College Costs Are Skyrocketing

11/29/2012

Parents and students, please make sure you read this article from The Huffington Post on 08/15/ 2012, "Cost of a college degree has increased 1,120 percent in 30 years". The article says that soaring tuition and shrinking incomes are making college less affordable and putting the middle class at risk. We need more college graduates in order to stay competitive in the global economy. There is no greater threat to our future and most importantly our children's future than rising college education costs. What are the steps/solutions to mitigate this problem? College costs is actually our theme for December's Project ENRICH. This article is quite timely.

14 Comments

Cheryl Jones

11/29/2012 10:44:38 am

A college education is needed now, more than ever. However, paying for it is becoming more of a challenge. Here are some strategies I continue to hear about:

1. Take AP classes in high school. Score high enough on AP exams and CLEP exams to start freshman year with college credit. This reduces the time in college and in affect lowers the overall costs.

2. Enroll in community college for 1st 2 years, while working part time. For 3rd year, transfer to a local 4 year college (UMD, Bowie, Howard, etc.) and enroll as a commuter student to significantly reduce room and board costs.

3. Consider paid internships in the summer and co-op opportunities in the fall and spring. Gain valuable work experiences while saving money to help pay for college.

4. Beginning with 2nd year of college, look into possibly being a Resident Assistant (RA). This requires leadership and responsibility, but it may provide free room and board.

These options are not perfect and may even require sacrifices, but consider the alternatives.

Mackenzie Sumner

12/2/2012 02:34:59 pm

From the actions that I have taken as a senior, possible solutions are taking Advanced Placement courses, Summer courses/enrichment, and looking for (paid) internships.

Brittany Jennings

12/3/2012 01:09:37 am

As a junior, I have been told many different ways to pay for college. The one's that people always say is:

1. Talk to your counselor (they will help you in finding the college you may be looking for)

2. Go to www.fastweb.com/www.zinch.com to look for scholarships (most people dont take time to go and actually fill theses scholarships out, so the money is out there)

3. Go to college fairs (many colleges there are interested in students and sometimes they bring applications)

4. Apply for FASFA (everyone i know has told me to do this)

5. Look for colleges that have African American's as the minority (most of these colleges will pay for students to come and make their schools have diversity)

If i think of any more i will comment again.

Jordan Herndon

12/3/2012 12:04:01 pm

One way to help your family raise money for college is to do your best in high school and get good grades so you can get scholarship money which would help relieve some of the financial stress it can cause families. Researching scholarship opportunities can help a lot. Completing FAFSA forms. School counselor a can also help a lot with finding scholarships. Look for a local college that won't cost as much as an out of state college.

Chidera Erika Ken-anueyiagu

12/4/2012 01:15:38 pm

Some steps/solutions that can be done to mitigate this problem are:

1. We should make known the importance of education (Especially starting from youthful years.)

2. As high school scholars, we should be taking as much rigorous / AP courses so we can further educate our self.

3. Start applying for scholarships. (Even if it is a $200 or more scholarship, when 5 of those are added up, it is up to $1000.)

4. Students need to be well rounded. Meaning, Get involved in something either sports or a club in school.

5.Give colleges a reason to want to give you money to attend their school!

Lastly, we need to have the ambition to want to be successful. For the more qualifications and knowledge you have (also degrees), the more you're worth.

Devante Thomas

12/5/2012 11:54:09 am

The steps I've been taking as a junior is keeping up with my classes, talking to my guidance counselor, also with my career advisor. Most importantly I have been looking up colleges through websites to get a full understanding of the financial aid in which the schools are offering plus scholarships the would peek my interest.

Ravell Thomas

12/5/2012 12:15:58 pm

They shouldn't raise the prices for schools because they know families struggle. I think they should just let people go to college for four years for free so they won't have to keep raising the prices in college.

Brandon Jones

12/6/2012 11:02:36 am

I, being a 2015 sophomore, believe that these high inclinations of prices are ridiculous. With that being said I also think the youth should attempt to apply for more scholarship opportunities.

Cesi Taboada

12/6/2012 12:12:31 pm

As a senior I have learned that every single school year has a huge impact on the money that will be available to you when choosing the college you want to attend. With that being said the first step to paying for college is do the best you can each year. It is imperative that you have a rigorous course load each year. Moreover you must apply for every scholarship that you qualify for because the more that you apply for the more likely you are to have all of your schooling paid for.

Shayne Dennis

12/6/2012 03:03:18 pm

Two solutions to this problem are to apply for scholarships and search for colleges that are in-state. To have a better chance at getting scholarships, you need to do good in school and be active within it (good grades, extracurricular activities, leadership roles,etc.)

Cheryl Jones

12/8/2012 12:07:36 am

Along the lines of looking at in-state public schools to avoid paying higher out-of-state tuition, I encourage parents and students to look into the Academic Common Market program. This program allows college students in 15 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) member states to pursue degrees that are not offered by their in-state institutions. This means that students can enroll in out-of-state institutions that offer their degree program and pay the institution's in-state tuition rates. For undergrads in Maryland, this means over 140 bachelor’s programs, in 11 different states, for over 36 universities.

Rather than asking, “What do you want to major in when you go to college?”, the question parents and students should ask is, “What career do you want to enter in the next 4 or 5 years?”. In many cases, there is more than one specific major to take you to your career desires. That being the case, maybe one of the 140+ bachelor programs that the Academic Common Market offer would work for you. It’s at least worth considering.

I spoke on this during the October Project Enrich meeting would be happy to share the presentation for further information.

Antoinette Mason

12/7/2012 11:15:43 am

To actually ensure more students are enlisted in educational institutions, they would have to be equipped with the resources to get into these granted institutions. Given that those grades are entirely on them, other individuals can lend a helping hand to ensure that their grades are up to par. That isn't the only problem preventing young adolescents from stepping into their future. Today, most are financially unequipped to get into college. People can make sure they know where to apy for scholarships. Meanwhile others may get discouraged. Motivation can go a long way. Another solution given is helping to prepare for the SAT. Simply encouraging just won't fit the bill. One last but not final solution would be to critique college essays. It would be the little things that holds us all back. If you're going to be apart of it, then finish it through; step by step. Don't just be a shadow.

Rose Bikoy

12/7/2012 05:27:58 pm

According to the article, tuition is soaring and shrinking incomes are making college less affordable, consequently putting the middle class at risk. What I found to be potentially successful in mediating this problem is in the article Three ways to make college more affordable by Nin-Hai Tseng. The three steps are the following:
1. Take the classroom online-- less faculty and classroms to build equal education for less
2. Transfer credits made easy-- Universities should except credits from other school to prevent students from spending money on classes they absolutely do not need.
3. Cut administration costs--Cutting the amount of admisitration would inturn cut down tution, making college that more effordable.

Full Body Queensland link

2/14/2021 07:01:36 am

Great post thanks.

College Costs Are Skyrocketing

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