I know I’m not the first person to bring this up. I know free education is a topic in this election (hey Bernie!). But seriously. When I look at the loans and debt American families already face for cars, homes, etc etc I don’t understand how it has come to this point.
Charging $60,000 for a BA, which is necessary for almost any well-paid job, is a social crime imo. It is an utter disregard for the youth of today, and the economy of tomorrow. it’s like a big “f*ck you” to the dwindling middle class.
So I want to know: where does this money go? If thousands of students are admitted, all paying at least about $10,000 a year for crappy dorms, crappy caf food, old classrooms, and one nice building with the rest being concrete blocks, what is happening here? What is this money financing??
Maybe I’m just not understanding of financing a college, but…come on. This is actually embarrassing of the great U.S.A and I can’t believe people just take on loans and hope for a good job in this economy.
But in a country where CC is looked down upon by many, why are people shelling out so much money for a name and prestige, and “better teachers” (which isn’t even really that true)?
In my opinion, The public state colleges are ridiculous in cost .
They charge $200 for books that only cost $30 to make. Then, they require access codes for the majority of college classes. So, you can’t really buy used books or sell them back because you need a access code. I agree about the crappy dorm rooms with no A/C yet they cost that $8000 or more. Tuition is increasing each semester and federal aid barely increases each year. I think something needs to change about it. This issue really affects low income and middle class college students.
What angers me the most is that education should be the factor that bridges the classes that we have in America, from the smart but poor kids to the studious rich kids. Finances, social life etc. should not matter in an academic setting. It should be about academic excellence and hard work, and it should enable somebody from modest to poor backgrounds to rise above their parents’ achievements and further the family’s name, so to speak (that sounds archaic but it’s still true).
Plenty of students with a 3.7 GPA could do well in BU’s English 101 class, but they never will have that option, because BU is reserved for the rich and those who are “special” enough. Who is really special enough these days when you need a 4.something GPA, lead every damn thing (because apparently followers are completely useless), have a dad with a rare type of cancer, and live on the streets while starting a political revolution?
Obviously this is exaggerated, but the average student can’t afford the education he/she should get with an A- average and a normal life without discipline issues or whatever.
I think higher education should be a right, not an exclusivity game of elitist colleges asking you to humble brag and throw them money they really don’t deserve. Essentially, we are killing our own “American dream” by making college a money investment no young person should have to make.
We’ve been running the numbers lately, and even with significant scholarships our costs are going to be between approximately $13K - $20K per year if we include room and board, books, mandatory, and miscellaneous fees.
If my son went to FAU next to our house, and lived at home, most of his costs would be covered.
So it does come down to choices to a certain extent. If you want to have the “on campus” experience, it tends to run up the cost.
We are blessed that we can do it, but I’ve been a little surprised just looking at the hard numbers even after scholarships.
Are you seriously arguing that a kid needs to attend BU (a private university BTW) which is located in one of the most expensive cities in the country in order to “rise above their parent’s achievements”?
@blossom no, I am saying that parents naturally would want their children to have the typical college education that they had back when college wasn’t ridiculously expensive, and earn their own living independently. But even if the students do stay away at college, they will probably come back because they can’t find a job in this economy, and live at home for longer than the average American would like. In horrific debt. With interest.
I’m basically talking about myself. It’s an example. My dad went to UC Berkeley and had no loans/debt. He thought that if I got good grades like him I would be able to go to a nice college. Clearly, he was wrong. Never mind me getting in, most colleges I could fit into academically are unrealistic financially. So, they are off limits.
And if your parents went to CC, yes, BU would be a step up. If they didn’t go to college, it would be a step up. BU does have a prestige factor, even though it’s not Ivy League (who gets into those anyway).
Also, as I think a college’s tuition should only tie in with its academic excellence (or at MOST its buildings and equipment), I fail to see why Boston should be a factor. $45,000 must give you superhuman professors, I guess.
(plus Endicott College, which is in Beverly MA, costs about $39,000)
I blame a lot of it on affluenza and people wanting " the full college experience" rather than just an education. A choice of take it or leave it in the cafeteria and sharing a dorm room or having a hall bathroom is no longer acceptable. All the extras cost money.
The cynic in me also makes me wonder if it is a way to keep the lower class in its place.
I’d like to shop at Whole Foods. I’ve worked hard, so deserve to shop there, not at Safeway. Safeway’s food is good enough for regular people but not for me as I work really hard for my money. I don’t have enough money for the (private school like) Whole Foods, and could comfortable shop at (public school like) Safeway, and the food at Safeway is good, but I want the prestige of shopping at Whole Foods.
It just really isn’t fair that Whole Foods charges $3 for apples when Safeway has them on sale for $.88. Even Safeway is ‘better’ than the free apples at the food bank (community college)!
I’m no expert or economist by any stretch but I have this hunch that student loans have almost made it worse in some ways. They drive up demand for a product (college) and thus increase the cost (sometimes). It’s a self-perpetuating cycle.
My parents sent me out-of-state and paid the tuition, and I have two siblings!
Things have changed. But there are still ways to do it economically; it’s just not glamorous.
@twoinanddone actually, Safeway is a good metaphor because, just like state schools, it’s gotten more expensive. it It used to be cheaper back in the 90s and early 2000s, but now Trader Joe’s is actually cheaper…weird.
That being said, a CC doesn’t even offer an apple, and an apple from a state school is not viewed the same way as an apple from a “prestige” organic school.
Maybe we can compromise and say, alright, rich kids and Einsteins can go to prestige schools, but state schools should be made very affordable/free for everybody? Oh, wait…those are rising too.
UC Berkeley:
2008-2009: $4,465.75
2011-12: $7,230.25
2015-16: $32,646
Well, I guess you can get an AA and see what jobs are out there for you, then.
See, no one can answer your questions about where the money goes or why costs have gone up so much greater than inflation. The typical response on these boards - just go to a less expensive school. In many states, the affordable options are shrinking rapidly, even community colleges.
Trace it back to Ronald Reagan, and some other key things done in CA.
Two specific developments in post-Reagan California help to explain why this is happening: in 1978 California passed the infamous Proposition 13, greatly restricting the state’s capacity to raise revenue through property taxes; and in the 1980s it began one of the great prison-building booms of our time, or what historian Ruth Wilson Gilmore calls the “Golden Gulag,” expanding the incarcerated population in California by 500 percent between 1982 and 2000. While Proposition 13 dramatically limited the total revenue in the state‘s coffers, the prison boom diminished the percentage of total funds available for higher education. The portion of the shrinking general fund that could go to expanding public institutional capacity has decreased from around 17 to 10 percent since the late 1970s. For every $1,000 of personal income in California, the state invested only $7.71 for higher education in 2008, about 40 percent below the $12.86 invested as late as 1980.
CA hasn’t built a UC campus since I think 1978. Right now, CA has more students trying to get into college than they have room for. So the overflow goes to the other states in the Union. Essentially your state schools are able to charge CA kids very high out of state tuition rates, and your legislatures love that and reduce the space for in state kids. In turn they raise the price to push your kids to lesser schools. A vicious cycle, and liberals like to spend money on bi-lingual education and all the other programs that need to be eliminated. Reagan killed the beautiful CA education system, and his policies continue to kill education systems around the country.
I can tell you where the money goes. I grew up in BU’s neighborhood, and in the 1960’s the campus was a dump. Boston got hot in early May and only one dorm was air conditioned. The cafeteria closed at 6:30 pm sharp and if you missed dinner you went to Store 24 and got a greasy hot dog.
Kids at BU now expect 24/7 dining options- who do you think stands behind the counter of the food court? People. Who get paid. Dorms are air conditioned, have been wired and rewired for 2015 level technology (BU used to have a pay phone on every floor. That’s right-- a pay phone) with people manning the desk 24/7 in case your laptop dies ten minutes before a paper is due. If you had a food allergy you were pretty much SOL- there was no staff to help you figure out celiac, vegan, egg allergy, no soy. If you had a learning disability you weren’t admitted in the first place most likely, so no need for all the support that’s in place for kids who need tutors, accomodations, etc.
If you want to cut your costs, sit at your parents kitchen table and get an online degree. But to complain that you can’t afford to attend a private institution (and yes, Boston being expensive is very relevant. It costs more to pay someone to clean a dorm in Boston than in Tulsa; it costs more to build a dorm, maintain a dorm, insure the dorm, AND to pay the people who shovel the snow and salt the sidewalks in the winter time)- how hard have you looked for affordable options?
Post your stats- folks here can steer you towards a college which you can afford. But kvetching that you can’t afford BU- one of the most expensive colleges in the country- and claiming that the entire system is broken- is like me going to Bloomingdale’s and being upset that I can’t find a T-shirt for $6.
Well of course we can answer. In the 70’s, states had bigger budgets for public schools. Professors were paid a lot less in comparison to other white collar workers. Dorms were ‘traditional’ with 2 to a room, bathrooms down the hall, less electricity used because students didn’t have TVs and computers and gaming systems (just popcorn poppers and hair dryers). There were one or two choices in the dining room for the entree, and a salad bar was a luxury. You didn’t hear any parents complaining that there were 100 students in a class, that the disability office (the what?!?) wasn’t helping the student with accommodations, that the library wasn’t open 24 hours a day. There were campus police, but not to the extent there is today.
Things cost more now. I don’t even think I had an adviser when I was in college. I know I had a couple of classes with 300+ students. We had a nice rec center, but not the $$$$Million swimming pool they have now. The state has cut the budget. There is a new student ‘village’ with nice townhome style apartments.
If we go more to a socialist system for college, I think people will be very unhappy being told they must go to the college closest to their home, with no ‘sleep away camp’ experience. Rich people will still get to buy their educational experience, but for the average joe, it’s going to be a Chinese/European experience of education for the masses. No going to an OOS public because you want to. No million dollar swimming pools for you.
You said in one of your other threads that you come from a poor background. Did you not get any need-based aid from UMass or just not enough? Are you a state resident?
I don’t think you’re targeting the right schools. How much can your parents pay per year? With an 1810 SAT and 3.85 GPA, you probably weren’t going to get a lot of merit aid, and the colleges that offer need-based aid generally require higher stats for admission. You need a new plan. If money is tight, you could get your degree at the community college then transfer to a 4-year school. That will save quite a bit.