What question might you have about the rising cost of college?

Why have college costs risen at a rate that has consistently outpaced inflation?

the first thought that came to my mind upon reading this post was

1. WHY is college tuition fee is America ridiculously expensive? WHY do colleges need so much money? A college is NOT a company like Apple or Microsoft.

My sister will graduate from her 4 years of university soon and the total coast of tuition pee paid during those 4 years....is OMG too much.

the amount is almost as much as the U.S. national debt.

2. do colleges REALLY need a lot of money?

3. America is currently facing an economic crisis; it is predicted to be one of the worst ever in U.S. history.

So unemployment is a rising issue, the economy is getting spoiled and there are more innocent citizens suffering beneath the poverty line.

And i am NOT against the government but the federal government doesn't seem to be sorting it out well.

I don't know that much about the ecnonomy, so I learned from my sister (she's a business / economics major) and i can tell that the nation, the economy and so on are all facing a crisis.

Soo....i don't know but unless the government promises to like help the poor pay for college or something I strongly suggest that colleges DO NOT raise tuition fees.

Otherwise...America will face an even worse educational crisis.

Does the stuff I typed make sense? hope it does. And......the good news is that the expensive tuition fee paid to a great college was actually worth it since my sister got a great job 2 weeks before graduation.

accept it and find ways to adjust your spending and methods of education but maybe the best way to really solve some of the problem is to do something that could work. Example, stop using the university services. I mean really stop and let the purveyors of the rising costs figure out what will they do now that their income is dwindling. Now work it out. Educate yourself some other way or teach others or hire others and change up the job specs so the program can work. Stop repeating the same cycle. We saw this so often in earthquake predictions. Thankfully those doom and gloom impending disasters are not repeated so much on the news anymore but in the 70's and 80's and for awhile after the big quake in '89 newscasters beat that drum like an old dusty rug. The quakes will come, I know, but give it a rest until something can be actually predicted accurately. Same it is with the cost of education. If the cost goes up exorbitantly, stop dealing with the shysters and find some other sources.

Source(s):

Very well. Not to be rude or disparaging but we fool ourselves with these pat question and answers. Why? Because most are continually asked and debated year in and year out with little change in the answers or in the outcome. In other words, costs go up. You can beat around the bush all day but if prices start going up, ask the merchants who raise the price why. Wrestle with it or accept it and find ways to adjust your spending and methods of education but maybe the best way to really solve some of the problem is to do something that could work. Example, stop using the university services. I mean really stop and let the purveyors of the rising costs figure out what will they do now that their income is dwindling. Now work it out. Educate yourself some other way or teach others or hire others and change up the job specs so the program can work. Stop repeating the same cycle. We saw this so often in earthquake predictions. Thankfully those doom and gloom impending disasters are not repeated so much on the news anymore but in the 70's and 80's and for awhile after the big quake in '89 newscasters beat that drum like an old dusty rug. The quakes will come, I know, but give it a rest until something can be actually predicted accurately. Same it is with the cost of education. If the cost goes up exorbitantly, stop dealing

Here is a nicely framed question as many or even most are. Very well. Not to be rude or disparaging but we fool ourselves with these pat question and answers. Why? Because most are continually asked and debated year in and year out with little change in the answers or in the outcome. In other words, costs go up. You can beat around the bush all day but if prices start going up, ask the merchants who raise the price why. Wrestle with it or accept it and find ways to adjust your spending and methods of education but maybe the best way to really solve some of the problem is to do something that could work. Example, stop using the university services. I mean really stop and let the purveyors of the rising costs figure out what will they do now that their income is dwindling. Now work it out. Educate yourself some other way or teach others or hire others and change up the job specs so the program can work. Stop repeating the same cycle. We saw this so often in earthquake predictions. Thankfully those doom and gloom impending disasters are not repeated so much on the news anymore but in the 70's and 80's and for awhile after the big quake in '89 newscasters beat that drum like an old dusty rug. The quakes will come, I know, but give it a rest until something can be actually predicted accurately. Same it is with the cost of education. If the cost goes up exorbitantly, stop dealing with the shysters and find some other sources.

Why isn't trade school talked more about or how to start you're own business ? Why do we make it seem like you have to go to some big university in order to be successful ?

Also, why do colleges have edition books that not only cost a lot of money, but also prevent the students from reselling the book ? Why not make it easier on the students and just not put a label on the books, that way the students can sell the book and make some of their money back, or they could buy books that are already used ? Plus, colleges can save money cause they won't have to print out new books every year.

And why is the government interfering in college? I understand they wanna make it cheaper for everyone, but by them doing this. They're actually making it worst and more expensive. So why doesn't the government back off and let colleges set the prices and compete with one another ?

And why are students charged higher interest rates after taking out a loasn then the banks are ? Why not offer students the same low rates that we offer to the banks ?

And finally, is college worth it ? I mean, if these costs go up, will going to college be worth all the debt that students are going to be facing ?

I always hear college is still a great investment. To a large extent I understand that as I myself as an engineer and with some financial aid did very well compared to what I paid to go to school (35k dollars in loans in 2006 which I have almost paid off now). however, I have seen situations where people get $100k+ in debt and get a job as a teacher paying 1/2 to 1/3 of that. At what point in pay to debt does college no longer make sense? 3:1 5:1 10:1? At some point students will have 0 chance at paying back these loans if the cost of college continues to skyrocket past stagnant wages.

Student loan debt used to be thought of as good debt, but nowadays you can't even get rid of it by declaring bankruptcy or dying and the tax breaks around student loan interest are coming to an end. Wouldn't somebody contemplating 100k+ dollars in student loan debt be better off just buying duplexes and managing real estate where they can have a place to live and earn money off of the investment rather than pay 5k+ a year in interest?

This is the perfect example of why government intervention is a bad thing. He never said he would lower tuition to make college more affordable. What he did is take over the student loan program and make more low income grants available. Now that the schools know the government is going to back tuition costs, they are raising tuition. They know they can get the money. The big problem here is student loans. They will go up because tuition is going up. That means students will be beholding to the government and there is no way of knowing what kind of strings will be attached to those loans. Since they are capable of changing their minds daily and the law seems to no longer be a deterrent, the strings when the loans come due could be completely different than the ones attached to the loan when you sign it.

With tuition costs rising almost exponentially every year, how is a student supposed to actually get an actual education when cuts to faculty and programs are also happening? Is this not something that our extra tuition is supposed to help counteract in some way?

Since it's not, where exactly is our money going? I just graduated college two months ago, and for those students that started even one semester after me, they not only paid higher rates, but they also had fewer choices as to majors, etc.

How does that make any sense at all?

In other words: If tuition is paying for the cost of university operations, then why do rising costs equate the *cutting* of programs?

Hypothetically speaking, what if college education was completely paid for by the government, just like public K-12 education, but rather than being compulsory, it is optional for those who want to further pursue their education? How would that change the face of the world?

If you had the ability to completely overhaul the educational system, and build everything from scratch how would you design it so that:

1) Supply for education meets demand for education

2) The knowledge and skills gained by graduates meet demands from the market

3) People pursue higher education because they want to, not because they feel they need to

4) The are other avenues of success outside of requiring an academic degree that can accommodate everyone in society

?

What do you think is the true purpose of college - whether if it is to give people the opportunity to learn things despite their relevance to the job market, or if it is indeed to provide the job market with the skills in demand, or if it should be something that accomplishes both? What do you think the public in general perceives the purpose of college to be and do you think they are correct?

What is your idea of the perfect educational system? Should it be something that operates harmoniously with the economy and society?

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), tuition rates increased 31 percent (inflation adjusted) for non-profit institutions and that was back in 2010-2011. Quite honestly, as long as institutions, public and private, continue advertising the need for a college degree, individuals will feel they need to attend.

I'm an online professor and I know firsthand the struggles students face with student loan debt. I recommend students seek out a degree in fields that have a need such as: nursing, hospital administration and technology.

The days of attending college and getting a degree in any subject are over. Society must weigh the benefit of rising tuition rates and a college degree. Personally, with $47K in student debt for an undergrad and grad degree, I wouldn't be where I am today. On the flip side of that some of my co-workers only finished high school and they hold the same full-time title as I do.

So, what does that say? You have to be in the right place at the right time.