In the present day college tuition is increasing to an all time high, while showing no signs of slowing down or decreasing. This has caused severe debt among the nation in college graduates totaling to over $1.48 trillion among graduates over 34 as of 2019. Students should not be in a lifelong debt to an institution that is there in order to instruct in certain subjects, whether they be core or specialized. Obviously higher degrees will cost the student more money to obtain, but are there really that many people searching for them?

    In a recent college graduate class, class of 2020, the average amount of money borrowed from student loans came out to $29,927, which is roughly a 20% increase than the class of 2010. While there are public and private scholarships to cover the costs there is only enough to give every college student $9,744. So if a college student did not receive that amount of aid that means they likely would have been paying $38,871 in tuition costs. Luckily 84% of students are able to receive financial aid however, it still leaves a large sum they have to come up with themselves. According to educationdata.org; on average parental contribution makes up 39.54% of college tuition costs, 24.95% is derived from scholarships and grants, 11.07% comes from college savings, 10.84% is from student loans, 8.05% comes right from the students’ pockets, and 5.74% comes from other sources. However, what if a student’s parents couldn’t afford to help pay for college, or they decided not to because they live on their own. That’s the largest chunk of payment on average and a majority of it will likely have to go towards student loans.

    According to “US News” the cost of Private tuition has more than doubled by increasing 144%, Out of state tuition increased 171%, and In state tuition more than tripled, increasing by 211%; all in the past twenty years. While the cost of tuition skyrockets, the average income for an American has barely moved a muscle; only increasing by 6%, and inflation increased only 54%. With the rising costs of products due to inflation coming nowhere near the rising costs of tuition, why does the cost of tuition have to be so high? What do they need all that extra money to pay for when it covers more than enough for the equipment they may need? So as debt piles on for college graduates who didn’t qualify for enough scholarships, colleges gradually take more and more of their money over time.

    With this information provided, it is simply asked that you think about how this might affect young Americans in the future. If tuition follows the same trend it has been following in the past into today, how high will it really reach before it starts to stabilize? If it does stabilize will the price decrease, and if so, for how long? Will people stop pursuing higher education just because it would be easier and less stressful to settle for what they can get just because it’s cheaper? It used to be a huge accomplishment for Americans to go to college and receive a diploma there, now it can be a constant reminder of the amount of debt you are going to face for a majority of your life, while you sit there and wonder if you will ever pay it off.