Over the years, the tuition cost of higher education has been increasing. Public colleges -- that typically cost less than private colleges -- have risen over 30% in the last decade.
This is huge problem considering the fact that many students and their families already have to take out loans to pay for college as is.
These increases in tuition seem like go up as wages go up, but even if wages go up, that means that prices for household goods go up as well.
Look at Harvard's Tutition Increasing Over the YearsAll students file the FAFSA each year. The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This application calculates an EFC or Estimated Family Contribution. However, this doesn't mean the student's family is being asked to only pay the amount that was calculated for EFC. The student and their family will receive finanical aid offers from the college or colleges the student would like to attend. More usually than not, the cost of attendance will be higher than the EFC.
Even if a student is from a low-income background the maximum amount that student will recieve from the Federal Pell Grant is 6,345 dollars for the upcoming school year. This may be enough for those who decide to go to public schools, but it barely makes a dent for those who want to receive an education at a private institution.
There is no real federal system in place for low-income students to receive a free education in college.
Something that has also been going up is the cost of living in a college dorm.
It can be argued that the cost of living is actually more expensive than the price of tuition that isn't covered at all. This is true whether or not the student stays on campus or not. Only if the student lives with their parents will their cost of living not cost the family anymore money then they are used to paying.
It can argued that a student should then just commute to school, but some families actually don't have the room in their homes to keep taking care of their child. On top that, depending on the school, it is just much more easier to live on campus-- especially if the school isn't in the city. In fact, some schools require first year students to stay on campus.
Taking all of these problems, it is clear that these issues don't impact all groups equally.
Families that don't have enough money to save for their child to go to college are impacted greatly by these issues. It becomes this sad cycle. The student is unable to afford to go to school to better their life and social and economical standings and then once they have kids, then their kids might be in the same situation.
As growing numbers of young people have entered college over the last two decades, the racial and social-class gaps in completing a degree have widened. The completion gap between the bottom fourth and top fourth of students grew from about 30 percentage points for those who attended college in the 1970s to about 45 percentage points for those who attended college in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The gap is likely even wider now.
This is a big problem and it needs to be dealt with.