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College Tuition Rates Skyrocket While Student Enrollment in College Declines
Posted by: Haley York
Sunday, January 20, 2008 1:36 PM
Being a senior in high school means two things in this time period. One, that the work load at school can be heavy or light, depending on the kind of classes you take, and Two, that you are expected to go to college (for the most part).Getting into a good college requires several different factors: a good transcript with challenging classes and good grades, as well as lots of moolah.
I don't know how many of you have been to college recently, or have kids in college, but costs are through the roof. I was talking to an older acquaintance of mine not too long ago, and he was telling me how wonderful college was when it cost 1500 a semester. My jaw dropped. The average costs for college today? 30,000 a year.
My family, and the majority of Americans, don't have that kind of money to spend on college tuition. So where do the students turn? Loans? Well sure, if you want to pay off those loans for the next 30 years. I was getting student loan calls 2 years ago, before I had even started to think about college. Banks and other loan companies take advantage of students who need loans to get through college, because the students have no where else to turn.
Scholarships are an option, but the sheer amount of students who need scholarships versus the amount of money that is at hand is not equal. The other problem with scholarships is that there are so very many that you have to specifically know about or have contacts with to find. The internet websites like http://www.fastweb.com and http://www.cappex.com are handy, but not very realistically helpful. What are the odds that a student from east central Illinois is going to win enough money through online scholarships to go to college?
Yes, the school counselors receive scholarship information from various colleges and companies, but the competition is intense. My graduating class has over 350 students, at least 50% of which plan on going to college and need financial aid. There just isn't enough money to go around! The other problem with scholarships is the timeline. Some are due in December, others due in May, and few of them are decided until April. How is a student supposed to commit to a college, and promise to have the money, not receive any notification till the end of their senior year?
The FAFSA (The Free Application for Financial Student Aid) is somewhat helpful for some families. For those of you who don't know, Financial Aid deducts money off of a student's tuition based on their parent's taxes and income. What about the students whose parents do make enough money to pay for their student's tuition, but, in doing so, would go broke themselves? What about large families? How are they to afford sending their children to college when they don't get much financial aid?
College tuition is unforgiving to students in almost any situation. So how is it people are confused about the turnover rate from high school to college or another tertiary education institution? It's not that the students aren't smart enough, it is that they don't have enough money! You can't expect seniors to balance schoolwork, jobs, volunteering, extracurricular activities, as well as earning 30 grand for college. And once they get to college, they have to do it again, for their sophomore year! That's only if they can manage schoolwork, scholarships, and possibly a job all in their freshman year. Be honest, how many of you did that your freshman year, or even think you could have?
Here's my last question. Anybody know of any local companies that are giving out scholarships? I need about 20 grand, and I'm sure I'm not the only student struggling.
Comments
You're obviously smart, so it amazes me that the easiest answer has escaped you -- get a job!
Get a moderately well paying job (18-24k), live at home and save up. Don't buy into the hype that you have to go right from High School into college. Apply, then request a deferal. In a couple of years you'll be older, wiser and able to attend debt-free. Will probably get better grades as you will be spending YOUR hard-earned money, not some nebulous loan or grant/scholarship.
If you're impatient, while I would never recommend it for anyone I cared about, you could also go for the GI bill... that carries a significant amount of bodily risk, whether in time of war or peace.
Take a look at the Peace Corp, AmeriCorp or Teach-For-America with respect to repayment of college tuition. Go teach english in Japan.
As a proud alumnus of the University of Illinois, I can tell you that for your basic ed/non-major classes you will be better served (more bang for your buck) at Parkland... just take the day classes, not the night ones... and again, live at home.
If you've good secretarial skills you can become a Civil Service employee at the University and take 8 hours worth of classes a semester tuition free. By no means the fastest route to a degree, but a debt-free one.
Most things in life are a trade-off, it's just a question of what you're willing to give up for what you want, and how outside the box you're willing to think.
I wish somebody had been there to tell me that -- working PRIOR to going to college would've benefited me greatly, both in terms of debt as well as figuring out what I wanted to get a degree in. My current BS is just that.
Posted by dw on January 22, 2008 at 3:26 PM
My advise is don't go to college unless you are already inclined to be flaming liberal. Stick to a community college or trade school.
Posted by Nukeman on February 15, 2008 at 3:46 PM
True, that. Often college is an enlightening period in one's life. Exposing oneself to other's ideas is a dangerous idea -- you might learn something.
Or you could still attend college and escape the perils of becoming a flaming liberal by being drunk all of the time (effectively closing off your mind) -- you would still be fully qualified to be POTUS.
But then you might not learn the intricacies of the English language -- like when you need to advise someone versus giving them advice.
Causing you to run the risk coming across as a total wanker when online (or attempting to lead your nation).
Posted by dw on February 20, 2008 at 2:14 PM
If you put 20,000 grand into a 401k at 18 you would retire at 65 with a million dollars without ever having to put in another cent.
Does the average high school student work full time all summer?
Living at home should be an option at any college.
Parents would do well to loan to their children the entire amount and charge interest.
All Scholarships and aid should be based on IQ. We can no longer afford to fund the connected.
If the frat boys can't keep the grades up perhaps they can keep a weapon up in Iraq.
Posted by aantulov on July 10, 2008 at 11:25 AM
A community college or trade school education can help you get a job. Some employers help pay for further education. It is important to keep your grades up in high school, some high schools allow you to take college level courses for college credit while still attending high school.
Yes, it takes time to research the costs and finances for college, but so do most other big decisions in life. The hope is that students that put the time into the research will learn from the research as well as the college education. Its a learning experience.
Posted by wmb on July 24, 2008 at 9:37 PM
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