Can you imagine working as hard as you can throughout high school, getting the grades and the GPA that could get you into any college, and then not being able to go? This is not just an image, but a reality. I know a senior who graduated this year, who is a prime example of this harsh reality. He worked his way through high school, had a high enough of a GPA to wear the gold sash around his neck when he graduated. He applied to many amazing schools, and got in, but ended up declining because he couldn’t afford to go. He even had to take a year off of school, something I know that he didn’t want to do, to earn enough money to pay for an in-state college next year. And the thing is, he isn’t from a poor family. His parents are willing to help him pay for college. He even applied for financial aid and got some money, but just not enough. I am pretty sure that all the people in this class have started to think about college. Thinking about how much fun it will be to be away from your parents and to finally be on your own to make your own decisions. But one of the big downers about college is the cost.
Did you know that as the years go by, the costs of college are paying a roll in the students final decision to go or not. Studies show that college costs are rising and that college students and families can expect to pay anywhere from $95 to $1,404 more than last years tuition and fees (2007-2008 College Cost). Along with that, $371 to $406 more than last year will be spent on room and board all depending on the college (2007-2008 College Cost). Because the costs are so high, and keep rising, students, no matter how smart, are unable to reach the fullest of potential when earning an education. This effects the society because not as many people with a preferred education are able to help the s
ociety. I found a graph that shows the amount of earnings that one person can attain with different levels of education.
It shows that with just a high school diploma, someone is bound to attain about 1.2 million dollars in their lifetime. But it also shows that with a professional degree, someone can make about 4.4 million dollars in their lifetime. That is about four times as much money that one person could make in their lifetime with a college degree. College is worth it, but being able to afford it can be the deciding decision for some people about whether to go or not.
One story that caught my eye when I was looking through different articles about college education cost was one about a grandfather and his grandchildren. The article wrote, “On Oct. 8, 1956, New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen retired one Brooklyn Dodger after another for nine straight innings until a final called strike distinguished his performance as the only perfect game in World Series history. As stunning as his final pitch was in closing the door on perfection, the ball itself now may be used to open doors for Larsen’s grandchildren. Concerned about the rising cost of college education, Larsen is auctioning that last pitched ball, as well as the glove he wore on that day 46 years age, to try to pay for the education of his grandchildren” (Hickey). This just goes to show that even really famous, rich people can’t afford to send their kids, or in this case grandkids, to college without doing something drastic to try to come-up with the money.
Some ways that students can try to get help with paying for college are applying for Financial Aid, applying for as many scholarships as possible, and try to work as much as you can to earn the money. One organization that is really working hard to increase the FY 2009 budget, and get it approved is the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, or US.PIRG for short, and the United States Student Association. Both these associations are looking to help students in any way possible, and help increase the money that is used in financial aid and scholarships.
College is one of the most important parts of life and not everyone can afford to go, even if they deserve to go. There isn’t very much that each of us in this room can do to help ourselves to help pay for college, but we can influence the next generation on how they can go about saving their money, and getting jobs to help fund those accounts used to save money. People need to start planning and saving when they are at a very young age and possibly set up a trust fund that is able to open when the student reaches the age that they will be going to college. Another thing that people with trust funds can do, is to use the money they have in the trust fund, and to let the people who don’t have a trust fund, and who don’t have the money, apply for scholarships so they have a chance at an education too. Our call to action is to help the two organizations that I mentioned get the FY2009 budget to pass by all signing this letter to our representative, and mailing it to him for support.
Two Links:
To learn more, and do more with the two organizations above, go to this site and look around to see what else you can become a part of to help lower the costs of college. Click HERE
And in order to become more educated on your college experience and the ones of kids younger than you, click HERE
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