Education Costs

A majority of Americans attempt to further their career by attending school. Almost

everyone goes to school up until they graduate from high school. After, most come to the
question of whether to continue their education or try to make it on what knowledge they already
have. A strong factor in this decision is the fact that most high paying careers require one to
attend college and get a degree. Yet, one of the main complaints from college students is how
much it costs to get their education. This paper discusses the cost of education and if it is really
worth the price. Specifically, it will analyze: the rising costs of education and the reasons for it; if
the jobs one can get are worth the cost of education; the cost of books within college; and the
impacts of rising education costs.
Education Costs Rising
First, the cost education has risen dramatically, is it too high? Looking into this very
question, Adam Davidson from The New York Times commented on the costs in 1974 by saying,
Attending a four-year private college costs around $2,000 a year: affordable, with some
scrimping, to even median earners. As for public university, it was a bargain at $510 a year.
Adjusted for inflation, Davidson calculates that it would be, $10,300 a year for the private
university and $2,500 for the public one.
There is no doubt that the cost has risen, whether dealing with Community College,
University, or Private Universities. Each of these is going up, with Community College being the
cheapest. Even as the cheapest, community college is still a lot of money each year. Figuring that
it has to be paid for in some way, many students have to work and do school at the same time,

which causes a lot of strain on their learning. When looking at the current costs of education, the
National Center for Educational Statistics states, For the 201213 academic year, annual current
dollar prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board were estimated to be $15,022 at public
institutions, $39,173 at private nonprofit institutions, and $23,158 at private for-profit
institutions. The cost of education has risen significantly, which raises the next question, are the
jobs worth the cost?
Is the Job worth the Cost?
Student debt is a huge detriment that comes from going to school. Many ask if it is really
worth the price they pay. A lot of the time it just depends on what the job is. The ultimate goal is
to be happy while working, so it is not all about the money. But, ideally, a student wants
something that he both enjoys and can make a living doing. However, many students do not
make it this far. According to The Economist, Overall, the six-year graduation rate for four-year
institutions is only 59%. So, there are a lot of colleges making money off of students that dont
even end up graduating.
The Economist also states, College graduates aged 25 to 32 who are working full time
earn about $17,500 more annually than their peers who have only a high school diploma,
according to the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank. This acknowledges the fact that on average
a college graduate ends up making more money. Yet, this does not consider the amount of debt
that they are in. This means a lot of that income not only goes to living, but also paying off the
arrears they gathered while in school. At the end of the day not all jobs are worth it, so no, the
cost and debt is not always worth the money one ends up making after college graduation.
On the other hand, there are very many people that will argue the opposite. There are the
educations such as Doctors, Lawyers, and Engineers that usually end up paying off in the end.

Many of the people that complain about the cost tend to get jobs that dont pay off big. When
looking at the cost of education for all of America, one has to take into consideration not just the
higher paying jobs but rather all jobs. When looking at all jobs, a majority of them are the lower
paying, so ultimately the cost of education is too high on the whole.
Book Costs
We have looked at the tuition rising, which is a huge cost, but then on top of tuition we
have to look also at the cost of books. Onecan buy a standard book to read for about $20, but
when looking at books for school, one would spend up to $200 per book. As stated by Herb
Weisbaum in USA Today, The College Board estimates that the average student in this country
spends around $1,200 a year on books and supplies. A single book can cost as much as $200. So
this adds onto the amount that is already being paid for tuition just to go to school. This is a huge
cost that impacts college students everywhere. According to Weisbaum, Between 2002 and
2013, the price of college textbooks rose 82% nearly three times the rate of inflation,
according to a recent study by the Government Accountability Office.
There was a study done by approximately 2,000 students that Weisbaum talks about as
well saying, 65% said they had decided against buying a textbook because it was too
expensive. With them not buying the required books this can affect their performance in the
classes almost making the costs more necessary. With the books being necessary to pass the
classes it causes more issues with going deeper into debt.
The students are not the only ones that may be affected by the cost of books. There are
the teachers that write the books. There is the other side of the books costing so much is that
teachers are severely underpaid and dont make a lot for what they do. There are a lot of teachers
that write books or contribute to writing books so that they can make money and this is a good

source of income for them. However, income for one profession cant be the only thing taken
into consideration when thinking of the overall costs of education, and the biggest impact is what
has to be considered. The biggest impact is that this increases the amount that students have to
pay, which is what should be focused on.

Impacts of Rising Education Costs

The last thing to really look at is the overall impacts that rising education has on the
world. Looking above it is clear that the cost of education is rising and it appears even higher
than inflation would adjust for. There are many things that this impacts and one is people
considering if they want to go to school. Student loans are becoming more frequent, which
causes students to go into debt. Van Thompson states, Two-thirds of 2011 college seniors
graduated with debt, averaging $26,600 in loans, according to The Project on Student Debt.
This is a huge impact to people especially once they get into the world after college they are
having close to $26,000 in student debt. This takes years for students to pay off and sets them
back from more productive ways they can use their money.
Another big impact that the cost has is people not finishing, or even starting their
education since they do not think they can handle the cost. People get scared by the huge costs
and debts so they dont enroll, or they end up leaving part way through since it ends up being too
much. Van Thompson states in regards to dropping out, Forty-four percent of students enrolled
in college fail to obtain a bachelor's degree within six years, and the high cost of college can be a
major factor in the decision to drop out, according to a 2011 Harvard Graduate School of
Education study. This is a massive dropout rate. This shows that a major factor of dropping out

is how expensive it is. Also, other students struggle to balance both school and work which
makes attending hard for them.
In conclusion, the cost of college is too high. There are definitely strong arguments for
both sides with it not impacting everyone. But really one has to take into consideration all sides
that are effected before coming to a conclusion. Ultimately there are far more students in this
world than there are other people that benefit from the continuous raising costs. It takes a lot to
go to school now and that includes anything from time to money. Most of the time that money
ends up being debt that needs to be paid back. Looking at all the costs that go into school, it is
not worth the price. Unless, it is one of the few professions that can outweigh the debt accrued.
So, there needs to be a change in the education that makes it more affordable for students, or a
more effective way of proactively educating and preparing them for these. In turn, will help
students be more motivated and prepared to attend college, further their education, and make an
impact in their life.

Works Cited
Thompson, Van. "What Are the Causes & Effects of Rising College Costs?" Everyday Life.
Demand Media, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"Fast Facts." Fast Facts. National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Davidson, Adam. "Is College Tuition Really Too High?" The New York Times. The New York
Times, 12 Sept. 2015. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.
"Is College worth It?" The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 05 Apr. 2014. Web. 03 Feb.
2016.
Weisbaum, Herb. "Cost of College Textbooks out of Control, Group Says." USA Today.
Gannett, 02 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Education costs. Digital image. The Skyrocketing Cost of College Education. ASPA National
Web Blog, 13 Dec. 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
Debt. Digital Image. Should Parents Be Concerned about Rising Student Debt? Finance Dad.
Web. 22 Feb. 2016.