SOC 1020 Anne-Marie Miola THE BUSY LIFE IN AMERICA – INCREASING COSTS OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION

Minimum Wage In 1970, minimum wage was $1.60 In 2007, minimum wage was $7.25 That’s a 353% increase – which sounds nice, until other price increases are taken into consideration Source: Trent

Necessary Requirement % of jobs available required only a high school diploma % of jobs available required only a high school diploma Source: Trent

Tuition Increases In 1970, one year of tuition at a public university was $1,207 You could work 755-hours at a minimum wage job to pay for tuition, roughly 14-hours a week during the year In 2007, one year of tuition at a public university was $11,304 You could work 1,823-hours at a minimum wage job to pay for tuition, roughly 35-hours a week during the year That’s an increase of 994% to obtain a degree more employers require Keep in mind the minimum wage increase was only 353% - that’s not looking for great now Source: Trent

Percentage Increase

Working While Attending School The rule of thumb is that students should work no more than 20-hours a week while attending school If you do not get a decent education, it’s not worth the investment According to the National Center for Education Statistics in 2010: Nationwide, 17% of student worked hours a week Nationwide, 6% worked 35+ hours a week In 1960, college graduates got their first job (that lasts 3+ years) at age 24 In 2010, college graduated got their first job (that lasts 3+ years) at age Source: Herzog

Paying for Tuition 41% rely on financial aid 22% of students’ parents pay for school 18% of students pay their way through school 16% rely on scholarships Source: Kingkade The average loan debt now is five times what it was in the 1980’s Source: Herzog

Default Rates 2- Year3- Year For Profit13.6%21.8% Public institutions9.6%13% Private non-profit5.2%8.2% Default rates are continuing to increase as tuition increases. Financial Aid counselors at schools do not explain how much student’s should expect to repay for their student loans. They do not explain how the repayment plans are calculated. Students need to research that on their own, but they should be required to go through calculations about how much they should expect their monthly payment to be before accepting additional funds. Source: US Department of Education

Works Cited “Default Rates Continue to Rise for Federal Student Loans.” U.S. Department of education. N.P., 30 Sept Web. 27 Apr Herzog, Karen. “Summer Jobs Plus Part-time Work Won't Cover UW Tuition.” Working Your Way Through College Doesn't Add up for Today's Students. N.P., 1 June Web. 27 Apr Kingkade, Tyler. “Most College Students Work Part-time Jobs, but Few Pay Their Way Through School: Poll.” The Huffington Post. Thehuffingtonpost.com, 07 Aug Web. 27 Apr Trent. “A Dose of Financial Reality - The Simple Dollar.” The Simple Dollar. N.P., 13 Oct Web. 27 Apr

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