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Is college/university too expensive?
If you think it should be lowered, how? Who will cover the difference, or what should be cut?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Krysten (After 'I Do') on -
I live in a college town and the university here just spent a ton of money building a new student center. Now, I will admit it is GORGEOUS. However, they had a perfectly good student center. And then suddenly tuition goes up.
Right now I'm taking classes online and my tuition is DISGUSTING, more expensive than when I was actually attending a normal college class. It's great because I can work classes into my schedule but I am petrified about paying my loans back once I'm done with school.
I honestly think that college is getting way too expensive. It seems like it's pretty much a must these days to have a degree but unless you are VERY lucky to have parents that can pay or you bust your butt working your way through or you take out a ton of loans you're screwed. Some days I feel like my loans are going to be a noose around my neck. And because I'm an older student (27) I worry that I won't be able to start a family like I want to when I'm done because I'll be too busy paying back my loans. Kind of sad.
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Permalink Reply by Alexandra Tsaritsa (call me Tsa) on -
It is a kind of noose, but if you want to do anything other than retail having a degree is a must. It's a shame that colleges and universities are more of a business than a place to learn and grow. I busted my butt working all through college and I'm still paying back loans, and the thought of paying even more loans and interest has kept me from attending grad school.
My disenchantment with the absurdity and high cost of "higher education" is keeping me from grad school, but I'm thinking of taking community college classes just for fun and to learn something without paying thousands of dollars for it.
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Permalink Reply by Chanel on -
OMG college is way too expensive. I'm not sure as to what cuts should be made but I'm sure no student uses 40,000 a year in resources. I think it has just gotten out of control and I'm scared of what the prices will be when I decide to have children.
I mean... I owe so much in loans that it's no even funny. I have been out of school for 3 years now and I still don't think it was worth it.
autumn-rain.com
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Permalink Reply by Starshard0 on -
I think it's interesting that despite the high cost of higher education, millions of people are enrolling every year. You'd think they'd give it a second though, but everyone just signs up for loans and goes on their merry way.
I think if more people were interested in attending lower cost schools like community college or VoTech (or volunteering for stuff like the Peace Corps or Job Corps), then maybe schools would have to lower their tuition to attract more students.
As long as people are willing to shell out insane amounts of money to attend college, the colleges will continue to deliver higher prices.
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Permalink Reply by Krysten (After 'I Do') on
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I think the reason people are willing to pay is because of that fear that if we don't we will never work a good job and won't make enough money to do the things we want in life. I know for me I worked a dead end job for years and was finally fed up with bad hours and bad pay. I'm hopeful that with a degree I will be able to find better work.
Then again, it seems like these days nothing is a sure thing and just because you have a degree doesn't necessarily mean you'll get a good job. That is the very scary part.
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Permalink Reply by Starshard0 on
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I think a lot of that has to do with the messages kids receive in high school. "Get good grades so you can go to a good college". Then it's "Get good grades so you can go to a good graduate school". Then you get out of graduate school with $100k+ in student loan debt and no place will hire you because you majored in something that no one is looking to hire.
College is not the only option. Learning a trade is incredibly profitable these days (have you seen how much contractors charge? Geez!). And even if you do go to school, there are a lot of lower cost options (I mentioned community college) where you can grab your Associate's degree for cheap and can decide from there whether you want to go for something higher or if you want to get a job. If you're talented, you can even start your own business without going to ANY school.
It's a crime that our high schools don't do a better job of preparing the next generation for a more flexible job market.
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Permalink Reply by Kellyn Denton on -
I totally agree with this!
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Permalink Reply by Arika on
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College is too expensive...by time I decide to have children it will be like a million dollars...it's so sad. I think that college should be free for those who maintain a certain grade point average but as soon as you start slipping on grades then you should have to start paying (and you should repay if you started off with scholarship then lost it). I think there should be more fund raising campaigns for colleges/university to help alleviate cost. It is difficult to say what to cut but maybe it deals with reorganizing the budget and not spending too much in one area. This is a tough question (sigh) http://thelipstickmemoir.blogspot.com
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Permalink Reply by Michelle L on -
College is very expensive out of state. I had to turn down Tufts & NYU for an in-state school in order to get in-state tuition. My parents pay for my college, which is incredibly wonderful, and they had been saving for an in-state school. It was that or they take out a second mortgage, which is ridiculous.
I couldn't take on any loans because I plan to go to med school. I'll leave with about $100000-200000 in debt, which only I will be responsible for. A lot of my friends are starting to regret having taking out loans for expensive schools...
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Permalink Reply by Angie on -
I'll be honest, I don't know much about college. I work from home, which is my minor dream and I draw daily to improve my art skills so I can work from home as an artist - my major dream. I haven't really ever desired college, as I want my art to be self taught. I believe no other artist can teach me MY style.
But I also think that it should be lowered from what I've heard. People have the right to pursue their dreams - within reason!
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Permalink Reply by cooper on -
I didn't pay for my education, my grandparents set up trust fund for us, and sadly their early demise left me with enough money to do a lot of things, including paying for graduate school. My university NYU, cost almost a quarter of a million dollars and I would never have paid that. Had I had to pay for my college education I'm thinking I'd have been a surf bum, and that is an honest assessment.I respect anyone who is willing to take out loans and do it on their own. I had friends who had hundred thousand dollars loans when they graduated, and that was before graduate or law school.
Even the state system in Maryland is almost 25 thousand a year — if you live on campus and partake of the meal plans. Way to much for a state public school.Even the lesser state school run almost twenty grand. Community college in this county can be done for 5 grand a year maybe 6 - a much better option. I know a few professors who have children going to their universities for free, or discounted, they have said to me that if their kids education were not free, or significantly discounted, they would have sent them to CC for two years, then a cheaper state school — spending the most money on grad school.
I think some schools should cut athletics, not all but some, and most schools can significantly cut dorm and meal costs by having students maintain the buildings and grounds, and work the food service with supervision. Cutting some of the ancillary employees. I don't know how but I think the state university systems in this country really need more support.
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