Is College Tuition Becoming Way Too Expensive? Learn How

The rise in tuition fees of colleges has made a blunder in the minds of the students. We can say that the college tuition fee is higher than any other services the country is providing us, whether it is health-related or any other thing. 

When it comes to studying, it is essential to every person globally, irrespective of the standard. Even the smaller classes to the higher classes’ studies are essential for both, but the smaller classes and middle classes tend to have more difficulty paying for the college tuition fee.

Even the student loan debt has become higher with the increased college tuition fee. From 2008 the college fee has increased to 38% till 2018. 

There are many things or systems we can blame for such a high tuition fee, but a few main reasons are mentioned below-

College employees are earning a considerable amount of money

We all know that there is plenty of staff needed in a college, and all the staff who are on a high post are earning a considerable amount of money. 

According to the New York Times, the presidents are profiting a lot through various compensation packages.

A few years back, the median pay was increased to 5%, making them profit triple their current income. The presidents who were making more than $1million doubled.

Recruitment expenditure

The amount colleges spend on the recruitment procedure per year is huge, costing the college around $10 billion a year, which is expected to double in time to around $100 billion. This recruitment system makes the college educational system a business. 

State funding is significantly less for higher education

In 2009, states started funding significantly less for colleges due to other financial expenditures, which were essential like social security and healthcare services. 

Expanding the offerings 

The colleges have been focusing on expanding the technological features, facilities, hiring good faculty, and improving their system to come out better than other colleges. Adding so many more features eventually makes the college compensate for them from the students. 

How to Afford College?

There are a few ways that can save you from financial stress while being in college; a few of them are-

  • HUNT FOR SCHOLARSHIPS 

Scholarships are based on merits, rewards, or achievement; when you get a scholarship, you don’t have to pay for your studies; the institute itself looks out for it.

Hence, it’s the best way to have a stress free college and a secure future. 

  • GET A PART-TIME JOB

Getting into a part-time job can be a great savior; you can afford to be in a college while being free from stress, mostly student jobs have time restrictions, which lets you earn while working for a limited time. There are many student jobs available, as well.

  • MAKE SAVING MONEY A HABIT

We all are mostly prepared about what we’re going to do, and we mostly plan everything about our future but sometimes what we forget is the most significant part known as saving! 

Being a student saving every month, even small chunks of money will help the future. Past savings can be your future savior.

What about Asian countries like Singapore? 

In Singapore, the number of people going to and attending tertiary institutions of learning has been steadily rising, with more people than ever nowadays, making use of tuition free or for less money. This is good news for students from various countries, but why is tuition so expensive for those from Singapore? Is it because they have bad parents who are just not able to pay for tuition fees? Or is there a deeper problem? Is it internal in Singapore, something that the country’s government, education sector, teachers, or parents themselves are unable to solve? Are you in Singapore, you may learn more about education loans here

There are many reasons why tuition costs at tertiary institutions of learning in Singapore are so high. 

  • High demand for trained professionals. 

Since the turn of the millennium, the number of employees in science and technology has increased exponentially, giving rise to the need for qualified professionals in these fields. At present, more than 400,000 people with a graduate degree are employed in the field of engineering, while more than 200,000 people with an undergraduate degree go on to become managers and industrial planners. Together with the many students pursuing higher education, all these professionals mean that the competition for places in these higher learning institutes is quite stiff.

  • Demand for manpower 

The competition between private schools also becomes fiercer, with the cost of employing graduate and undergraduate students soaring. 

  • Widespread belief of private and public schools

A common perception is that good quality of education only comes from public institutions, with private institutions only capable of providing mediocre quality education. While public and private schools differ in their academic rankings, they operate the same way. As such, students from both types of institutions are often put under the same roof, with the same teachers and students, for the sake of their education.

As a result, students from both types of institutions tend to feel ‘forced’ into studying in the same manner, and face the same set of problems for getting a job after graduation. This can be seen in the increasing ratio of public and private school students who drop out before finishing their education. 

While this figure has risen over the past few years, it is still significantly lower than 20 years ago. The reasons for the increased drop-out rate at public institutions are not necessarily easy to understand; the number of subjects they teach, the teaching methods they use, or the student/teacher ratio, are all factors that cannot be easily quantified.

  • Cost of living in Singapore

Another factor that makes students’ education more expensive. A Singapore university student must also consider the role of subsidies from the government to fund their education. Even the most well-resourced private institutions will still have to consider the presence of government subsidies to keep their institutes open and their research projects going. All this adds up to one major cost that can severely dent the research and development opportunities available at many universities.

These are the measures that can be taken personally, but when we say that students are a nation’s future, what best can the nation do for them? Changes in the education system or reducing the fees cannot be done in the short term or accomplished shortly. What can be done immediately in the wake of the situation is quite simple and an easy measure. First of all, the government and non-government agencies working for social welfare should identify students who are worst affected by the financial giant. 

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