Saturday, March 30, 2013
Failing College
Reason.com: The American higher education system is the envy of the world, or so the cliché goes. The sons and daughters of foreign potentates flock to our shores, while kids raised on apple pie and Sesame Street claw each others’ eyes out for the chance to attend a top university. With more than 18 million current undergraduates—who pay average annual tuition of $32,000 each—the market for higher education seems to be going gangbusters.
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This article starts off saying, "The American higher education system is the envy of the world, or so the cliché goes." It's fairly safe to say that this stereotype has been broken. Most of my friends who attend university in other countries actually pity me for attending school in America. They find it astounding how much money an education costs, and even more astounding how much of the burden I'm forced to carry. They also find the institution's requirements for living on campus or receiving a meal plan, quite insane. All of these "American College Traditions" have become a cost burden so great to bear, that students are walking away with debt that they spend years paying off, if they don't default on the loans or go bankrupt in an attempt to pay them off. My friend who is originally from India wanted to come to America for grad school, but now knows better-- it costs too much for him to even consider attending school here. Clearly, the American college system is not working, as it turns people out on the streets in debt and repels those who wish for an education, but can't afford it for even a year.
I agree with Kelly here. Something definitely needs to be done about the ridiculous cost of college in America. Similarly to Kelly's friends, my cousins do not live in the United States. When we asked them if they were going to attend college in America, as their parents did, they laughed and said "no way." And, it has definitely worked out for them. One of my cousins has opened his own business and is making more than any of his relatives in America ever will. AND he never went to college. So why are we so obsessed with getting college degrees and spending absurd amounts of money only to be unemployed? While I am very thankful for my college education, I have observed that some of my friends at other colleges are not. My friends may enjoy the fun times they have at college, but they do not enjoy or get anything out of the part of college that they are actually paying for. While the cost of college is definitely an issue our country needs to face, I think we equally need to face the attitude necessary to get the bang for your buck.
I would to agree with what this article is saying. Being a college student myself, I am definitely feeling the effects of this tuition rise. I agree with what our President has to say about a college education being a necessity, not just a luxury because it seems in today's world, you need a degree to be seen as capable in just about every field. Yes, perhaps finding ways of making college more accessible to today's lifestyle would bring down costs and allow more students to finish school. However, I think there could be a more impactive solution, like perhaps feeding more money into the state school systems, so that they will keep their costs lower, as well as still feeding grants to students. Of course, this will require cuts in the national budget otherwise, but I think it could be a stepping stone to providing everyone with a college education.
I have to say, I love the education that comes from CMU, but it is absolutely ridiculous that the tuition has steadily been increasing for the past three years. REALLY? Come on CMU, come America... Yes, College is a luxury, but in today's world, a college degree is something that a person NEEDS to be looked at for most jobs. College education has become something that we all seem to need, but instead of helping the youth of America afford it, we continue to raise the prices. I know that I am not wealthy. I know that every increase in tuition makes it harder and harder for me to stay here. I think this is something that needs to be addressed on a national level. It is unfair to all of us. "It will better your education..." is something that I don't want to hear year after year if it means that I have to pay thousands more a year...
Growing up the son of two highly educated parents with a combined 4 PHDs, not going to college was never even something I considered. However tuition rates as we all now have gotten insane. I have been lucky enough so far to receive huge financial aid, but I might be losing that soon, and if that happens I will be responsible for every cent that CMU takes as my parents refuse to contribute even the tiniest bit. Paying for it now has been hard enough I don't know what I am supposed to do if it goes skyrocketing. I agree with the president that everyone should be attending college but pretty soon the crippling debt will just get to be to much for most people (if it hasn't already). If the government wants to change that they need to do something that will cause tuition to stop rising or at least rise significantly slower. The article does not explain or justify its claim that the government is responsible for the skyrocketing rates but if its true, Id like to know why they are still doing it?
Education, like in many other families, was always a priority, but in NO WAY am I able to actually pay for college, and sadly I have chosen a school and carrier that makes the situation worse! I understand that It takes a lot of funding to run a university, especially one so technologically advanced. However, the crazy prices are really just stupid. Schools in England and Scotland are quite good, while costing like half the price of an American University.
I found this to be quite a disheartening article. While I was reading it I kept thinking, "well thats not always true" but when I started typing this I realized it often is. My mom was just talking to me about how a number of kids from my high school had dropped out of college, because it was basically too much for them to handle, and how she wanted to console there moms by saying something like "well college isnt for everyone." but the sad part is that it needs to be. I know those kids will either go to community college or just start working in one of the little stores in the suburb where we are from and that will be as far as they can get without going back to college.
I mean college is hard, but so is real life. It is very sad that so much of our lives has to be spent working instead of with family or doing things that make you happy. Our best shot is to get a job that makes us happy and about 98% of the time we need a college education to do that. The worst part is though that to get a job that will give you enough money to live comfortably you have to go to a college that more often than not will empty your pockets for many many years and many will spend the first part of their career paying for the education that got them there. I know everything is about money but on paper it seems like everything could just be so much simpler if that could change in a few areas like education.
I found it interesting the article noted that tuition costs were rising with the increasing number of attendance. Wouldn't it make more sense that more people were attending the cost would drop? I understand that new dorms must be built etc. but wouldn't it make more sense for a smaller cost? The other thing the article noted was how internationally American places for higher education were the best but before that they are the worst. Wouldn't that me that debt would decrease overall because international students can't get pell grants etc.? I feel this is positive yet negative at the same time...
I personally find it absolutely ridiculous that not everyone can afford to go to college. education should be a right not a privilege, and I find it depressing and upsetting that prices are going up as the quality of education goes down. What bothers me more, which the article and pretty much everyone has already touched on, is that we spend so much money on tuition with no guarantee of a job after graduation. However, i do see an up side to all this. Before I went to college, a girl two years ahead of me came back to my high school for a visit. I was talking with her and my high school directer and she was going on about how she wanted to change her major but she wasn't sure her parents would approve of her studying Photography instead of business. My direct just looked at her said, "no one can pay for their education anyway anymore, so you might as well just study what you want." I took that to heart, which is why I'm here, but I still find this reality horribly depressing.
What I don't get is why tuition prices keep increasing if universities like CMU are still accepting the same number of students every year. I also feel like while the financial situation college kids are in right now really sucks, this whole inflation thing is something we'll have to live through in order for this to get better for us in the future when the American post-secondary education system can accommodate for the population growth.
In a post-gazette article from 2010 explains some things that colleges spend money on. They mainly spend money on: sports programs, raising teacher salaries, giving dorm rooms new technology and comfortable living conditions, and better food. All of this to attract new students. I've also heard that colleges spend a lot of money on landscaping and the care of campus property to attract prospectives. I see this in a lot of colleges around the USA. However, let's take a look at CMU. Admit it. We don't have great sports teams and the players were not given scholarships or a large sum of money from the university to spend throughout the year. I don't know anything about the teacher salaries, and I'm not going to say anything. I'm pretty sure most students don't like the quality of dorm rooms on campus. I KNOW everyone hates the food here. So what is CMU spending the money on? Technology. Top-notch systems in Purnell. I don't know what else, but these things are pretty helpful in our education. Don't get me wrong. I hate the price of tuition in the USA. It's as if the colleges are trying to set students up for failure. If they can't afford the school, they take out loans and are in a lifetime of debt. If they don't go to the school because of financial problems, then they don't seem to be getting the best job offers after. Clearly, things need to change, but for right now, I don't know enough information to determine how to change it.
This article makes a really important point. The cost of college is far to high, and with unemployment to so high it is hard to pay off the loans that have to be taken on to afford college in the first place. It is a sad state a affairs when extremely talented people have to drop out of school because they can no longer afford it, but that is a reality that affects so many of my friends. Also, when did it happen that the only way you can survive in the world is with a college degree. Thats not to say that I'm not happy to be getting one, all I'm saying is that there needs to be a way to survive in this society without shelling out 200,000 dollars to go to a university just to find a low income job because there is nothing else out there.
Coincidentally I just glanced at the CMU newspaper and it mentioned that CMU received 900 million or a similar amount and raised tuition by 10%.
It is true that tuition in America is extremely high especially at universities like CMU and other well known top colleges. The article is quite spot on, but I wish that it mentioned solutions to all of the problems that they have with the rise in tuition costs. What are the reasons for the increases? Are they necessary? Are these universities actually making the type of money that people think they are; or are they actually in need of these funds? My experience is that many universities are always complaining of having a lack of funds to stay technologically up-to-date; encourage and fund the many student activities and events that occur on campus as well as paying the many expenses that come with having large universities. I wish that the article discussed more of these issues rather than just state what we already know, which is that university is expensive and many people can't afford it.
Reading some of the other articles that this article cites as demonstrating how to survive the college tuition bubble that is going to burst, I was astonished at just how much tuition has risen in real-dollar terms, even adjusting for inflation. One article said that tuition to Northwestern in 1958 was $785. Now, it's over $43,000. Even after adjusting for inflation, the tuition cost has more than QUADRUPLED. Tuitions have risen by over 7% every year, which as the article says is well above the CPI growth. Looking at some of these numbers, there is just no way that this can sustain itself , and I'm honestly surprised that the bubble hasn't already burst. Yes, it's more and more important to get a college degree, but even with that in mind, it still might not be worth it because of the sheer amount of debt that many people leave college with. And because much of the money is coming from government loans, if a student defaults on the loans, the school isn't affected at all. So they have absolutely no incentive to lower costs because the government keeps providing the loans. It's a scary situation, and I have no idea what the solution is, but I hope that someone comes up with something soon.
Huh. Does anyone know why subsidies and other government grants result in a higher cost of education? Also, what is it that other countries are doing that America isn't, that contributes to their overall lower costs? Would a totally different system of education help the problem, or would it only make it worse? I feel like this article would benefit more from having more information. As it stands, it is hard to suggest possible solutions when the problem is only barely defined, and the actual causes haven't been brought up at all.
I can be the devils advocate in this situation that we as CMU students are paying for a name, Carnegie Mellon university. Now what we get with that name is the best curriculums, the extravagant resources and an extremely hands on classroom setting. We pay a shitload (pardon my french) but we are paying for a better educational experience then likely 80% of our country gets to experience. Yes I do think that it is ridiculous how much they keep bumping tuition up every year. There is no valid reason why the tuition is going up again and again but I understand why we pay out the ass to be here at this school. Should colleges across the country be too expensive for a student to go to? No because as Mariah said Higher education should be a Right not a privilege.
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