SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2014

Op-Ed

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Opinion
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Educational Institutions are in Need of Reform

By: Erin Pembroke

A s of recent, college can be as cheap as $27,000 and as

expensive as $32,000 for a mere Bachelors Degree. God forbid that a person ants to contin!e their st!dies and ant to obtain a "asters Degree in their field. #hat is li$el% to cost the average person aro!nd $&2,000 or even more. "asters Degrees can range from $32,000 to $&2,000 and 'h.Ds can range from $&2,000( $)00,000. #hese heavil% levied prices ta$e a toll on not *!st the individ!al person ho ta$es m!ltiple loans o!t from not onl% the college b!t also private loans from ban$s and +allie "ae. ,hen an individ!al has maxed o!t their reso!rces, the% !s!all% go to their parents or famil% members ho, in this econom%, cannot afford to ta$e o!t an% more loans d!e to their o n personal loans on mortgages, car pa%ments and ta$ing care of an% other children the% ma% have as ell as, their o n st!dent loans from hen the% ere st!dents %ears ago. #hese ed!cation instit!tions have ta$en advantage of not onl% the st!dents, and families that see$ ed!cation, b!t as ell as the econom%. D!e to the economic crisis, the% have raised their prices, %et do not see that d!ring this inflation, less people ill attend college, and more ill start to -!estion hether college is even important. .n addition, more ill -!estion the motives of colleges and !niversities ali$e, seeing them as mone% pits as the% vac!!m and siphon off a ma*orit% of the middle classes mone%. /ot onl% has

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2014

Op-Ed

the cost of t!ition risen, the interest rates of these loans, too have risen. . have seen interest rates as m!ch as 0.12 and . am s!re the% ill still be on the rise. 3o does the econom% in the 4.+. expect to get better hen the 4.+. has a $) trillion debt amo!nt of st!dent loans5 6s more grad!ate from college, and fe er *obs are available, ho ill each individ!al begin to thin$ abo!t or attempt to pa% off their st!dent loans ith no *ob5 #here are more people ith degrees than there are *obs. ,hat is a famil% to do, than to feel the eight and b!rden of these loans along ith their ever% da% expenses5 .n the end, people are no sa%ing, 7ma%be, college is not for ever%one.8 ,h% is it that a secondar% school teacher ith both a da% and a night *ob can ma$e more mone% than a professor ith a 'h.D.5 ,h% it is that people ith "asters Degrees and 'h.Ds are or$ing at places li$e "cDonalds and ,al(mart5 #he inevitable m!st occ!r9 ed!cational instit!tions "4+# lo er their t!ition and interest rates or face extinction. "ore people ill opt(o!t of college and more colleges and !niversities ill sh!t do n. :ight no , the% have become financial giants and m!st be stopped or else, o!r econom% ill orsen and contin!e to s!ffer, especiall% since, st!dent loans cannot be pardon or a person cannot file ban$r!ptc% against them. #h!s, 6merica is in need of a reform dealing ith the ed!cational instit!tions. .