College Tuition

Costly college tuition

Rising prices in higher education make it inaccessible to new generations

The cost of tuition can be a fear-inducing number that is not going to become less frightening any time soon. Students scramble to pad their application with extracurriculars and impressive test scores in the hopes that they will receive scholarships. is can cause excess stress for students who should be more worried about nishing their high school career. e nancial burden of college is something we should be working towards reducing as new generations enter into that phase of their life. Despite the cost of attending an accredited university being so high, with some students having to take out loans to cover it, schools are continuing to increase their tuition beyond what the economy of our country can handle. According to the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the tuition of undergraduate programs over the past three decades has each year an average of 3.5% more than the rate of in ation. is means that the economic burden of college is increasing from generation to generation, making a college degree less attainable. ere have been colleges that recognize this and take action against it, with Purdue being a great example. Purdue has had its tuition

Madelyn Lerew lerewmad000@hsestudents.org

frozen for 11 consecutive years, keeping its in-state tuition at $9,992 a year, and has had no increase in residence hall rates for the past 10 years. If more colleges were to implement programs like this it would prevent the spiraling costs we are seeing. College comes with an array of costs besides the tuition to the university that must be factored into whether or not a student can a ord to attend. If a prospective college freshman does not have the nancial support to be able to fully pay for this they must turn to student loans in order to earn their degree. e current xed interest rate for federal student loans is 4.99%. is means if a student were to take out loans to cover four years of tuition at Purdue, which would be $39,968, and pay it out over 10 years they would be paying $12,147.92 in interest alone. is makes college more expensive for those who were barely able to a ord it in the rst place. Student loans put a nancial burden on students when they graduate, making it more di cult for them as opposed to their debt-free peers. ings like buying a house to build equity become less attainable when you are making monthly debt payments. According to the Journal of Applied Business and Economics, student loan debt can actually increase income inequality. Student loans delay graduates’ transition into nancial security because they have less money to put into savings due to preexisting nancial obligations. While rewarding, a bachelor’s degree has the possibility to turn into a sinkhole of loans for students from lower-income families. Despite the challenges of attaining a bachelor’s degree, there are massive bene ts when nding employment. According to an article put out by Forbes, those with a bachelor’s degree earn $24,900 more working full-time than those with just a high school diploma. e amount earned is even more when receiving higher levels of education like a masters or doctorate degree. e economical bene ts of receiving a degree past high school are notable and are what make it such a prevalent option, despite the shiny price tag. Earning a degree also provides an opportunity to continue in academia on more specialized subjects. When earning credits toward your major, you get to dive deeper into subjects that are of interest to you. is specialization is vastly di erent from high school which

Congratulations on your acceptance to our university! See yearly cost of attendance below:

Purdue University Instate tuition: $9,992 Room and board: $10,030 Books: $1,010 Total: $21,032 Indiana University Instate tuition: $11,446 Room and board: $12,228 Books: $900 Total: $24,574

Butler University Tuition: $43,470 Room and board: $15,260 Books: $990 Total: $59,720 Ball State University Instate tuition: $8,434 Room and board: $10,676 Books: $1,344 Total: $20,454

Information from Purdue University, Indiana University, Butler University and Ball State University.

provides a more rounded course load, with the college equivalent of general education classes taken as an underclassman. It is evident that we should be putting more money into providing higher education to all. Not only is it bene cial on a personal level, but it also helps society as a whole. is quote by Martin Luther King Jr. is particularly tting to this ideal: “ e function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” An educated society bene ts all and therefore should be prioritized and made actualized through purposeful legislation. President Biden has made a step towards this with his student loan debt forgiveness program. rough this, you have the possibility of having $20,000 worth of student loans forgiven. is helps those that have already received their degree with the burden of their debt but does nothing to help prevent my generation from receiving this burden. We need to be taking preventative measures to stop this cycle of indebtedness by granting more federal funding to public universities and by supporting programs similar to Purdue’s tuition freeze.