Many colleges and universities are operating more like a business and prioritizing making money rather than giving their students a proper education. This leaves students paying an expensive amount of money for an experience that often fails to prepare them for the real world.
One of the biggest concerns students face is tuition and fees, which continues to rise without improvement on the quality of education. Why are students paying so much money for an education that isn’t living up to their expectations?
When colleges are prioritizing revenue, students are left carrying the financial burden after graduation. Most of the time, the debt isn’t paid until a decade or more later. Students are seen as a customer, not a learner.
Whether in-state or out-of-state, public or private, many colleges and universities are still making it known to place financial priorities ahead of making education effective and affordable.
Private institutions often have a higher cost significantly, because they don’t receive state funding and have to rely on tuition. Public institutions, despite receiving state funding, tuition continues to rise.
Tuition keeps rising, students graduate with debt, and having a degree doesn’t automatically translate to having a job. “The total average student loan debt (including private loan debt) may be as high as $42,673,”(Hanson). Students are investing huge amounts of money without a guaranteed outcome. Sometimes students will blindly choose the university they’re going to based on dorms, gym and stadiums. Colleges and universities are good at marketing these amenities, as well as, emphasizing the size of their enrollment.
Of course having a degree opens doors for countless opportunities, some programs provide excellent learning opportunities, and the money from tuition is going to research, staff and facilities. While these points are valid, it doesn’t justify the growing gap between educational value and cost. College is too expensive, it’s gotten to the point where money matters more than your education. Without money, you can’t get an education.
“Enrollment among new high school graduates has declined 11.6% since its peak in 2009 (70.1%)” (Hanson).
Scholarships can help students afford college, but they also highlight how expensive it is to go to a college. It is also not guaranteed that one would get scholarships because of how competitive they are. Not to mention, most scholarship websites don’t get back to students on whether or not they got a scholarship. Most of the time they’re just trying to collect data instead of actually helping students.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, is one of the legitimate scholarships websites. They help a wide range of students. But students will still face problems. Some students get little to nothing because of their parent’s income, but their parents aren’t going to help them pay for their tuition that much.
Universities and colleges should be more transparent on where tuition and fees are going. This would help upcoming students decide on whether or not they want to invest in their education at such an expensive college or even pursue an education. Students sacrifice a lot of money, time, and patience. It is only fair that they are sacrificing for an education that will not disappoint them.
