Research Blog #4

Working Title: College: The Student Debt Crisis in America 

Topic :

I will explore the student debt crisis in America and find the reasons why the college tuition prices are booming at the rates they currently are. I will use this information to compare how college costs are now, versus how they were in the past, and the reason why the cost of college has increased more rapidly than the inflation rate. This paper will explore the stories of real families, who struggle to cover the cost of college tuition, and get others’ perspectives on this issue. It will examine the negative and positive consequences of lowering tuition prices, and explain why these would be possible or impossible. This paper will also explore other alternatives to these high tuition costs, and it will help the readers understand an effective solution to the tuition crisis that a majority of college students are facing. 

Research Question:

With the college tuition costs always skyrocketing, many students struggle financing their way through college. What are some ways that we can make college more affordable for all? What are some proposed plans to help this issue? Who is benefiting from these high tuition costs, and would there be serious financial repercussions from lowering them?

Theoretical Frame:

The article “College is More Expensive Than It’s Ever Been”, by Hillary Hoffower, explains the reasons behind the increasing college costs and tells stories of college students who are facing the negative consequences of taking out loans for their university. Demand for college is one of the most important factors in answering the question of why college tuition is so expensive. This is known as “supply and demand”, and “the more students who want to attend college, the more the cost of college increases” (Hoffower 2). When it comes to tackling this problem, and trying to find a solution for it, the article “How States can Solve the Student Debt Crisis” gives some answers for that. This article speaks specifically on what the individual states can do to help this crisis. A key phrase here is financial securities, and the author of this article gives 3 ways that the individual states can start protecting them. These steps are “reducing the out-of-pocket cost of attendance, protect students as they navigate existing debt, and decrease existing student debt burdens” (Hansen 1). These articles help give me ideas and more information on how I can back up my argument, while also understanding all perspectives of the situation at the same time. 

Examples:

There are millions of college students who struggle with paying off their loans, and will be doing so for a long time. An example of this is in the article “College is More Expensive than It’s Ever Been”, Josh Kirdy, a 26-year-old who works as a Manager at Universal Studio, and is still paying back his student loans. Kirdy is expected to “pay roughly $300 a month in student-loan repayments until he’s 35” (Hoffower 1). He also balances many different part-time jobs in order to afford this. This is just one example of someone who has a college debt hanging over them, and that they feel is holding them back. Another example of the skyrocketing prices is in the article “Deeper in Debt”, where the author examines data collected from New York. This analysis “showed that the student loan default rate nearly doubles within [2 years], going from 6.5% to 11%” (Dvorkin 1). This data proves how fast the loan rates go up by, and this explains the reason why millions of Americans are in debt. 

Bibliography 

Dvorkin, Eli|Bowles. “Deeper in Debt: For-Profit Schools Driving Student Loan Default in New 

York State. Data Brief.” Center for an Urban Future, Center for an Urban Future. 120 

Wall Street 20th Floor, New York, NY 10005. Tel: 212-479-3341; Fax: 212-344-6457; Web Site: Http://Www.nycfuture.org, 30 Nov. 2018, eric.ed.gov/?id=ED592759. 

Hansen, Kiese|Shaw. “How States Can Solve the Student Debt Crisis: A Framework for 

Reducing Student Debt Burdens for Present and Future Borrowers.” Aspen Institute, 

Aspen Institute. 1 Dupont Circle NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 410-820-5433; Tel: 202-736-5800; Fax: 202-467-0790; e-Mail: Publications@Aspeninstitute.org; Web Site: Http://Www.aspeninstitute.org, 31 Jan. 2020, eric.ed.gov/?id=ED606374.

Hoffower, Hillary. “College Is More Expensive than It's Ever Been, and the 5 Reasons Why 

Suggest It's Only Going to Get Worse.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 26 June 2019, 

www.businessinsider.com/why-is-college-so-expensive-2018-4. 

 Koch, James V. The Impoverishment of the American College Student. Brookings Institution 

Press, 2019. EBSCOhost, 

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED596501&site=ehost-live.

“Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Ensuring College Affordability. Hearing of the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate, One 

Hundred Fourteenth Congress, First Session on Examining Reauthorizing the Higher 

Education Act, Focusing on Ensuring College Affordability (June 3, 2015). Senate 

Hearing 114-627.” US Senate, US Senate. Available from: US Government Printing 

Office. 732 North Capitol Street, Washington, DC 20401. Tel: 866-512-1800; Fax: 

202-512-2104; Web Site: Http://Www.senate.gov, 30 Nov. 2016, 

eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED592795.