Why did going to college get so expensive in the US? Is it that way everywhere?
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
Eugene, Oregon
June 3, 2016 10:46am CST
Many students are graduating from college in the US with $100, 000 or more in college loans. If they go to graduate school, it van get even worse. I have read that there are retired people in this country having their Social Security payments reduced by student load debt collections.
I was very fortunate when I finally went to college at age 29. I had been in the service and had four years of government benefits. College was a whole lot less expensive then too.
I can't imagine how parents can plan to even help their kids to go to college, especially large families. Parents are faced with their own retirements too.
Education is an issue in our election this year. Bernie Sanders wants free tuition for all, but that would mean much higher taxes for all. Trump has talked vaguely about loan forgiveness, leaving taxpayers holding the bag. Hillary has a plan that might work, too long to go into here.
But, the question remains: Why does college cost so much in the US? Is it that way in your country?
18 people like this
18 responses
@Macarrosel (7498)
• Philippines
3 Jun 16
It's also expensive here in our country but good thing we have state colleges and universities with less tuitions fees because they are being subsidised by the government. My daughter soon to graduate this June on a state university and we only paid for more or less $65 for every semester or $130 for a year and the quality of education is excellent. In fact their university is one of the top five universities in our country.
3 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
3 Jun 16
This is what it was like in the 1960s and 1970s in the US, but not anymore. States stopped paying for colleges, and the colleges put the burden on the students.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
4 Jun 16
@Macarrosel True, but in fifty years, you could be where we are now. Yikes.
1 person likes this
@Macarrosel (7498)
• Philippines
4 Jun 16
@ElizabethWallace Really? That's sad. So we're lucky now.
2 people like this
@paigea (36143)
• Canada
3 Jun 16
Tuition for undergraduate degrees is around $6000 per year here. It varies quite a bit from one university to another but roughly around there. That is before books, accommodation, etc. Minimum wage is $10 per hour, so a summer job for 4 months could earn about a years tuition. Working part time during the year can bring in something at least to keep the amount of a loan down.
When I went to university I worked part time year round, then added a full time job to the summer months. I graduated with a very small loan. I shared a basement suite with two others, didn't own a vehicle and was frugal in many other ways.
I think tuition should be subsidized by taxes but not a free ride. We value what we work/pay for a little higher I think.
3 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
3 Jun 16
Students who are going to classes and studying after school hours are working. I was a full time student and had a full time job at the same time. It was exhausting and did not make me value anything more (expect maybe sleep).
1 person likes this
@paigea (36143)
• Canada
4 Jun 16
@ElizabethWallace You have time to sleep now! 
I agree they are working and there are some who really put their all into their studies. But there are those who treat college as a party place. I find the ones who don't have their parents paying for it are not the ones overdoing the partying.
I agree they are working and there are some who really put their all into their studies. But there are those who treat college as a party place. I find the ones who don't have their parents paying for it are not the ones overdoing the partying.2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
4 Jun 16
@paigea In movies and on TV shows the number of party animals is greatly exaggerated. It makes people believe that college is wasted on the young. This is not the case. The number of people who disrespect their good fortune is very small.
It is sad that so many Americans believe the myth and, therefore, think that providing for college (it isn't "free', taxes pay for it, even those of the students themselves) is a waste of money. Is "free" k-12 a waste of money?
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189931)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Jun 16
Well, costs of everything have gone up. And, if you think of it this way, the professors that teach have to pay for their educations too so shouldn't they be compensated for having gotten this education by good wages? Free tuition for all would be great but, who will pay for all of this? Governments?, states?, or what? Then our taxes will have to go up. It seems like a vicious cycle to me.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189931)
• Boise, Idaho
4 Jun 16
@ElizabethWallace ...That is a shame. Teachers do so much.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
3 Jun 16
The college professors are not well compensated for their education or experience, just like other teachers. I don't know where the money is going, but it's not to those who do the work.
3 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
4 Jun 16
@celticeagle It is interesting. Perhaps it is all the insurance they pay in order to have competitive sports teams? Maybe it's the equipment for these teams? I'm not sure, but it does not make it into the classrooms or teachers' paychecks, that's for sure.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
4 Jun 16
They were very lucky to have parents willing to foot the whole bill like that.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
4 Jun 16
In your economy is that four hundred dollars a lot of money?
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
5 Jun 16
I see. That mist make it difficult for many young people and parents.
1 person likes this
@Lucky15 (37391)
• Philippines
4 Jun 16
@JamesHxstatic before sir. Yes. But now...from 20 pesos per unit..now 100. Gone more 4 times
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
27 Apr 18
@JamesHxstatic
James, I think it was so expensive because you had to buy books also for each class and that adds up and I think tuition went up each year. It was expensive when I went and I lived at home and then living in a dorm also costs money. When i went it was expensive so I can imagine how expensive it is now. I did not know that about Social Security payments. So, when their loan is paid off do the payments go back to normal then?
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
27 Apr 18
I did not use Social Security payments. It was military veterans' benefits.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
29 Apr 18
@JamesHxstatic
I know you did not but you mentioned that those that still had loans that were on Social Security they reduced their amount. I was wondering after the loan got paid off did they get their regular payments then?
@divalounger (6182)
• United States
3 Jun 16
This is a huge issue James. It is obscene that it should cost so much to get an education here. We managed to put both of our children through college, but are still carrying student loan debt for them and for us. And it doesn't have to be so expensive, but then it would have to be a more "socialist" system--it is not like this in other countries. Our younger daughter will be returning soon from a year at the Kodaly Institute in Hungary with the equivalent of a master's degree. It cost 10K to send her there--the same degree here would have cost 50k
1 person likes this
@divalounger (6182)
• United States
4 Jun 16
@JamesHxstatic The degree is the same as she would get here and she has work lined up for her when she returns. Thankfully, we have paid off about half of what we owe for her loans and because she started paying her loans off as soon as she finished her undergrad program, she is making a dent in her own loans. But her undergrad cost about 120K and my other daughter cost about 40K--for a while we had two in college at the same time--I still reel when I think about that time
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
4 Jun 16
I have heard that many parents co-sign on student loan debt and then find themselves in trouble later. Is the interest rate fixed, I hope? I have also heard that many grads are heading to foreign countries for advanced degrees. In your daughter's field of study, is that master's degree as "good," or as well recognized as one from a US college?
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17243)
• China
4 Jun 16
$100,000 is equal to 6 hundred thousand yuan RMB or so here,it does cost the earth.I read about it online over here that a college student 's outgoings for 4 years averages out at 100,000 yuan RMB ,including tuition and dormitory fees
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17243)
• China
5 Jun 16
@JamesHxstatic Yes,most of them are from wealthy families.Here we have student grant given to students from needy families and National Scholarship,besides applying for student loan.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
4 Jun 16
Does the government there subsidize education for everyone? I know that there are many Chinese students here at the University of Oregon. Are international students like that all from wealthy families?
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (40052)
• Toccoa, Georgia
7 Jun 16
Even with Student Grants that help reduce the cost, it is still expensive here in the States.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (40052)
• Toccoa, Georgia
7 Jun 16
@JamesHxstatic I am not sure where it all goes.
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@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
7 Jun 16
Yes, far too expensive. Where is all that money going?
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
5 Jun 16
Having worked for several colleges, one thing is the waste that occurs daily.
Buildings that are too large, but have to be heated and cooled. Lawns that must be tended (along with the shrubbery, of course). Other countries do offer free or discounted classes-what are we doing wrong? Again, the answer is waste.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
5 Jun 16
I hate to think that, but am not really surprised by your insider's view.
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
4 Jun 16
I have heard about colleges in america getting more and more expensive with time. Though I have almost no knowledge about how things work there but I get that it is tough for parents to send their child to college without scholarship. Having a student loan to pay throughout life is very difficult. In India we don't have to pay much in government colleges but it gets a heck lot expensive in private ones. So the students who have better results get a seat in the govt ones.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
4 Jun 16
Private colleges here too are far more expensive than state ones, but the state schools are really getting far too expensive.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
4 Jun 16
Its extremely expensive in Canada too. At least here those who are drowning in debt from college have a way out, There are companies what will get anyone set up on a repayment schedule and if you stick to it ( just a small percent of the bank loans), for a certain amount of time the rest is of the thousands is forgiven and you are free again. I know several young people who have good jobs that have joined that program and soon will be free...happily with good credit.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
5 Jun 16
That is wonderful. I hope we can do the same in the US.
1 person likes this
@ChildofGod81 (504)
• United States
5 Jun 16
From things I've read in the past, enrollments to college are down, so in order to be able to offer the same programs, and pay teachers semi-reasonable wages, tuition prices have gone up. I'm not even close to done with school and I have over $50,000 in debt already. So yeah, it sucks.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
5 Jun 16
I was surprised to read that enrollment has declined, but that seems to be the case. I hope that community colleges are enrolling more, since that is a great place to start and then transfer those credits to a university. Good luck with all that debt and finishing school too.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42155)
• France
3 Jun 16
Education is basically free here. We pay just a small registration fee (it was less than $100 when I was a student, it is about $250 today) and a small social security (about $400 at my time. A "normal" basic social security was $3500/year for an independent worker). Yes, it is paid by our taxes, but it gives an equal opportunity to everyone, whatever social origins and we are attached to the equality principle in France. And the society will have a benefit later if more people have received a good education : better searchers, better top management... It is a choice of a country to put or not put money on its intellectual elites. A student in a higher education school like Polytechnique in France, cost about $50 000/year to the state. A student in literature cost only about $4000/year. In USA the same students would have to pay for their studies...
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
4 Jun 16
There are many international students here at the University of Oregon. Many come from very wealthy families and drive expensive cars, while others have empty pockets too.
@jillybean1222 (6406)
•
7 Jun 16
i wish that the college education fees would "burst" like housing market did... seriously, it's insane. i really wish/hope/want that people start realizing that it's not worth the cost... i want more people to go for things like tech jobs or training things like plumbers and electricians... i know folks who are very successful in such and didn't get into debt in college from them.... i have such mixed feelings about what to desire for my kids. i went to college and that was just what you did.... i was a straight A student and of course, i went.... but... seriously, i think the expectations and the costs are wrong now
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
3 Jun 16
This is a very good question. The salaries of the professors are horribly low, so the money does not go there. Where the heck is it going then?
When I went to college 1966 - 1971, I was able to pay for tuition, books, parking and other fees with my salary at Fedco (discount department store similar to Costco) while living at home with my parents.
Bernie's plan is to pay for college by eliminating loopholes in taxes on speculation and requiring those with enormous incomes to pay the same rate we do in the middle class bracket (which would be a large increase for them). The increase in taxes would not need to be for everyone, since the money is in that 1% he keeps talking about.
1 person likes this
