The Sky is the Limit (For Student Debt)

It was mere weeks after I was accepted to my top two colleges that my mom was parading both of my full-ride scholarships on her facebook page. Who wouldn’t be proud that their daughter managed to work hard enough in high school that she wouldn’t have to join the growing number of working adults crippled by overwhelming student debt? The hidden costs of college became evident quickly: thousands of dollars a year in parking passes, mandatory meal plans, inflated on-campus housing, class fees, and more will place even the most successful students in terms of scholarships and grants in the same boat as millions of Americans. Stuck struggling due to their debt.

The average college graduate two years ago had $37,172 in student loan debt: a sky-high number for anyone, especially an unemployed recent alum, yet it appears that by the time the class of 2019 will graduate from college, their debt will exceed past numbers at record speed. Today, most Oregon public colleges have full costs landing above $25,000 per year, which would secure an average graduate with 6 figures in student loans supposing they had to pay for their college themselves and they did not receive sufficient grants or scholarships

Since 1985, college costs have increased by 538%, a staggering number when you consider the growing divide between America’s upper class and its growing middle and lower classes. College degrees are becoming more and more necessary, yet it is becoming less and less accessible to the masses.

Though it seemed that my college would be fully funded by scholarships and grants, I was taken aback by my financial aid package to my college of choice: how come my full-ride scholarship was still landing me over $10,000 in student debt per year? It turns out that the free tuition guarantee often ropes students in by making their college appear costless before the students are awarded their financial aid packages. Upon awarding, it is often apparent that the tuition has been shrunk down to a small percentage of their total costs, while other expenses such as room and board are jacked up to numbers as high as $18,000 a year (who wants to spend $2,000 a month to live in a 180 sq. foot shoebox?).

This blatant rent gouging would be far more understandable if it were an option to live off campus, however, at several state schools you are required to live on campus your first year. Hidden fees are also increasing costs at an exponential rate: in fact,“some colleges respond to the public outcry over soaring costs by freezing or capping tuition. But far fewer restrict fee increases. So with tuition unable to cover costs, thanks to freezes and budget cuts by state legislatures, many public colleges are using fees to help pay for core instruction.” Small fees add up, especially for students incapable of paying for them.

Application fees, enrollment fees, orientation fees, honors college fees, housing application fees, class fees. They all add up quickly, and for students who have to defer their fees due to their lack of ability to pay for them, they may begin college with over a thousand dollars owed on their student account. The cost of college fees are actually rising at a rate three times faster than inflation, leaving many families stunned in spite of colleges claiming to make tuition affordable or free to their student.

As students from Forest Grove High School and other institutions across the United States graduate from high school, it is doubtless that many will go on to pursue a higher education from a 2-year or 4-year college. As this flight to education occurs, many students and their families will be faced with the plight of hidden fees and deceitful costs. It may be time for college tuition activists to shift their focus from rising tuition to on-campus housing requirements and the hidden costs that disappear from financial aid packages because it is likely that even students who receive the most forgiving scholarships will join millions of American’s under the burden of debt.