The Rising Costs of College

College is expensive. It's a poorly kept secret, and it is a cost that the typical American swallows for the hope of a better life. But another fact that is often overlooked is how quickly tuition costs have risen. In fact, tuition has risen three percentage points faster than inflation every year in the past 25 years, while the services and quality of many schools have improved much slower. Why? Because colleges have no reasons to cut costs.

As tuition initially increased, the federal government began putting more money into student loans and other forms of aid. Instead of having the student pay for college, the federal government slowly started becoming a third-party tuition payer, thinking it was doing the students a favor. Ironically enough, the government didn't help, but actually made the situation worse. As colleges increased their tuition and budgets, the government began covering the difference. Thus, colleges began raising tuition without qualms, knowing that the government would be there to cover most of the difference. In case you were wondering, the money that the federal government uses to cover these rising tuition costs come from the taxes that you and I are subject to, and from the Federal Reserve who prints more money out of thin air, devaluating the value of the dollar, thus robbing us of our money.

Today, professors teach less than they have in the past, and there are much more administrators per student than ever before, while overall service and impact of these administrators are arguable. College feels as if it is becoming less of an educationally centered institution as it is a premier club where only current students, faculty, and paying alumni are welcome.

Even worse, the financial-aid system punishes the typical American family. Parents who save their money for their child's college education find that, by the magical calculations of the FAFSA that we religiously fill out like taxes, they are forced to pay more for college than if they had blew their money for a sweet ride. Why does it matter how many assets we own, or what our income is? Imagine if we were asked what our income was before buying a house or a car, we would be outraged because the level of service and haggling leverage would vary based on something like income.

Unfortunately, colleges hold a monopoly on the average persons "window of opportunity". It is the college degree that often gives an individual the foothold needed to enter their desired career. But maybe it is time we start looking at colleges based on the best value, rather than best reputation, especially if we are attending colleges beyond our means and which require us to take out multiple and costly loans. And maybe it's time the government stopped trying to moderate everything, and let the free market do its job. After all, if the government did not help you pay for that USC diploma, you wouldn't be able to attend, forcing USC to decide what's more important, adding those luxury boxes to their basketball arena that the students won't ever use, or lowering tuition to allow the qualified, lower-middle class student to attend and perhaps one day be a graduate that would impact the world.