But there are so many students who take the most rigorous courses, spend a lot of time on academics, with goals of becoming an engineer, a CPA, an attorney, a nurse, should only those with means have a chance to learn what interests them? Public universities used to help level the playing field, my educational costs are a tiny fraction compared to my kids’ costs.
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They could if they chose, there just isn’t the incentive for them to do that.
Purdue had been on a COA freeze for 12 years now.
Because they’re private businesses. They need to maintain their brand, which includes a sense of exclusivity. They are not looking to provide a public good, trying to make their services affordable to all. That’s the mandate of public universities.
In Europe and Asia, and even in Canada, the top elite universities are public. Super expensive private elite schools are a U.S. phenomenon as far as I know.
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Federal student loans don’t even cover CC here, it’s almost $10,000 a year. And then one has to figure out what credits transfer.
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Not talking from parental perspective, just from students. Parents obviously don’t have to pay and often are very clear that they can’t or won’t take loans.
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Unfortunately, the US college system is setup based on family financials and expects parents to pay. Increasing the max Pell Grant amount would open up more choices to some students at CCs and public institutions. Private schools can charge whatever they want, and distribute their financial aid money however they want.
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But it would be nice to have more affordable public options. We just purchased a 2011 Honda Accord for $8,500, which was affordable (actually our mechanic said it was a great deal with 50,000 miles). $30,000+ for new one was not (we only pay cash). Public education used to be much cheaper than private options, my kids’ COA was very similar after merit at both the publics and privates they applied to (but still in the $120,000+ area).
Well, students can wait until 24 to be considered independent for financial aid. If a student wants to qualify for FA under their own steam/income, they can wait 5-6 years after high school to start college (maybe not the worst idea actually).
Elite colleges often very open to accepting older, non traditional students.
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Affordable public university requires the political will of the state. It requires more public funding than many want to pay. If we want affordable public university - we collectively need to work towards that policy goal by electing those who also support that, and (unpopular to many) supporting tax increases to pay for that subsidizing of higher ed.
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True, but IMO the meet full need schools talk a good game about accepting non-traditional students but the numbers of those admitted/attending are so very small. And at some schools, like Columbia GS, they don’t meet full need.
Also, the opportunity cost of not having a relatively higher income for those early years is high, and can persist for one’s entire career.
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And many community colleges have excellent articulation agreements with four year schools.
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Number of admitted students to meet full needs school small, no matter what the cohort.
Definitely there is opportunity cost to the decisions I pointed out above, as there is with any decision made. Opportunity cost to taking out loans to afford an expensive school, opportunity cost to delaying higher ed, opportunity costs exist everywhere.
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Are you fully informed on academia right now? I think multi billion endowments are the exception, not the rule. Many state universities are making cuts - staff, programs, etc. I think it’s the exception that is swimming in money.
You can’t give away what you don’t have.
I’m not really sure of the point of this thread… @1Rubin do you really think that colleges can just “make things affordable” across the board? (you mentioned CC to Ivy league). Do you think that parents should be able to choose to not “drain their bank accounts” but expect a coveted educational experience for their child? What about the people who don’t even have a bank account to drain?
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Public colleges/universities used to be better supported by the public. People were OK with supporting public education with their tax dollars. Now many people I know (who are spending a lot of money on other things) are loath to pay taxes unless their own child/ren directly benefits.
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I applaud the states with good community college systems, and the ability to move easily to four year colleges. For some, this might mean getting a two year degree and then working part time while completing their bachelors. Or even working full time and attending college time.
There are many paths to success that are not tippy top colleges or unaffordable ones.
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Perhaps the government could offer no-cost tuition, at any state school, for students that sign a 10-year commitment to public service post-graduation? Basically, they’d front load the current PSLF benefits.
I’d like to see a mandatory public service requirement after high school, before any student can progress to college. Linking that public service to reduced tuition could prove beneficial.
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My daughter paid $100,000 more than her dad did for the same education less than 30 years later. That’s crazy.
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@Mjkacmom - I’m not surprised.
A few years ago I was going through some old books and a tuition receipt for my freshman year of college (local cc) fell out. I paid $125.00 for a semester tuition for a full time class load. The cc was a good one and there were a lot of students back then (mid 1970’s) who like me had great grades/test scores but not a lot of money. I googled the current tuition rate at the same cc and it was $5000.00 per semester! Holy cow!
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The dollar’s buying power decreases by about 50% every 25-30 years or so. Inflation is usually about 2-2.5% per year, compounding. So something that costs $10k today could reasonably be expected to cost about $20k in 25-30 years.
Similar price increases do not apply the same across the board – different products increase at different rates – that works as a general rule.
So a $100,000 education 25-30 years ago would be adjusted for inflation to about $200,000 today.
Colleges may be increasing their prices faster than inflation would warrant, of course.
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My children attend(ed) the same university I did.
My total tuition = $52,000
Their total tuition = $156,000 - $168,000
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