of these programs, more people would be better educated and more likely to have a successful career as well as help boost America’s economy.