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Kaitin Nicely

Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

Why is College so Expensive?

It is 2019 and I am a Junior in High School. Many students at this point begin

scoping out colleges and possible career choices. An important factor in finding the right

university is cost of tuition. Money controls everything now of days, including where you

live, where you work, and even where you study. If you have ever spoke to your parents

about their glory days in college you would find out one major fact, how little college

used to cost. College used to cost less than half of what it does today. The question is,

what caused this drastic increase of price?

In order to get to the root of this problem the price of tuition needs to be broken

down. What really is the price of tuition paying for. The first obvious reason is for the

service of college, meaning obtaining knowledge and receiving a degree. A large

portion of the money a college is payed goes to paying the professors. In order for

students to get a proper and well rounded education they need quality professors.

Professors are paid a decent sum of money, averaging $126,981 a year. Of course, that

does vary between universities and what classes you are teaching. It is no question that

there is competition in every area in America, even at Universities. There is over 5,000

universities in the United States today. To make a college more appealing universities
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Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

spend money on an enormous variety of amenities for their students. Sometimes it is all

the bells and whistles that sway students to go to a specific college. Universities also

spend a large amount of money on running their dining halls and dorming facilities.

Unfortunately, sometimes a high price for college can seem appealing. It makes us think

it is more desirable and elite. Overall, these are the major expenses that colleges have

to pay for annually.

High school graduates have two main choices at graduation – do I attend college

or do I get a job. This decision is a significant moment in every student’s life. One of the

largest hurdles to students not attending college is the cost. The average cost of tuition

across our nation is $34,700 amount per year. Who has this kind of money! When a

typical high student reviews these facts, they immediately conclude I cannot afford this.

Many make the decision to enter the workforce as this is their only choice. These young

adults are entering the workforce untrained and this makes the start of a career all the

more difficult. The goal for these untrained workers is to find a strong company to work

for that will train them in a position they are hired for. If colleges were more affordable

these high school graduates could continue their education in college specializing their

learning in a field of their choice. The high price of tuition is preventing many high
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Kaitin Nicely

Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

school graduates from choosing professions of their choice and settling for any job that

might be available.

Other high school students decide to attend college knowing the high cost of

tuition. Paying for tuition seems to be something they have no other choice to do so

they enter into loan contracts they think they will easily pay off once they get their “big

job”. $5,000 becomes $10,000 to $20,000 and quickly these students can end college

with over $100,000 worth of debt. An astronomical sum to pay off for any individual.

These loans follow these young adults well into full adulthood many not paying off their

student loans until well into their 40’s. These student loans create a lifetime of debt that

has many questioning why they ever entered these agreements.

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Kaitin Nicely

Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

Fig. 1 shows the average student loan debt per college student in each state (Andy

Kiersz).

Another choice for paying for college, is parents make the choice to pay for their

children’s college tuition. Parents understand the high cost for tuition and do not want
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Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

their children to start their adulthood in debt, so therefore they take on the debt

jeopardizing their retirement. Instead of focusing on their financial goals of a

comfortable, self-sufficient retirement they cheat their-selves out of funds that should be

saved to care for their needs during their elderly years. The high cost of college tuition is

affecting even the aging population which will need to depend upon more and more

government programs to sustain them later in life as their “could-be” retirement funds

were never saved for, but spent on college tuition.

Colleges are aware that tuition rates are unreasonable for the average American

student. They understand that students attending universities need as much assistance

as they can get when applying for college acceptance. Therefore, universities are

offering more and more scholarships to offset the high price of tuition. These

scholarships, from the outside, seem like a fair and reasonable offering to students,

however scholarships have never been more competitive. The average college student

scores a 20-21 on the ACT, but most scholarship don’t even start with funding until

students reach at least a 28 on the ACT. College makes these scholarship opportunities

almost impossible for the average student – who most of the time is the one who needs

assistance most. With the extreme competitive environment of academics for

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Kaitin Nicely

Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

scholarships, many students don’t even try to apply for these funds and end up walking

away from college.

The issue in terms of money is that the price of college is raising faster than the

inflation rate. In the article from Cornerstone University, they explain that “Even with the

squeeze felt by most of the population, the increase in costs for a lot of goods and

services has been, for the most part, measured. The rise in higher education costs,

though, are anything but measured. Ray Franke, a University of Massachusetts,

Boston, professor of education agrees. He says, "If you look at the long-term trend,

college tuition has been rising almost six percent above the rate of inflation” “(Bromley).

In simple terms this means college is raising at an unfair rate. To be exact, “Between

1994 and 2014, tuition fees at a four-year public university have risen 110%” (Bromley).

So the question is what caused this and why do we pay for it? It is all about supply and

demand, college has become more popular and the universities know you need a

diploma to get a quality job. They are really using this against students in forcing them

to pay this drastically, inflated price. As it is explain in the article “Why Is College in

America So Expensive?”, “College is a service, for one thing, not a product, which

means it doesn’t get cheaper along with changes in manufacturing technology

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Professor Hughes

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Research Paper

(economists call this affliction “cost disease”)” (Ripley). Therefore, due to this “cost

disease” the price will just continue to raise.

Another factor in high tuition costs, is state funding is decreasing. State

governments are unwilling and unable to provide the funds they used to provide for

public colleges. According to a 2017 report by the Center on Budget and Policy

Priorities, funding by states for two- and four-year colleges have decreased by almost

$9 billion from 2008. This is $9 billion dollars that public institutions are no longer

getting, so what are universities to do – increase tuition to cover these costs normally

assisted by state government. The same report showed that 44 states decreased their

funding for colleges, with 18 states reducing funding by 20% or more. Yikes, less money

– higher tuition rates.

In addition to high tuition rates for students attending in state colleges, students

have many more additional costs. Costs such as out of state tuition costs. These costs

can sometimes be double the costs of in state tuition and for what? Why does it cost a

student from another state more to attend the same university? Seems odd. According

to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2017–2018 school

year was $34,740 at private colleges, $9,970 for state residents at public colleges, and
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Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

$25,620 for out-of-state residents attending public universities.All of this may seem

unfair, but out-of-state students tuition can be more because state schools are

sometimes funded by the tax dollars of that state. The thinking is that students that are

not from that state cannot be entitled to the same low tuition rates that state residents

receive. I understand this reasoning but double a tuition rate seems entirely

unreasonable and an area that universities are taken advantages of students.

Another area colleges are increasing tuition is increasing tuition for certain

degrees. Universities add surcharges for particular degrees indicating it costs “more” to

educate these students in their program than the other students getting degrees in other

majors. The University of Cincinnati has a surcharge on tuition for their business degree

students whereby they pay $500 more a credit hour for courses than say student

pursuing another degree. Could this surcharge be because they are building a new

business building currently? Could this surcharge be funding this new facility and not

better academics? Again, another unfair practice that students are subjected to and

must accept if they want to pursue this degree.

Room and Board is an additional cost many students must pay when attending

universities.At public colleges, about 40 percent of full-time students live on campus, 40

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Professor Hughes

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Research Paper

percent live in off-campus housing, and 20 percent live with their parents. The College

Board reports that the average cost of room and board in 2017–2018 ranged from

$10,800 at four-year public schools to $12,210 at private schools. If 40% of students are

paying for room and board that means about half of all college students are taking on

this expense also – just to get an education. Shouldn’t universities be concerned most

about their academics and be focused on educating the next generation and not be as

focused on their elaborate housing and vast selection of menu options?

The facts are there, there are many reasons and factors for this dramatic

increase in tuition cost. Just because it is economically justified does not mean it is

morally justified. Colleges are spending the money they are earning on the wrong

things. Spend it on education, not lavish amenities. States and the government need to

help out universities as well. The US is the country that spends the most money in the

world on college. Our universities are remarkable, but other countries have quality

education for less than half the price. If this system of cheap college works in Europe,

why can it not work here? There needs to be a reform that stops this cost disease.
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Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

Works Cited

Archibald, Robert B, and David H Feldman. ​Why Does College Cost so Much?​Oxford

University Press Inc.

Archibald, Robert B, and David H Feldman. ​The Anatomy of College Tuition​. ​The Anatomy of

College Tuition​, ACE.

Bromley, Mary. “Why Is College Tuition Rising So Much? And What Can You Do?”

Cornerstone University​,

www.cornerstone.edu/blogs/lifelong-learning-matters/post/why-is-college-tuition-rising-so

-much-and-what-can-you-do.
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Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

Hoffower, Hillary. “College Is More Expensive than It's Ever Been, and the 5 Reasons Why

Suggest It's Only Going to Get Worse.” ​Business Insider,​ Business Insider, 8 July 2018,

www.businessinsider.com/why-is-college-so-expensive-2018-4.

Kiersz, Andy. ​Average Student Loan Debt per College Graduate.​ 8 July 2018.

Ripley, Amanda. “Why Is College in America So Expensive?” ​The Atlantic​, Atlantic Media

Company, 11 Sept. 2018,

www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/09/why-is-college-so-expensive-in-america/

569884/.

“The Real Reasons Why College Tuition Is So High and What You Can Do About It.” ​The

Scholarship System​, 13 Dec. 2018,

thescholarshipsystem.com/blog-for-students-families/the-real-reasons-why-college-tuition

-is-so-high-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/.

vlogbrothers. “Why Is College So Expensive?” ​YouTube,​ YouTube, 12 June 2015,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-IuFSt5xWA.
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Professor Hughes

24 March 2019

Research Paper

Werth, Berry. “Why Is College so Expensive?” ​Sinclair College Off-Campus Authentication

Form,​

eds-b-ebscohost-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=6&sid=d274d4b6-9641-49

de-befd-59b5a0cbf1d3@sdc-v-sessmgr04&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#AN=94

07150375&db=slh.

“What's the Price Tag for a College Education?” ​CollegeData​, College Data,

www.collegedata.com/en/pay-your-way/college-sticker-shock/how-much-does-college-co

st/whats-the-price-tag-for-a-college-education/.