College Tuition: More Expensive Than Ever

The rising cost of colleges in the United States has been a major concern for many high school students around the country.

  The cost of college has risen by 143% since 1963, as referenced in an article written by Bestcolleges.com. From the years 2000-2020, we have seen the largest increase since the average cost of going to college back in 2000 was $13,000, and by 2020 the average cost of college was up to $21,000. 

In addition to this, from the years 1995 to 2017, the amount of combined student debt has increased from $187 billion to $1.4 trillion dollars in the US. Some of the possible explanations that may account for the significant increase in college tuition include costs of salaries, medical insurance, and other benefits that continue to rise.

This includes student services such as facilities, health services, parking, food services, as well as school research labs, and athletics programs. Also, as mentioned in an article by guildededucation.com, the state government doesn’t provide as much support as it used to.

PVHS College and Career Center counselor Joanne Lewis gave her insight on why she thought costs of colleges have been rising so quickly.

“I would say that people forget college is a business,” Lewis said. 

“When you have a great demand for something, and a somewhat limited supply, businesses can drive their prices extremely high, and we live in a name-brand society where people believe that the cost of something indicates the quality or value of something, when in reality all colleges provide a set of resources that a student can take advantage of or not take advantage of.” 

Another big consideration is deciding between in-state versus out-of-state colleges. 

An article by US News found that the tuition for in-state California students costs about $13,000 less than out-of-state state students coming into California for school. Another major point to emphasize regarding the rising costs of colleges is the question of whether there will be more loans and grants offered. Based on an article by fsapartners.ed/gov, in the year 1995, the minimum grant was $400 with the maximum grant being $3,900, while in 2017 the maximum grant was $5,775.