Monday, October 22, 2007

College Costs Skyrocket

Here's something too many of us already know, tuition and fees for both public and private colleges/universities skyrocketed two times the rate of inflation.
    The increases in the cost of higher education continue to drive up the amount that students and families borrow, with the greatest increase coming in private loans, according to a separate College Board report also released this morning.
The cost goes up, grants go down, loans go through the roof, and the basic financial education of a college graduate revolves around debt, the enormity of which precedes saving for retirement, a house, a car, an emergency fund, a secure financial future. A friend recently requested a post on juggling student loan debt in relation to credit card debt, etc., and I thought it was a great idea. But seeing that it's afternoon and another dealine looms, that will be for tommorrow. Plus, I have to go get a job to pay my student loan...

2 comments:

Ms. M&P said...

It's getting out of control and I wonder at what point the costs will just start outpricing everyone.

I got into a fairly heated political argument with someone about this (someone who is much more politically conservative than I am). He said that the reason college costs are so high is because of government subsidies and loans. Basically arguing that higher education's growth was artificially fueled by government spending. It's a compelling argument, but without the subsidies, a lot of people would be priced out who need college educations (back to my original point). It's a viscious cycle. I wish I could make sense of it!

PiggyBankBlues said...

whoa, that's an argument i never heard before. sounds like total BS to me as well! good for you for arguing.

my $.02...

state aid has plummeted in most state universities, in no small relation to the amt. of federal aid cut off to states, who then have larger budget gaps.

like any other business, the cost of healthcare has gone through the roof, and the cost of labor has risen faster than inflation.

more students require student aid- ie more families have more than one kid in college at once, more families from low-income families send their kid(s) to school,etc.