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The College Dilemma

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Submitted By sososo
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Soyeon Oh
College English 1110-04
Professor MimiVan Ausdall
April 10, 2013
The College Dilemma In the U.S., having a college degree is the most important qualification for getting a skilled job position. Many young people want this kind of position because it is usually higher paying. Employers expect candidates to have at least a Bachelor’s Degree for any entry-level position, but the cost of tuition today is the highest ever. In the past, recent college graduates generally had an easy transition from school to starting a full time job. Today there are fewer jobs and more college graduates competing for those jobs. According to a USA Today article, “half of new graduates were jobless or underemployed in 2012” (USA). Because of this, university tuition should be lowered and student financial aid increased so that young people are not burdened with huge debt. The number of people who want to get a college degree is higher and higher every year. According to the National Panel Report, 75% of high school kids answered that they want to go to college right after graduating high school. It’s not only for high school kids, but also adults who want to go back to school to get a degree to continue their professional development (We). They expect to get a job with better benefits from getting a degree. Some students would say that they want to go to college for more education, but most students want to go because it will help them to get a job in the future. They realize that going to a four-year college is an unavoidable choice to survive in this competitive society, even considering how expensive college tuition fees are. Most students have to depend on some form of financial aid. Realistically, getting a scholarship is very difficult because it is extremely competitive. Financial aid, such Pell Grants or student loans, are an easier way to get help for tuition. However, this form of financial aid often is not enough because the amount of financial aid received is not nearly enough to cover tuition, room and board, and living expenses. An NPR segment discussed the issue of Pell Grant’s providing over a billion dollars in financial aid, and that the average student gets money from the government, but it’s usually not enough to cover even a small percentage of the cost (NPR). In the end, students choose to get student loans, and their debt begins to grow from there. Student loans are considered a form of financial ‘aid’, but this is a loan, which means borrowing money with interest and a specific due date. Many students must take out some amount of loans. Some students are getting loan for their books and accommodation. The majority of students have to take out loans offered through the government, as well as through private companies, which often have higher interest rates (College). These loans can begin accruing interest before students even graduate from college. And the ‘grace period’ before student loan payments begins is not long. So many students go into college needing to borrow money, and after graduation, face a heavy burden of debt to repay. If most college graduates could get a full time job easily, paying back student loans plus interest wouldn’t be as big of an issue. However, because of an extremely competitive job market, getting a full-time job that makes enough money to pay off student loans quickly is rare. Graduates who can’t get a full-time job are underemployed, and will work part-time jobs to get by. Even those who get a full-time job aren’t guaranteed enough payment to live comfortably while they are paying back loans. While students are struggling with debt and interests, college tuition fees keep rising. “Tuition and other costs have been going up faster than inflation, and family incomes can’t keep up.” Larry Abramson says in her Article in ‘Why Is College So Expensive?’ (Why). According to her article, it has increased about 2000 percent between the 1970s and today. It seems like many schools have decided to get on the high-cost bandwagon. This is a dramatic increase, even compared to other cost increases like medical care and home prices. The graph below shows the change in between 1978 to 2011. Colleges are making excuses that they have no choice that tuition is getting higher because of financial aid is getting higher, but ironically, financial aid hasn’t kept up with the 2000 percent increase of tuition over the last 35 years. Today, federal Pell Grants cover only about one-third of costs in four-year public schools. It is not even comparable to what was covered about half in the 1980s, and in 1970, covered more than 70 percent. While U.S. government was struggling with the economy issue, the young college students and graduates were struggling with their college tuition fee. In fact, they are still are struggling with their job and debt, and more and more people are having a hard time with this issue in the future. Colleges shouldn’t play with tuition fee anymore, and government should have better financial aid program. The new hope for U.S. economy is losing their hope because of too expensive tuition fee. Lower tuition, better financial aid is the answer for the future of U.S. economy.

Bibilography
(USA) "USA TODAY." USATODAY.COM. N.p., 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 07 Apr. 2013. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-04-22/college-grads-jobless/54473426/1>.

(NPR) Sanchez, Claudio. "Study: More Adult Pell Grant Students, Not Enough Graduating." Minnesota Public Radio. NPR. Minneapolis, MN, 10 Apr. 2013. Radio.

(National) Ramaley, Judith, and Andrea Leskes. "We Are a College-Going Nation." Greaterexpectations. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2013. <http://www.greaterexpectations.org/report/1b.html>.

(Image) Perry, Mark J. "CARPE DIEM." Web log post. CARPE DIEM. Mark J Perry, 26 July 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. <http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2011/07/higher-education-bubble-college-tuition.html>.

(College) Glaeser, Edward. "Opinion." BostonGlobe.com. The Boston Globe, 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/12/27/college-debts-but-degree-reform-pell-grant-program/h2z0hzLJb8E09heW2fqQxH/story.html>.

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