College Education - A Vital Part Of The American Dream - And Its Costs

 

This woman raised two kids on her own, not sure how they were able to pay college for Andy. Pixar? (screenshot from Toy Story)

        If you were born in the United States, chances are you grew up dreaming of going to college. Not only because you wanted a diploma and the prospect of a good career, but also because of the “rite of passage” vibes. 

        Living by yourself and away from your parents’ scrutiny, while still in the safety of a campus can sound exciting. As a culture that values independence, the American way of life has a strong college culture. Unfortunately, that’s a dream that doesn’t come cheap, and for many people, it comes with a great deal of debt that will linger for years (or even decades) after one’s graduation.

        And how has that changed over the decades? Is it more expensive to go to college today than it was in the past? Do you still need to sell your soul to get an education?

        Well, let’s take a closer look at UMPI (University of Maine at Presque Isle), consistently rated as one of the top value schools in the USA. I won’t go through all the fees, but just so you have an idea… in 1999, if you were a Maine resident, you would have paid $101 per credit hour, which would be $164.55 in today’s dollars. In 2009, you would have paid $201, or $254.26 in today’s money. You can notice a significant change. And why is that? 

        Of course, the services that students can count on while on campus changed drastically from 1999 to 2009. All the commodities and access to state-of-the-art technology come at a price, so we can’t expect to adjust prices for inflation and magically get to the updated amount that should be paid. If you check the National Center for Education Statistics' website, you will see that the prices went up for all universities during that period. 

        Something interesting to notice is that, in the present day, the tuition per credit hour at UMPI has gone down when compared to 2009 ($245 in 2021, versus the $254.26 in 2009 that we calculated up there). That is even more curious if we consider that the national average kept going up during this period. 

        What's more, the minimal wage did go up between 1999 and 2009, but it hasn't gone up after that. That means students in most universities are having to pay fees that cost almost 50% more than they did in 2009, even though they are not making any more money than they did ten years ago.

        What happens if you can’t afford what's being asked? Should you wave goodbye to the dream of having a college degree?

        While young adults have racked up debt for decades so they could go to college, and this has been considered normal and the unavoidable price to pay for an education, there are options nowadays that students couldn’t count on in the past. 

        An ever-growing number of universities offer remote learning programs, such as UMPI’s Your Pace. It costs $5,600 per year and students can do it from the comfort of their homes. There are no hidden fees, no books to buy and more and more courses are added to the program every year.

        I believe we can expect more support and alternatives to students in the years to come. Hopefully, a college degree will eventually stop being a privilege to who can afford it, or a financial burden to those who can’t.