Corey Lucas
ENC1102 - 135988
K. Thompkins
October 30, 2014

Reduction of College Costs Are Essential

“At a time when higher education has never been more important, it’s also never been more expensive. Over the last three decades, the average tuition at a public university has more than tripled.” This statement was said by President Barack Obama at a press conference about making college more affordable in June of 2014. This statement couldn’t be any more precise. The fact is that the cost of college, both public and private, is way too expensive and the costs are only rising. The government should work on lowering the growing cost of college because the effects of higher college costs have been nothing but detrimental for students and going to college is necessary for the future of our economy. The cost almost makes it a necessity for low income students to take out multiple loans to pay these increasing costs, only to run into financial crisis when these debts become due. Also because of the growing cost of college, students find themselves running into academic problems because of jobs that interfere with classes and assignments, but are needed just to pay bills such as housing and food. It’s obvious that if these costs were made more affordable, there would be less people without a college degree, therefore becoming more eligible for jobs in the workforce. Everyone is entitled to an education and everybody should be able to afford to attend public or even a top tier college.

Recently, more and more high school graduates have been deciding to attend college. In these cutthroat companies, they can only hire low amounts of new employees and as the outcome; they must find the best applicant. Most likely, the chosen one is the one with an education from a four year university and this form of choosing has become a popular way of sorting resumes. Unfortunately, some students are denied the opportunity for such an education due to financial restraints. College graduates earn significantly more in their lifetimes as opposed to those who only have a high school degree. Employers are looking for more specialized skill sets from potential employers, but these skill sets can usually only be acquired through higher education. In the job market, those people who can’t afford a college education are usually behind those who can. The government needs to help subsidize or reduce tuition costs so more people have access to a college education. If more people had college educations, they would be able to get better paying jobs. When people have more money, they tend to spend more money, causing the economy to grow. Government subsidization of tuition could ultimately help the economy grow.

College is a great investment, especially because it paves the way for your future career that will eventually become your lifestyle. However, unless your parents were able to put away a college fund, you would probably end up taking out a student loan. Today, easy credit from federal loan programs gives little motivation for colleges to keep tuition low, and many students borrow, only to come across financial debt when the loans come due. Delinquency rates on student loans reached 12% in 2013, higher than the 10% delinquency rate on mortgages at the height of the housing crisis in 2008-09. (Palacios, Miguel, and Andrew P. Kelly) And to make matters even worse, more than 40% of students who start a degree, can’t finish within 6 years and many borrowers cannot find a job to even afford the investment, according to Federal Reserve data and new federal data show that more than 650,000 federal student loan borrowers who entered repayment in 2011 defaulted on their loans by 2013. The federal student-loan system is no help, since lenders do not consider the likely return on degree programs when making loans, leaving students with no information about the value of different options. The standard 10-year repayment plan demands the heftiest percentage of a