The Importance Of A College Education In The United States

I believe that every U.S. citizen should be able to have a college education. Education has changed in the past few decades. In the past high school was a necessity, but now the same is happening to college. Nowadays a college education has become necessary for many careers. On average, a male high school dropout will earn $24,000 a year, while someone with a four-year degree will earn $52,000 and someone with an advanced degree will earn $67,000. Many students are struggling with college tuition, some even deciding not to attend college, or find a job while in college, or going to college and drowning in debt, and I believe that shouldn’t happen. Also there are many countries who college education is free that we can follow, certain countries …show more content…
Until recently, the United States had an almost free system of public higher education. In 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the Morrill Act, which gave land to public colleges and universities on a tuition-free basis. For almost a century many U.S. public colleges and universities either charged no tuition or a small free for attendance. The State University of New York (SUNY) system- the largest college system in the nation, remained tuition-free till 1963. And the University of California system was tuition free till the 1980’s. In 2014 the average annual cost for undergraduate tuition and fees at public colleges and universities was $9,139 for state residents and $22,958 for out of state residents. The cost is even higher at private colleges and universities, which average $32,399 yearly for tuition and fees while the ten most expensive colleges average 50,643 a year. However, these numbers don’t include the cost of room, board, books, food, and other living cost. The cost of attending a four- year college has increased by 1,122 percent from cost back in 1978. Back in 1978 you could earn enough money for a year of college by working a summer job that paid minimum wage, however today you would need to work a minimum wage worker an entire year to earn enough to cover the annual in-state tuition at a public university. The rise is tuition has a negative impact on educational opportunity. Struggling to pay for college, many people never attend or drop out midway. Some even have to find jobs while studying taking away valuable time from a student’s time to study. There have been many studies that find the primary reason young people don’t attend college is due to its huge cost. In the 1990’s most college students did not need a loan to afford their education, however now almost three out of four college graduates have borrowed to pay for college, with debts