The Root of the Issue of College Costs

Everybody knows that a college education in America is not cheap. 69% of students left college in 2013 with student loans and the borrowers owed an average of $28,400 in combined private and federal loans. The cost of college has increased by over 500% from 1985, compared to a 286% jump in medical costs and a 121% increase in the consumer price index in the same period. This ridiculous increase makes college difficult to afford for many students and increases the economic disparity in America. With this increase in price, the demand and competition for federal aid, scholarship and loans has greatly increased over the years, further making it difficult to finance college without taking out loans. Do you want to know who does't have this problem? Students in Germany. The entirety of the country's universities have been tuition free since this past October when the last of their states got rid of fees. Other countries such as Finland, France, and Brazil have little to no fees to go to their public colleges. In Germany the effect of this has been an increase in the proportion of the population that is entering and graduating from college. If America took steps not to increase aid to fund each individual's education, but deal with the problem at the source and decrease the cost of college, much less strain would be put on families who cannot leisurely afford college. Currently there is a lot of aid for the financially disadvantaged, as long as you know how to apply for it there are already generous sums of money awarded to people who otherwise would not be able to afford college. This is a great thing. In the upper class college can be paid for because they have enough money to pay for it. That leaves out the middle class we are oh so proud of in America out in the cold. The middle class consisting of those who are missed by federal financial aid but cannot easily pay for college out of pocket. The strain that is put on families of this type increases the economic disparity by only allowing the very elite of them, who can gain enough scholarship through academics, to consistently pay for college. This makes it increasingly difficult for the average middle class person to pay for college without gaining loads of debt. Raising aid is not the answer to this issue, problems cannot be fixed by throwing money at them. Decreases in the cost of public college would benefit all classes and be a factor in helping preserve our already declining middle class.