Overlooked effects of rising college tuition

Raima Saha Design Editor

180%. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, this is how much colleges have raised tuition rates since 1980. e total cost of college back then, including tuition, food and board, was $10,231. But these costs rose to $28,775 by the 201920 school year. With the cost of college ballooning at an alarming rate, wages have not been able to keep up, only increasing 19% since 1980. Such disparities make college students unsure of how they will be able to pay for their education when they face that rst bill, contributing to the problems of tuition costs, which impact students beyond nances.

One concern with rising college tuition is that enrollment rates are likely to decrease. To some, a lifetime of student loan debt does not seem worth attaining what some deem the golden ticket to a prosperous and ful lled life. is includes racial and ethnic minority groups, who already see lower enrollment rates than white people due to higher education in the past. According to e Society for College and University Planning, increasing costs are more likely to negatively in uence students of underrepresented backgrounds, contributing to less diverse student composition on college campuses and to the racial gap prevalent in the United States. Additionally, an o en overlooked impact of rising college tuition is that basic needs aren’t met. For many, nances are strained, causing some students to make the choice between a meal or a textbook, a ecting their college experience. Boise State University found that around health and in turn inhibit academic success, hindering students’ goals and aspirations. mental health specialists are nding that current college students experience more stress and high- tal state due to nancial stressors could limit a student’s success. one in three college students in the U.S. lack stable housing and enough to eat. Such conditions can negatively impact

However, colleges justify these increased costs by funding robust facilities and an endless array of resources.