Remember the good old days of stressing about college applications and acceptance? Did you ever stop to consider if that college you were dying to go to was worth the cost? I can tell you for certain I didn’t. All I wanted was to not see that dreadful phrase “we regret to inform you…”
When I look back on those unnecessarily stressful times, I should’ve been asking myself one important question: Is this school worth the money?
The American college education is one the most expensive college education systems in the world. In the U.S.there is no central system to regulate college tuition costs, as a result, universities can increase costs at will and students pay the price. After the 2008 recession, there was a major cut in public university funding and consequently, these public schools increased tuition to make up for it. In order to remain competitive, private schools followed suit.
Despite rising tuition costs, we still willingly go thousands of dollars into debt in order to obtain a college degree for two main reasons: societal perceptions and increased income with a college degree. After a massive increase in college education to beat Russia in the space race, college attendance has steadily increased. As this happened, the societal expectancy for students to go into college has subsequently grown, making students feel as though college is their only option. Personally, I always grew up knowing I would go to college, and I’m sure many of you had similar experiences.
In addition, people associate a college degree with a better-paying job. According to The Atlantic, “Over a lifetime, people with bachelor’s degrees earn more than half a million dollars more than people with no college degree in the U.S.” This mindset also encourages students to attend college, regardless of the financial burden.
Due to this, student loans have become a MAJOR problem in the U.S. In an article from The Balance, it was reported that over 43 million Americans currently have student loans for a grand total of 1.7 trillion dollars in debt. In addition, the average cost to pay off student loans is over 20 years. By that logic, that means we’re paying off our own student loans at the same time we’re saving money for our kids to go to college!
On the Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (on Netflix), Hasan interviewed a former PSU student, with 130,000 dollars, in debt about his loans. When Hasan asked, “Realtime, was it worth it?“ The student replied, “Absolutely loved it, wouldn’t change it for a thing.”
But this dude ended up being desperate enough to go on The Price is Right a few years later in an attempt to pay off those loans. So needless to say his mind might’ve changed. Either way, student loans are an ENORMOUS problem and this story shows PSU is no exception (I strongly recommend watching the Patriot Act Student Loan episode!).
With a recent change in administration, a potential student loan forgiveness plan has been in the works, with talks of the first $10,000 or even $50,000 in debt being forgiven (other elements of the plan have also been introduced as well). While I have no desire to see students in crippling amounts of debt, there is a problem with this plan: Universities still control tuition. NYT author Kevin Carey explained this concept in an astute simile: “This [policy] would be like treating a contaminated river without stopping the source of pollution.”
While forgiving a set price for loans seems like a quick way to ease the relief of student debt, I personally don’t see it as a long-term solution. So long as student debt is being forgiven, colleges can continue to increase the price of tuition, and loan servicing agencies can continue to take advantage of students who don’t know any better. The best way to deal with this issue would be to squelch the source of pollution, by universally restricting tuition costs, but with funding and regulations controlled at the state level, this issue is extremely difficult to regulate.
I found it amusing that when Penn State announced most of it’s classes would be taking place online, they would not be raising tuition costs. I asked myself, why would they even think about that in the first place? Millions of Americans have been left unemployed for at least a small segment of time, including both of my own. Balancing the cost of college, which has not been reduced at all, parents worrying about their job security, and the quality of classes in this new format, it raises one to think if college is worth the money right now.
I agree that forgiving student debt is likely going to worsen the problem. Colleges need to look into the root of the issue and look for ways to limit costs for their students. I made all of my career and college decisions in February right before quarantine and now I constantly think about the worth of this online education. Personally, I respect blue collar workers such as plumbers and welders who make a six figure salary with no debt! My education is important to me but the tuition bills lower my appreciation for it.
Like you, I knew I was going to go to college nearly my whole life. Fortunately, I had career counselors at my school who challenged me to think if it was worth it for me. I was also in a position where my family and I could not afford the expensive private schools, although I did apply. Even with this in mind, I do not have a huge problem with the college system. Personally, I know why I am in college and I understand that it is an investment into my future. On the other hand, I do see some of my peers struggle with finding motivation during college. This leads me to believe that they do not really want to be at college. Consequently, I think the decision to go to college is to impactful of a decision for young adults to make. Us young adults are more susceptible to social pressure, and therefore we do not always make the choice that suits us best. Hopefully, something will be changed in the future to make deciding to go to college a more effective process.
Claire, I love reading your blogs because you take such a complex topic and break it down into easily digestible snippets of information. Something interesting that I learned in my high-school level economics class is the concept of “succeeding in the new economy,” the new economy being driven by a pool of people who only received an Associate’s Degree. This outlook really put the necessity of higher degrees into perspective for me, as well as made me reflect on my aspirations. Do I want a PhD because I actually do, or because it feels like I need one to succeed? To address another point you made; I would hope that reducing the cost of university tuition would lower boundaries for students from lower socioeconomic classes. Although, do you think that lowering tuition would impact one’s quality of education? If college tuition falls under the jurisdiction of the federal government, and they reduce the cost; would they allot sufficient federal funding to maintain a certain standard of learning at all institutions?
It’s shocking how expensive colleges are here. I have a few friends in Europe and whenever we would discuss the benefits of living in our countries, they all would say, “we have free education” or at least with a minor fee, about 1/100 of what we pay here for just a year of school. It’s sad to think that people assume that college guarantees a good-paying job. The system is much more complex than that. And with the student debt crisis, many can’t even pay it off. They would have to have a 7 figure job to dig themselves out. College is one of the biggest investments in one’s life and it’s a shame that the schools run our bank accounts empty.