Soaring tuition pushes college out of reach

My college is a private catholic school and it is $32,000 a year...lucky it is great when it comes to providing students with aid so I only pay about $3,000 in loans, the rest is grants and scholarships. I have to save all my debt for graduate school

I cant even think about calculating my debt...All I know is when I finish and get my doctorate in pharmacy I should be able to pay them back. Plus, I go to private school so it's really expensive.

I see a lot of people that shouldnt be enrolled in college or are just as stupid when they graduate as when they started. price increases to me take care of two factors one being how bad do you want it? are you willing to pay the price of knowledge and sacrafice some life? second rich people always have better education and its better for the elite that less americans are educated hence most public education. thats my opinion. college is good but overrated get some common sense then learn some culture. i dont go to college i have three times and quit. i might go back but like many i'm not willing to pay the price now when the need arises i will. i hope its never to late to learn.

It doesn't help that not only student loans are becoming harder to get, but applying for scholarships is becoming much harder too. I don't know how I'll be able to afford it.

the worst part is the way colleges are being run. the point for them is to make money not educating the students. Professor are more concerned about research than teaching.

Now this is scary... I need money!!!!

First off, university should not be free, it should be payed for in part by taxes, that are payed by the citizens of the US. Secondly, I have been living in France (whose tuition rates for a public university are about $900 the year) for a little while now and have seen what comes of having universities that are inexpensive -- it comes back to the idea that you get what you pay for. The quality in a public, state subsidized university simply isn't what it is in a private one. I agree that tuition rates are absurd and no family that makes a middle class income or lower can afford to go to college without being in debt. If these universities that we have here are of outstanding quality and require that the tuition rates stay the way they are, we need to reassess what families can really afford, and offer federal aid for anything that families cannot cover.
The solution is not to say, "free college for everyone!". Think about things that are free...do you really want your college education to be of that quality?

MORE good news!

College is just another business. Sorry, kids. It's an investment for life, but, it is still a business.

College would way better if i didn't have to pay for it, seems like a drag...

With a computer and an internet connection, we should be able to provide a top-notch university education to anyone truly desiring one for peanuts...

These statistics are simply absurd given the advances in communication technology the U.S. has seen in recent decades.

The American education system is a joke.

http://current.com/items/89555501/students_rally_for_lower_tuition.htm

wow what the fuck? i hate this... why is college not already free?

i attended community college for two years, but my degree says penn state. and it doesn't say anything about community college. the only difference between me and my friends that attended all 4 years at PSU is that i'm in less debt. otherwise we have the same exact degree. community colleges are a true blessing.

Many of the people I know in my area opted to go to community colleges where the education and opportunities are lower (in my area at least) in order to save money. Many of these same people are not moving on to four year institutions because they are still unable to afford it.

I know my family has accrued a lot of debt from my own college education, my sibling's and I went to private schools and my Mom has been to graduate school. All of these things were done for the sake of knowledge and the hope that a good job will be available for us.

I think it's horrible that we have to pay so much for education when SO MANY other countries have a much much much lower cost for education or no fees at all. The U.S. needs to take a lesson from others (something I consider hard because our society here promotes self sufficiency and a lack of looking towards others for influence) and seriously re consider how education is run here especially at the college level.

anituopia, you are absolutely right. There are numerous interim steps that we can take before we nationalize higher education (which I stopped short of endorsing). Also, my use of "Ivy Leaguers" as an example was a little over the top. However, I still think that a community college resume will end up in the middle of the pile somehow. I also had to LOL about your description of the Ivy Leaguers who were turned down for teaching jobs--sounds like a description of rich kids to me! BTW, Ivy Leaguers applying for teaching jobs? What kind of teaching job--K-12 or BigTime U professorships?

There are some days when I don't even know if I'm going to be able to come back for another semester.

I am trying to earn a degree so I can help others, but with the way the system is set up, it is really frustrating. I feel like even though I have enough intellegence and perserverance to succeed, I can not because I do not have enough money to realize all of my goals.

For me, university is always two steps forward, one step back. Even though I pass all of my classes, if I can't pay for them, I'm failing.

This system is failing me and many others. It's going to do more harm than good in the long run. Something needs to be done really soon.

I voted for change. Hopefully I will see some of it soon.

Yes, we can all tighten our belts a little further, work a little harder, get less sleep and/or attend community colleges. However, the resumes with the Ivy League credentials will still end up on the top of the pile.

Ya, it really does suck that the cost is going up but there's a few solutions.There's always community college. I took summer classes at one and it was $130 for a 3 hour class, that comes out to $5200 for a 4 year bachelors degree. It does suck that it cost so much for state colleges, but if you actually try hard and make good grades you WILL get a scholarship. There's also summer jobs to help, I made $5000 just working as a lifeguard.

Im only a sophomore and have about 15,000 in debt. This is ridiculous!!! I'm wondering if I should go to a much cheaper public college. Financing for college shouldn't get in the way of the college we want to go to.

Miss, the way shits looking, kissing that pile wont get any easier. It's my firm belief that we are and organism that is eating itself to survive but that just my stand point.

college tuition is completely out of hand. This is just another example of the dissolution of the American dream. The middle class will be only a memory soon.

Do I have to kiss my Psych. D. goodbye? I haven't even graduated with my bachelors yet!

Education for profit is emblematic of the toxic brand of unbridled US capitalism. I also can't help but feel that it is yet another way of ensuring that the rich stay rich. It's gotten to the point where only "they" can afford to send their kids to college. Not only do rich investors profit from excessive tuitions, they are the shameful forces behind the for-profit student loan programs. I could go on and on...aren't you sick and tired of being fleeced from every direction like I am?

Student loan forgiveness should be the next bail out. How about rewarding all those individuals who were willing to gamble on improving their intellect, and in turn improving our nation.

I didn't go to school and made more money last year than both of my parents who have degrees. Not bashing any degree holders or students.

Free public education was one of Thomas Jefferson's pillars of democracy. He started the University of Virginia to embody that belief...

It would be way better if we didn't have to pay for college.

Just for an associates degree, im gonna be about 7500-8000 dollars in debt after this (just got the info in the mail yesterday). with the economy the way it is and the damaged job market, both my parents jobs are in jeopardy where they are at. So i will not put that all on them. Looks like my good credit wont be good for long.

Atleast it will give me more incentive to do well in my classes; considering what people have to do now days to get a good education!

So, when all us, future intellects, realize we really are in over our heads with accrued debt,
can student loan companies get bailed out too?

Just looking ahead...

I'm almost done with school and will be about $15,000 in debt with student loans. I keep wondering how the whole payment plan will work. Still my education so far has been great. I hope I never stop learning. I even plan on going back.

Vocational school is better for a career anyhow, with a few professions in exception. Pretty soon they will probably get specialty schools too.
But you still have fools like me with a ton of college and not much to do with it.

This is utter bull crap, and I fear for the future of college education in the United States.

i go to an accelerated design school that puts you out with a bachelors of science in 21 months...after my living expenses and tuition, in less than 2 years i will be in the hole upwards of $100,000...i don't know if i am the only one...but i feel this is just ridiculous

Education is supposed to be "Leave no child behind" , yet most Americans can not afford to put their child through college, without student loans or mortgages. I don't understand how we can give billions bailing out companies and not free education for our children to go to college. Remember our children one day will run this country and others will be at the mercy of trying to understand what politics is all about. Why not make education free to all children, even those with learning disabilities, they can learn a trade or something to help support themselves.

History will view the expansion access to higher education as a vital cog in America's ascendency to world leadership.

The decline in access will be viewed as a fundamental cause of her fall to mediocrity.

College should be free to all American who want to go.

Let there be private Universities who charge up the wazoo. But Community Colleges should be supported by the US and the education offered there should be free.

We have class warfare, when we win college will be free.