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Joseph Handorf

Professor Helmers

English Comp. II

23 March 2020

Why So Expensive?
What would be the effect of reducing the price of college? And does the money really benefit the
students or just the business?

In today’s society many students are unable to reach their goal in going to college after
high school. The main reason for this struggle is due to the cost in order to get into these
universities, disregarding possible scholarships. The cost to attend college has gone through the
roof this past decade. With more and more people attending universities it is understandable for
the rise in cost. However, is the cost really necessary? What would happen to these schools if
they were to reduce the price of admission, overall this would benefit people who may not be
able to afford the steep cost. Many wonder why the price of tuition is so high and wonder the
effects if they were lowered.

Tons of research has been conducted over the cost of a college degree, and many are
curious of why an education is so expensive. Abigail Hess, in his article “The cost of college
increased by more than 25% in the last 10 years—here’s why” he argues that college tuition has
risen a scary amount and that debt is becoming a national concern. He says, during the 1978 to
1979 school year it cost around $8,250 in today's money value per year for public college. And
today the cost is closer to $21,370 per year to attend a public college. The price for tuition has
risen by nearly 30 percent. However, to receive a college degree is still a huge accomplishment
but maybe a bigger investment. Whereas ​David Deming, argues that free college wouldn’t be
such a bad idea. In his article, “Tuition-Free College Could Cost Less Than You Think” he states
a lot of his own beliefs rather than having facts and statistics. When ​Abigail Hess uses nearly all
statistics and lists information from known groups such as the college board and the bureau of
labor statistics. Both sources are credible and will be a great source of information for my topic.

David Tomar is the author of the article “Why is College So Expensive?”, he argues all
the reasons for the absurd price tags that come with a college degree. Many blame it on the rising
financial aid or low state funding. And throughout each article it is common that a person with a
college degree will earn more than a non-grad over the course of a lifetime. While author Nathan
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Lewis, argues what colleges are putting money towards in his article “U.S. Colleges: Where
Does The Money Go?”. His audience was informed that colleges use their money to pay for
scholarships. This means that many students may be paying for other students who received a
scholarship of some sort. Nathan Lewis only focused on one college which was Colegate
therefore, this article may not be useful for my paper. However, on the other hand David Tomar
uses facts and statistics from outside sources such as the department of education. He says,
“according to the Department of Education data, administrative positions at colleges and
universities grew by 60 percent between 1993 and 2009.” This shows that the size of universities
are continuing to grow. This will affect housing and dorms. Since both articles were backed up
with data and statistics, and being recently edited they would both be great sources for my
research.

There are tons of relevant articles that share the same findings and have the same
information. Which can all be used for my topic of college and the price that comes with it.
However, something that may hurt the credibility of the source is the date it was published.
These sources that have information and data may very well be outdated and unuseful.
According to the article, “Putting the Rising Cost of College in Perspective” by Lily Rothman. It
shares the topic of all the negative flaws that come with the growing cost of a four year degree.
And why many are unhappy with cost. However, the information is outdated. Being published in
2016, four years makes a big difference. Therefore, the data that is given throughout the article
would be untrue to include in my research.

In conclusion each article stated in some form that it is common that a person with a
college degree will earn more than a non-grad over the course of a lifetime. And it is a given that
college tuition will continue to rise. However, college will be an investment for most of society.
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Work Cited

AbigailJHess. “The Cost of College Increased by More than 25% in the Last 10 Years-Here's
Why.” ​CNBC​, CNBC, 13 Dec. 2019,
www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/cost-of-college-increased-by-more-than-25percent-in-the-last
-10-years.html​. Accessed on 20 March, 2020

Deming, David. “Tuition-Free College Could Cost Less Than You Think.” ​The New York Times
, 19 July 2019, ​https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/business/tuition-free-college.html​.
Accessed on 20 March, 2020

Best_Schools. “Why Is College So Expensive?” ​TheBestSchools.org,​ Thebestschools.org, 28

May 2019, ​https://thebestschools.org/magazine/why-college-expensive/​ Accessed on 20
March, 2020

Lewis, Nathan. “U.S. Colleges: Where Does The Money Go?” ​Forbes,​ Forbes Magazine, 19
Feb. 2017,
www.forbes.com/sites/nathanlewis/2017/02/17/u-s-colleges-where-does-the-money-go/#
5e17bcaa73ca​. Accessed on 20 March, 2020

Rothman, Lily Rothman. “Rising Cost of American College Tuition: A Century of Worry.”
Time​, Time, 31 Aug. 2016, ​www.time.com/4472261/college-cost-history/​. Accessed on
20 March, 2020