The average university student in 1979 only had to work 182 hours per year (a part-time summer job) to pay for tuition. In 2013, the average student had to work 991 hours (a full-time job) for half the year to pay for tuition, according to Michigan State University Research Assistant Randy Olson.
It's insane to think that nowadays we have to pay around $100,000 worth of tuition for something that isn't even guaranteed to help us in the future.
We go from making $9 an hour and barely being able to save it all to having to owe around 10 times our yearly income. That number alone is frightening.
College shouldn't cost that much. There is no justifiable reason as to why we have to pay that much money. None.
Yeah, some people can pay that. The 1 percent of people that basically just go to college and let mom and dad handle the rest don't have to worry about that.
But, newsflash colleges of the USA:
NOT EVERY STUDENT YOU ACCEPT IS RICH.
And it's the middle class like me who get screwed. We're expected to just suck it up and pay it off. I mean we get 10 years, anyway.
People like that are the reason our economy sucks. I'm sorry; I can't just be okay with going into debt. Yeah, I'll do it if I have to, but regardless; I'm not going to like it.
It's especially not okay because we really aren't guaranteed jobs out of college. Regardless of what they tell you, there isn't any proof.
If I had to give anyone advice, it would be this.
Before you decide on a college, meet with a financial aid counselor. It might be a little expensive, but it's worth every penny. I met with one before deciding where to go, and I'm very happy I did. If it weren't for him, I would have graduated college with up to $55,000 to $60,000 in debt.
New parents: Start a college savings fund for your kids the moment you find out you're pregnant. If my parents hadn't started a fund for my sister and I, we'd be screwed. I don't even think we'd have the option to go to college if they hadn't.
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