With college tuitions rising, students sometimes find themselves settling for affordable colleges instead their “dream schools.”
According to Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum of Wright State University, the decline of state support for higher education is an important reason for rising tuitions. Between 1987 and 2012, government support has declined from $8,497 to $5,906 per student. Another contributing factor is rising costs. The salaries of university administrators, entertainment spending and spending on amenities all contribute to the rise of tuition.
Increases in spending are driven by higher administration, maintenance and student service costs. Public universities spent almost $4,000 per student per year on administration, support and maintenance in 2006. Private universities’ total educational spending per student has increased by more than $33,000.
Seven of 10 college seniors had student loan debt after graduating with a bachelor’s degree. Students who have student loan debts often owe an average of $29, 400.
Alumna Charisse Pudiquet said, “I am a sophomore at Pacific University and I am currently on student loans. I also have an on-campus job that is helping to pay for my tuition. By the time I graduate from college, I will still have a student loan debt of around $20,000.”
Although there are aid programs and scholarships, every student is not guaranteed financial help. Only two-thirds of full-time undergraduate college students receive some form of financial aid.
Alumna Janelle Sabugo said, “I applied for financial aid scholarships but I did not receive a great deal of money because there are other families who are in much worse financial situations.”
According to a study by Zinch.com, an online student-to-college matching service, more than half of college-bound students eliminate colleges based on their tuition.
College counselor, Randall Fong, said, “All seniors should take into consideration the tuition of the college before making their final decision; however, it should not be the determining factor. Seniors should apply for as many scholarships as they can to make tuition more affordable.”
According to a survey released by UCLA, the third most common reason for choosing a college is the amount of financial aid the college is willing to give to the student.
Senior Tiare Sadarananda said, “Although I got accepted into all of the colleges I applied to, tuition is the main factor that will affect my final decision.”
According to the College Board, the cost of attending a public university, even with financial aid, rose more than 15 percent in the last five years.
Tuition has become one of the most important factors that students take into consideration when choosing a college. The rising prices discourage students from applying to their dream schools due to the fear of not receiving enough financial aid and being burdened with large debts upon graduation.
