Is College Still Worth It?

The cost of a college education has skyrocketed over the past few decades. Most people go to college for various reasons, fun, education, and mainly the degree. However, with this spike in cost, the things that you get in return have stayed relatively the same, meaning college has started to become overpriced.

While college has gone up in price and popularity, there are several aspects that bring a college education a lot of value. In an interview with Mr. Dyer, He believes that “the relationship and social aspect is a huge advantage for college kids; another big advantage is learning time management.” Even though there are many benefits to college for students, one of the main reasons why college has gone up so much is because colleges must compete with each other to hire the best faculty they can, and paying their salaries drives up tuition costs.

On the other hand, the average cost of college increased by 439 percent from 1982 to 2007. While the median income has only gone up 147 percent from 1982 to 2007. This leaves a difference of 292 percent between the increase in costs of college versus the median income in the United States. In an interview with Bradley Dillingham, when asked about the increase in college costs, he said, “I do not believe it needs to be nearly as high as it is because of two main reasons. One, it prevents some people from being able to pursue their dream, and two, it can create a financial burden on individuals or families.”

While decreasing the cost of college for students would be difficult to do overnight, one way that most schools with high tuition decrease the cost for students is by offering generous need-based scholarships to ensure a socioeconomically diverse class. Offering scholarships has been one of the most popular ways of decreasing tuition. If schools continue to decrease the cost of tuition, they will help students grow academically and socially without suffocating them financially.

Sources

For-Profit colleges. (2012, March 12). Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTYyMzU=.

By the numbers: For-profit colleges. (2012, March 12). Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTcwMjM=.

By the numbers: College tuition costs. (2010, February 22). Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTY5MTA=.

College tuition costs. (2010, February 22). Retrieved December 19, 2022, from https://icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTYzMjQ=.