The Cost of an Education

Education is obscenely expensive in America.  Going into college, I knew that I (and my parents) would end up spending a ton of money.  In fact, I started paying before I was even accepted anywhere by paying application fees and the cost of the SAT and AP exams.

While I recognize that education is a very valuable thing and that schools incur costs by educating their students, a college education is quickly becoming a financially unrealistic steppingstone for many students.  Every summer break, I have been told that I might not be able to return because school is just too expensive.

Let me break it down for you.

Tuition/room and board/etc. at my school totals roughly $42,000 a year.  (This is without grants, scholarships, loans, and other breaks -- when you count all that, my cost is currently around $20,000 -- still a rather hefty amount.)  In addition to that, I pay around $100 - 200 a semester on text books (and I'm just an English major -- students who take science and math classes tend to pay more).  On top of that, I pay for travel expenses which, with the price of gas these days, is no small fee, either.  When my parents used to drive me to and from school, when you counted the cost of food and a place to stay and gas, it was around $600 a trip.  Now, I can do it for about $150, if the gas prices are kind.  Plus, let's be reasonable -- I am in college, I want to go out and do things with my friends and, if I'm frugal about it, I can do it for $10 - 15 a month, but I'd be happier if I had more like $100 at least a month to spend on frivolous things and outings.  Oh, and let's not forget those living essentials: shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, floss, feminine products, and all those other necessaries of life.

I don't know about you guys, but the only jobs I could get in high school to save up for all of this paid minimum wage.  Let's say you work twenty hours a week for three years prior to college.  I choose these numbers because for most students, a full time job is too demanding if they want to have a well-rounded application (that is, inclusive of extracurriculars and volunteer work) for college and keep up their grades and most students don't start working until they are 16, say halfway through their sophomore year or so, and therefore can only work three of the four years they are in high school.  Assuming they work twenty hours every single week of the year, that's only $22,620.  And that's if they save every penny of it, which, let's face it, they won't and can't if they are paying for their own gas to get to work in the first place.

Oh, and, by the way -- most places high school students work won't even give them fifteen hours a week, let alone twenty.

So how are we supposed to pay for college?

"Loans!" you exclaim.

Oh, yeah?

Because last time I checked, less than half of college grads are unemployed, and many of those who are employed are back at those same minimum wage jobs they were working in high school.  So how are they going to pay off those loans?  Let me remind you that (at least for my loan package) you have six months of not having to pay back your loans after you graduate.  But don't forget the interest.

"Scholarships!" you counter.

Do you know how many scholarships I've applied to and got nothing out of?  Dozens.  I hardly know anyone (I might know one?) who has applied for a scholarship and won it, let alone anyone who has won a scholarship of substantial value.  Plus, the amount of work these scholarships demand is obscene -- did they forget I am a student with studies in addition to being a poor student who needs their help?

Whatever happened to the life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?  When did it turn into debt, shackles, and the pursuit of more debt?  After eighteen (and before that, but I won't get into the quality of public education right now), people are no longer equal nor do they have equal opportunities in the American education system.  Whether or not they are up to par in terms of intelligence and desire to attend college is irrelevant -- what matters is how much money is lining Daddy's pocket.

My parents have sacrificed a lot for me to attend the school I attend.  I love my school.  But the money I and other students across the nation pay and will pay and the money our parents pay and will pay is outrageous.  The higher education financial system is entirely devoid of the American spirit.

Maybe English majors don't have a lot of job opportunities to begin with, but I'm pretty much convinced at this point I will be writing my poetry on the walls of my cardboard box house.