My story in today’s paper, on rising college costs.
12 thoughts on “rising college costs story”
Interesting piece. As someone who paid $100,000 for three years of law school at SMU, I have to kind of laugh when these kids talk about “how expensive” the $4000 a year at public school is.
I went to one of the “cheapest” private schools in the state. But I’ll still be paying about $500 a month to loan companies for the next decade. Sure, college is expensive. But I have trouble feeling too sorry for someone who is paying about 10% of what I did to go to college. Mostly I just envy them.
I read this story in the print edition down here on my way in to work, and I about fell down when I read the word “Betamax.” Mad props, yo, to your pop culture referencing skillz. And I thought you might find the image of me falling on my ass in the middle of a grocery store amusing.
Didn’t you choose to attend a private school? And just because your tuition was expensive doesn’t mean that public university’s isn’t. The story was probably aimed at those who attend/would attend a public university, since their skinnier wallets are the ones that would be most affected by rising costs. A third-generation SMU student probably doesn’t stay up at night worrying about money, if you know what I mean.
I hope the story did explain that Texans do still have it good compared to a lot of other states, even with the recent increases. (For instance, it costs twice as much to attend the University of Toledo as it does the University of Texas, which is just plain silly. Then again, most things about Ohio education are silly.)
But yeah, tuition plus room plus board plus books plus everything else still comes to $11K or more a year in Texas, and for lots and lots and lots of people, that’s still a significant barrier. (To their credit, UT does have an aggressive scholarship program aimed at disadvantaged students. And the state has done a lot to keep the community colleges cheap, so people can save lots of money for their first two years.)
Well in my case it was grad school, and the public law schools in Texas are very elite and almost impossible to get into. They have about 150 applications for every acceptance. Other states do not accept out-of-state students at their public law schools. So I guess I did “choose” to go to a private school, but only because it was the only game in town. I assumed it would be worth it because I bought the lie it would pay off. Of course, my third year I realised the average law grad makes >$40K per year and felt very ripped off.
Now, I did both my undergrads at public schools/community colleges. I personally think all higher education should be based on achievement and totally free for anyone who gets in. But I don’t buy the argument that cost is keeping anyone out of a public college in Texas. Sure you might have to work part time or work full time and go to school part time (I did both of those), but the financial aid is generous enough that anyone who really has the desire to go and willing to work a bit is able to.
I also have to say I have a problem when people talk about this “room and board” stuff. Hello – you have to pay room and bored any way, u whaether in school or not. It’s not like you all of a sudden have to start paying rent and buying groceries now that you are in school. What these people mean is if a kid is going to live in a dorm or just bum around for four years while his parents pay or everything. Sure not working for four years would be expensive. I wish someone would have supported me for a four year vacation where my only responsibilty was to sit in class 12 hours a week.
I very much agree. Taking out loans and working while going to school sucks, but it gets it done. Although there are many issues that could hinder low-income/disadvantaged kids from getting an education, rising costs are the least of those — I’m sure Josh’s little bro could fill us in. If finances were the only barrier, grants and loans would eliminate every ghetto. Barring the few, like you said, who have no desire and aren’t willing to work.
Agreed with Charles on graduate school… the top public business schools in Texas (and other states, for that matter) are very difficult to get into, plus carry almost the same cost as private schools. Josh, I’d be interested to know if there’s enough interest in that type of story…
Well, I think that states view legal, medical, and business schools as pre-professional training, and thus don’t worry too much about making it affordable. (As opposed to PhD students in academic disciplines, who typically get a free ride.)
But I’d argue that an undergraduate degree is today analogous to what a high school diploma used to be: a de facto requirement for life success. For years, states provided free public education through high school, even though most people didn’t go school past eighth grade, because it was part of their social responsibility to create an educated (and economically viable) population. I think you could argue there’s a similar responsibility to keep higher ed costs as low as feasible today, even if not everybody takes advantage of it.
My biggest complaint is not with the rising cost per se, but rather with decreasing quality. I’d be happy paying more if I were getting more, but after six years of college, I feel like I’ve been bilked. I honestly feel as if 70% of it was a waste of both time and money.
Thanks, Jeff. From a guy who’s paying $250 a month (after half-tuition scholarships) in loans for an undergrad education at SMU, I’m seriously disappointed with the lack of quality classes and students. Sure, I chose a private education, but I didn’t pay much more than I would have had I chosen UCLA or a number or public schools. I think my favorite part of attending the school was experiencing the annual “smallest tuition increase in the past decade” every year. The problem was, it was a 5 percent increase each year I was there.
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Interesting piece. As someone who paid $100,000 for three years of law school at SMU, I have to kind of laugh when these kids talk about “how expensive” the $4000 a year at public school is.
I went to one of the “cheapest” private schools in the state. But I’ll still be paying about $500 a month to loan companies for the next decade. Sure, college is expensive. But I have trouble feeling too sorry for someone who is paying about 10% of what I did to go to college. Mostly I just envy them.
I read this story in the print edition down here on my way in to work, and I about fell down when I read the word “Betamax.” Mad props, yo, to your pop culture referencing skillz. And I thought you might find the image of me falling on my ass in the middle of a grocery store amusing.
Didn’t you choose to attend a private school? And just because your tuition was expensive doesn’t mean that public university’s isn’t. The story was probably aimed at those who attend/would attend a public university, since their skinnier wallets are the ones that would be most affected by rising costs. A third-generation SMU student probably doesn’t stay up at night worrying about money, if you know what I mean.
I hope the story did explain that Texans do still have it good compared to a lot of other states, even with the recent increases. (For instance, it costs twice as much to attend the University of Toledo as it does the University of Texas, which is just plain silly. Then again, most things about Ohio education are silly.)
But yeah, tuition plus room plus board plus books plus everything else still comes to $11K or more a year in Texas, and for lots and lots and lots of people, that’s still a significant barrier. (To their credit, UT does have an aggressive scholarship program aimed at disadvantaged students. And the state has done a lot to keep the community colleges cheap, so people can save lots of money for their first two years.)
Well in my case it was grad school, and the public law schools in Texas are very elite and almost impossible to get into. They have about 150 applications for every acceptance. Other states do not accept out-of-state students at their public law schools. So I guess I did “choose” to go to a private school, but only because it was the only game in town. I assumed it would be worth it because I bought the lie it would pay off. Of course, my third year I realised the average law grad makes >$40K per year and felt very ripped off.
Now, I did both my undergrads at public schools/community colleges. I personally think all higher education should be based on achievement and totally free for anyone who gets in. But I don’t buy the argument that cost is keeping anyone out of a public college in Texas. Sure you might have to work part time or work full time and go to school part time (I did both of those), but the financial aid is generous enough that anyone who really has the desire to go and willing to work a bit is able to.
I also have to say I have a problem when people talk about this “room and board” stuff. Hello – you have to pay room and bored any way, u whaether in school or not. It’s not like you all of a sudden have to start paying rent and buying groceries now that you are in school. What these people mean is if a kid is going to live in a dorm or just bum around for four years while his parents pay or everything. Sure not working for four years would be expensive. I wish someone would have supported me for a four year vacation where my only responsibilty was to sit in class 12 hours a week.
I very much agree. Taking out loans and working while going to school sucks, but it gets it done. Although there are many issues that could hinder low-income/disadvantaged kids from getting an education, rising costs are the least of those — I’m sure Josh’s little bro could fill us in. If finances were the only barrier, grants and loans would eliminate every ghetto. Barring the few, like you said, who have no desire and aren’t willing to work.
Agreed with Charles on graduate school… the top public business schools in Texas (and other states, for that matter) are very difficult to get into, plus carry almost the same cost as private schools. Josh, I’d be interested to know if there’s enough interest in that type of story…
Well, I think that states view legal, medical, and business schools as pre-professional training, and thus don’t worry too much about making it affordable. (As opposed to PhD students in academic disciplines, who typically get a free ride.)
But I’d argue that an undergraduate degree is today analogous to what a high school diploma used to be: a de facto requirement for life success. For years, states provided free public education through high school, even though most people didn’t go school past eighth grade, because it was part of their social responsibility to create an educated (and economically viable) population. I think you could argue there’s a similar responsibility to keep higher ed costs as low as feasible today, even if not everybody takes advantage of it.
My biggest complaint is not with the rising cost per se, but rather with decreasing quality. I’d be happy paying more if I were getting more, but after six years of college, I feel like I’ve been bilked. I honestly feel as if 70% of it was a waste of both time and money.
Thanks, Jeff. From a guy who’s paying $250 a month (after half-tuition scholarships) in loans for an undergrad education at SMU, I’m seriously disappointed with the lack of quality classes and students. Sure, I chose a private education, but I didn’t pay much more than I would have had I chosen UCLA or a number or public schools. I think my favorite part of attending the school was experiencing the annual “smallest tuition increase in the past decade” every year. The problem was, it was a 5 percent increase each year I was there.
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