Many public colleges were founded on the principle that tuition should be free and accessible to all. However, in recent years, there has been a shift in this attitude. College tuitions are on the rise at an alarming rate, and students are forced to face the consequences. Student loan debt, one of the highest sources of debt for most Americans, needs to be addressed in order to aid both students and our nation’s economy. Many minorities and impoverished people suffer from insufficient funds to attend universities and would benefit greatly from cuts in tuition costs. Job selectiveness, loan paybacks, government involvement, the wealth gap, and societal roles are all factors that contribute to the allocation of student debt. Due to the rising costs of college tuitions and consequential rising student loan debt, steps should be taken to cut tuition costs in order to make secondary schooling more affordable and readily available to students from all backgrounds.

In this age of technology, jobs are becoming more selective towards those with a college education, making a college degree more valuable. Unfortunately, many struggle with obtaining this accolade due to the rising costs of college tuition. With the rising attendance of college worldwide, the US is falling behind in test scores. Senator Bernie Sanders touches on this in saying “We live in a highly competitive, global economy, and if our economy is to be strong, we need the best-educated workforce in the world.” If the United States wants to continue its position as a nation of power and responsibility, steps need to be taken to preserve our citizens’ education. 

Overall, college attendance has risen steadily in the past couple years and so has tuition. A high school degree used to be enough for a middle-class lifestyle in the US, but now a college education is required. According to Catherine Rampell, a reporter for The New York Times, statistics show that “the unemployment rate for workers with no more than a high school diploma is more than twice that for workers with a bachelor’s degree: 8.1 percent versus 3.7 percent.” Along the same lines, earnings for those with just a high school diploma have dropped. “Typical earnings for a full-time, male high school graduate in 1972 were $45,000 (in constant 2003 dollars) that figure had dropped by a third ($30,000) by 2005" (Deming). Most news media outlets and popular press sites are calling the college degree the new high school diploma. Since a high school degree can no longer support most families, the government should put in effort to allow Americans to sustain themselves by granting college tuition reductions. A college degree has become increasingly more valuable and more necessary, and the government needs to realize this and aid the need US citizens face. States offer free public schooling until the 12th grade in order to provide enough education for a student to make a living, however times have changed and more schooling is necessary for Americans to live safe and healthy lives. 

College students accept tuition stipends, room and board grants, and public federal loans as forms of aid for affording tuition. While these seem like helpful loans at the time of starting a college education, years down the line all these loans must be repaid. This makes it extremely difficult for students from low income families, who already have a small chance of attending college at all, let alone finishing a college education, to attend secondary schooling. The cost lands numerous college graduates in debt that can affect them for years to come. After the second World War, the college education costs were extremely affordable for most Americans, especially through endowments like the GI Bill for veterans. This period was beneficial for both the economy and country, and some “scholars say that this investment was a major reason for the high productivity and economic growth our nation enjoyed during the postwar years” (Sanders). This government aid led to health and prosperity for Americans, giving strength to the argument for reducing tuition in order for these benefits to once again go into effect. 

Despite the rise in tuition, schools continue to become increasingly wealthy from donations and endowments. Ronald Ehrenberg touches on this rise in saying, “As their tuition levels have increased, so too have the number of applications they receive” (Ehrenberg, 24). Those who attend more competitive schools such as ivy leagues, are known to benefit from higher economic gain in their future careers so these particular schools often receive the most applicants. The only way institutions will lower costs is if the most competitive schools like Yale, Princeton and Harvard lower their costs first. “The market leaders, the most selective institutions with the highest endowment per student and tuition levels… slow down their rate of in-crease in tuition, the other selective institutions will eventually have to do so also” (Ehrenberg, 25). Universities who continue to increase their profits need to realize the most beneficial way to help their school and the nation is through tuition cuts. Student loan debt will lead to families unable to afford college at all and a default on these loans will cost taxpayers and potentially rob them of chances at college. Steps need to be made for college tuitions to be reduced. 

The government plays a vital role in the rising costs of college tuition and should consequently put effort into stopping the rising debt students face. Ronald Ehrenberg of Cornell University touched on government involvement in this concept in saying “the government has put pressure on private research universities to reduce their indirect cost rates, and, …raised its expectations for matching funds in grant applications.” Not only is the government passive in providing financial aid that doesn’t have to be paid back by students, but they are pressuring universities to increase their spending which results in tuition spikes. Some argue that providing tuition reductions to all college students would result in raised taxes for US citizens, however there are other ways of acquiring the funds needed to cut tuition. Currently, student loans are backed by the US government, meaning if they default taxpayers will be left with the bill. However, the funds could instead be allocated from taxing financial transactions through the stock market, eventually paying off the costs. Individual colleges could also take away funding from advertising to help in reducing tuition. A universal law could be put into place to get rid of colleges’ and universities’ rights to advertising, in order to allow cheaper tuition. The costs of schooling are typically a huge factor in most high school students’ decisions when picking colleges. According to Jack Nealon, a student at the University of South Carolina, a major reason for coming to the school was the in-state tuition of his hometown in Massachussetts through the common market program. Another USC student, Lauren Langlois, chose the school because it gave her the best financial package through the merit scholarships she received. With this in mind, free tuition would have a large impact on a majority of high school students as well as their families.

However, this is not the first time the government has taken action in college tuition. The government has increased the limit of federal loans so students are given the ability to take out much more than in the past, regardless of how able students are to pay back these loans. With unemployment rising among the demographic of young people, this is creating a huge discrepancy in student loan debt. As the federal government increases the financial aid budget, colleges start to charge more and more for tuition. This is the balance that needs to change. There needs to be a cap on college tuitions so that there is no need for the federal government to continue to increase the sum of financial aid. Colleges and universities have no higher power regulating their tuition, and therefore can make tuition whatever they want because there will always be a need for higher education. This needs to be regulated and monitored so that students are not drowning in debt by the time they receive their degree. It is unfair for colleges and universities to monopolize the costs for those seeking higher education. Legislature needs to be passed so that schools can reach their profit quota, while at the same time not exceed it so that federal loans will stop increasing in sum and leaving students excessively indebted. A successful example of the governmental role in reducing tuition is the recent budget plan created by the state of New York that provides universal free public college tuition. While there are some requirements like a family income of less than $100,000 dollars per year, state residency, and living or working in New York for up to four years after attending college, overall this greatly benefits low-income students. This bill reaches “an estimated 80 percent of New York State’s families with college-age kids” (Ohara). More legislatures like this need to be put into place in order to marginalize the wealth gap and give more opportunities for students of all financial and racial backgrounds.

Some argue that there is a dilemma that making college more or completely free would mostly boost the wealth of college goers instead of creating egalitarian benefits. Lower income students typically attend 2 year or public 4 year universities and pay no tuition due to subsidized federal loans. This issue with “free” college for impoverished students is that they still have to eventually pay off these loans. While there are some loans that do not require repayment, like the Pell Grant, they “almost exclusively benefit upper income families (Dynarski, 2004; Dynarski and Scott-Clayton, 2006) and so are not candidate instruments for reducing poverty” (Denning). This specific grant, which is thought to target low-income students was found by “Hansen (1983) and Kane (1995)… [to have] no effect on the college enrollment rate of lowincome recent high school graduates” (Denning). Since loans seem to be very selective in who they benefit, and leave low-income students in the same position as they started, the only solution is to have reduced tuition rates in the first place. While current college attendees who can already afford tuitions would benefit greatly from slashed tuition costs, this would also open up a whole new world for those below the poverty line who never thought a college education could be possible. Facts show that “economic theory (and common sense) predicts that lowering the price of college will increase attendance” (Denning). So, not only will lowering tuition create new opportunities for low-income students, but it benefits colleges that need more money and to meet attendance margins. 

Some don’t recognize the true impact that student debt has on our economy and our society. According to a Forbes article, current student debt is at 1.2 trillion dollars and accounts for 6% of the United States’ national debt (Denhart). College graduates being forced to pay off loans “begins to affect when and if young people start families or enter the housing market” (Blow). Student loans could start new precedents in our society with long term effects and create problems in our world. Families are beginning to make greater and greater sacrifices in order to send their children to pursue higher secondary education. These sacrifices typically end in more debt and bad credit which impacts a multitude of other issues in their daily lives, and the economy overall. When families take out too many loans, “overborrowing leads to bankruptcy and financial ruin” (Cecchetti). A New York Times article describes the extent of the sacrifices families typically have to make and states that “A September Pew Research Center report found that ‘a record one-in-five households now owe student loan debt’” (Blow). Not only is debt bad for individuals and their families, but repercussions will be felt in the national economy if it continues to rise at its current rate, because, “For a country, too much debt impairs the government’s ability to deliver essential services to its citizens” (Cecchetti).  The debt the US currently faces is made up in part by student debt, so in order for the country’s financial and economic health to improve, as well as that of individual families, tuition reductions should be put into effect. 

The rising debt among students and their households due to extremely high college tuition costs proves to cause issues in many facets. International competition in education continues to rise and become more complex and has created a greater need among US colleges to educate students. This is difficult because of the high costs that place students’ futures and the nation’s future at risk because of the financial instability debt creates. Job selectiveness creates more need for a college degree and therefore leads to an increase in college attendance which goes hand in hand with an increase in loans. These loans require eventual paybacks which oftentimes takes years can ruin a young graduate’s credit and daily life. Government involvement has proved to be in part a detriment to the increasing tuition rate, therefore steps need to be taken for the government to provide aid to retract their detriment. The government provision of education up to 12th grade can no longer sustain a beneficial future for Americans, so steps for college educations for all need to be made. The wealth gap among students is only increased through the tuition increases as it blocks low-income families from attending secondary schooling. Societal changes resulting from increased tuition puts pressure and instability on our nation. High costs of college tuitions and consequential student loans only provide detriments and instability to our nation and need to be solved through the reduction of costs. 
