College Tuition: College Tuition: Are We Really Getting Our Money’s Worth?

Essay by rhawthorne0312College, UndergraduateA-, December 2012

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College Tuition: Are We Really Getting Our Money's Worth?

Within the current economic position in which the United States resides, achieving a college degree is almost required in order to make a decent living nowadays. However, according to the Huffington Post, college tuition has suffered a whopping 16% increase in the past year in Washington State alone. This accelerated increase generates the idea that achieving a college degree might not, in fact, be worth it unless tuition starts decreasing sometime in the near future. College tuition should not continue to rise at the current rate it has been the past few years because this will have a detrimental effect on American society for generations to come. When planning for college, the main concern, after actual acceptance, would easily be the financial portion. With thousands of future college students stressing over the finances, they are quickly reminded of student loans.

Student loans are supposed to be helpful and convenient for college students. However, are student loans actually helpful? Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, states: "Here's a simple equation: a college or career school education = more money, more job options, and more freedom" (Federal Student Aid). True, a college education usually promises more job options which tend to award a higher salary, but by what cost? The Federal Bank Reserve of New York released data stating that student loan debt reached $867 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. They then stated: "Student loan debt is the only form of consumer debt that has grown since the peak of consumer debt in 2008. Balances of student loans have eclipsed both auto loans and credit cards, making student loan debt the largest form of consumer debt outside of mortgages" (Federal Bank Reserve). At a time...