Valentina Gutierrez Marti Schwartz ELA 10D March 26, 2014 High Tuition Rates Worsen the Economy

& Scare High-Achieving, Low-Income Students

Public universities, private universities, and community colleges all carry a heavy price tag for tuition that students and their families are left to handle. Even after doing everything the well-established way, working hard in high school, being accepted into an institution of higher learning, and perhaps attending grad school, 37 million Americans are burdened with a high rate of debt due to soaring tuition rates (Student Loan Statistics). College debt is the simple way to phrase the problem that steep college bills leads to. In reality, the debt leads to a multitude of issues that affect the entire country, because of this, the expense of college education must be lowered. Part 1: The Problem College education is not cheap. According to Average Published Prices by Region and Sector, 2013-14 a survey published by College Board, in New England, the cost for attending a public four-year college is $21,791 per year, including room, board, and fees. Moreover, the cost for a private four-year college education is a staggering $50,860 per year, with the inclusion of room, board, plus fees. In both categories, New England boasts the highest price tag for an education from an institution of higher learning in the entire United States. The U.S. Department of Education gives a total of $150 billion annually in order to help students pay for these costs (FAFSA Help). This money is available in the form of student loans, Pell Grants, and more. Although both applications take into consideration an individual's expected financial need, the cost of college attendance at the college the student plans to attend, and more, student loans must

be paid back in full, plus interest. Pell Grants, on the other hand, do not have to be repaid, however, the maximum level of money granted to students in the 2014-2015 school year is $5,550 (FAFSA Help), obviously not enough to cover a the cost of a college education. The high price of education is a looming factor over the heads of students. A factor, which according to President Mary Sue Coleman from the University of Michigan, can even keep low-income high school students from applying to universities and colleges (Cited by Hopkins). The immense problem that the fear factor produces is evident and emphasized through the numbers specified by Caroline Hoxby from Stanford University, and Christopher Avery from Harvard Kennedy School, For every high-achieving, low-income student who applies, there are 15 high-achieving, high-income students applying to selective colleges. Unquestionably, the disparity between poor and affluent applicants leads to a lack in economic diversity in schools, and the imbalance is in part due to the astoundingly high tuition rates that intimidate impoverished scholars. Even after getting over the fear factor produced by the expensive price tag on college education, applying, being accepted, and considering financial packages that offer loans, lowincome students and their families are often wary of accepting, due to debt. This comes as no surprise, as the average debt for students after graduating college in 2012 was $29,400 (Frizell). According to Student Loan Statistics, 20 million Americans attend college each year, and of those 20 million, 60% take out loans. All of those loans have totalled to a $1 trillion debt. Most surprising of all, the majority of people who are still paying off college debt are in their 30s or older. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, cited by Student Loan Statistics: Of the 37 million Americans with outstanding student loan debt:

 Almost 40% of these borrowers are under the age of 30. Nearly 42% are between the ages of 30 and 50. 17% are older than 50. College debt isnt just affecting college grads and undergrads. In the article, Student Loans are Ruining Your Life. Now Theyre Ruining the Economy, Too, economist, Wilbert van der Klaauw, from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, believes that high debt leads to less consumer purchasing, thus driving further the wreckage that is the US economy. That is to say, since students and graduates of all ages are busy paying off their university bills, they dont have extra cash to purchase everyday commodities - a huge problem in an economy that is driven on commercial consumerism. Evidently, there is no correlation between tuition rates that scare high-performing students away, and higher incomes. In the article, Whats Driving College Costs Higher, the director of the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation, Kevin Carey, offers many arguments to prove this point. He says, college tuition has consistently increased much faster than both inflation and incomes. This disproves the possible argument that college fees are at an all time high because individuals are being paid more, or because everyday products are being sold for more than they are worth on a regular basis. In fact, Carey believes that the recent increase in tuition rates is due to overspending on the part of institutions of higher education. In other words, universities and colleges are misusing the money provided by students to compete with one another, not to make money, but for status and prestige, so they buy things that increase their status and prestige in relation to their competitors. Furthermore, the same article contended that the money goes to funding of sports teams, scholarships, construction of modern buildings,

executive costs, and the costs of actually teaching - even though professors do not considerably benefit from these costs. Clearly, the solution to this conundrum is simple. In order to avoid shocking highachieving, low-income students to the point of not even applying to colleges, and in order to keep the economy from worsening, institutes of higher learning could lower the tuition costs, and cut back unnecessary spending on new facilities and sports teams. However, theres also another factor that is raising school bills. According to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association in the article, Aid for Higher Education Declines as Costs Rise, State and local financing for higher education declined 7 percent in fiscal 2012 and the per student support allotment is the lowest it has been in the past 25 years. Basically, colleges and universities are overspending, and are not receiving enough federal aid to cover their costs. Therefore, they fund their spending through sky-high tuition rates.

Part 2: The Solution The fight to lower tuition rates seems hopeless. However, there are ways for students to lower the out of pocket money they must pay. According to William Baldwin, a writer for Forbes, in the article, 12 Insider Tips To Pay For College, there are a dozen tips and ways to lower costs. Baldwin suggests merit scholarships, transferring from a cheaper community college to a more prestigious university midway to graduation, enrollment in the military, and public service. Other schools are using alternative techniques to lower fees, like the University of Charleston, which was suffering from a lack of enrolling students. The universitys president, Dr. Edwin Welch, says that the school was able to lower the tuition costs by 22% by sharing professors with other nearby schools, and graduating students early through accelerated graduation programs.

Part 3: My Action Plan There is no way that I can influence a college to change its tuition rate. However, there are multiple ways that other students and I can lower the amount of money that is paid. Some of these ways are stated in Part 2. For example, merit scholarships, which are awarded to high achieving students. Military service is another option for avoiding debt. William Baldwin writes, Apply to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. You get free tuition plus pay that starts at $65,000 while you are attending classes. You commit to serving in the military for the usual residency plus at least another seven years. In addition to this, students can also attend a university in the state in which they live and receive an in-state tuition rate, which is lower when compared to the rate for students who live in other states. In order for students to know this, however, they must be informed of it. Accordingly, I will prepare a presentation for my peers and influence them to apply for as many scholarships as possible, or follow an alternative plan to lower their tuition costs. Furthermore, I will encourage them to apply to every college they dream of attending - even Ivy Leagues, because they are need blind and will completely cover all necessary costs once they have accepted you. I will present late junior year, at a team meeting. In order to increase the critical thinking of my peers, I will create a PowerPoint that conveys data in a graphic and eye-catching form. My intention is to present the average cost of attending college, the average debt a student leaves with, and the importance of applying for as many scholarships and grants as possible.

Works Cited Baldwin, William. 12 Insider Tricks To Pay For College, Forbes, Jan. 21, 2013, Web, March 3, 2014. Ellis, Blake. University of Charleston: How we cut tuition by 22%, CNN Money, Feb. 7, 2012, Web, March 3, 2014. FAFSA Help, Federal Student Aid, Feb. 23, 2014, Web, March 26, 2014. Frizell, Sam. Student Loans Are Ruining Your Life. Now Theyre Ruining the Economy, Too, TIME, Feb. 26, 2014, Web, March 3, 2014. Hopkins, Katy. Fear Factor Keeps Low Income Students From College, US News, Sept. 24, 2012, Web, March 2, 2014. Hoxby, Caroline M. and Christopher Avery. Low-Income High-Achieving Students Miss Out on Attending Selective Colleges, Brookings, N.D., Web, March 3, 2014. Lewin, Tamar. Financing for Colleges Declines as Costs Rise, The New York Times, March 6, 2014, Web, March 3, 3014. Student Loan Debt Statistics, American Student Assistance, N.D., Web, March 4, 2014. Trends in Higher Education, College Board, 2013-2014, Web, March 26, 2014. Whats Driving College Costs Higher? NPR, June 26, 2012, Web, March 3, 2014.