Op Ed: Pennies for the Educated

My dad graduated from University of Rhode Island in 1987 with a degree in education, a focus in history, an immediately negotiated contract that awarded him his first job as a history teacher at East Providence High School, and $0 in student loan debt.

At the time, the tuition for one year of schooling at URI topped off at eight grand.

Dad paid his way through college, working as a bartender and a paper delivery boy. He was able to almost completely pay off his schooling by the time of his college graduation, and whatever debt he had left over was paid off within in one year of working as a teacher.

This allowed him to immediately work towards buying a house, contributing to his retirement fund, and putting money aside that would eventually grow into a sizeable college fund for my sister and I.

The amount my parents were able to give my sister and I by the time we started at Boston University and Providence College was invaluable and we both recognize how indebted we are to them. Without their help, Boston University would not even be a consideration for me. Nevertheless, the amount that I am indebted to my parents is unparalleled to what I owe Boston University, and the banks which have allowed me to “borrow” in order to achieve an education I hope I will not regret. But “borrow” is too cute a word to describe the situation I, and so many other college students, have found ourselves in. The amount that I have “borrowed” will take over half of a lifetime to pay back.

The University owns me.

Even with the chunk of money my parents saved up for me to contribute to the bill, and the financial based aid the school determined I needed, It is still my responsibility to pay 7.5 times the amount that my parents had to pay, to afford something that the United States considers a universal right.

To pay off his student loans, my father paid about 60$ a month for two years. In comparison, I will pay about $300 a month for 20 years.

Nevertheless, I have accepted that these bills will have to be payed. With this in mind, it is not realistic to assume that I can start saving for a retirement, or that I will be able to buy a house in a timely manner. It is unrealistic to assume that I will be financially stable enough to start having children at a time when my parents considered having children. It may even be unrealistic to think that I could provide aid for my children’s education, the same way my parents did for me, all because I will be under extreme financial limitations.

What’s even more frightening, is the rising cost of university education which continues to rise every year. From my freshman to sophomore year, Boston University experienced a 3.8% increase in tuition. From my sophomore to junior year, an additional 3.5%. Looking forward to my senior year, the university experienced a “record low 3.4% increase”, or only $2,000 more in tuition,- which they made up for in the back end through their “room and board” pricing increase, which stands at a 2.9% increase from last year’s room and board price. Needless to say, I’m now living in an off-campus city apartment which somehow costs less than on-campus housing.

I fear, that by the time my kids grow up and are ready to start their college educations, that the price will be insurmountable. When will the increase stop?

Other countries have done even more than put a limit on the price of college, which the US should consider as their first step towards fighting rising university costs. Countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Germany, offer a free education to their citizens. They understand that a university is not supposed to be a monopoly for citizens money. They understand that by charging so much for schooling, it will only make it harder for their alumnae to become successful enough to contribute back into the economy.

The U.S.A, land of the free, chooses to take its people as prisoners, bound by debt and awarded no clean break to start a life of their own after college. Other countries, unlike that of the United States, understand the value of an education: priceless.