Dear Future President,

College tuition, they’re always a pain in the neck! The average tuition for a public college is $24,061 while it’s $47,831 for a private college. To achieve a bachelor’s degree, the total cost would be $96,244 at a public college and $191,324 at a private college. Many students apply to for student loans and financial aids, which means that they’ll be in debt post college. The tuition need to be lower; college needs to become affordable for everyone.

When I get to college, I want to make sure that I get a good education at a decent university without the unaffordable tuition that are rising uncontrollably. I want to make sure that I don’t graduate college and start my career while I owe a massive amount of student loans. I also want to have a variety of colleges to choose from without being restricted by the burden of college tuition. Expensive college tuition also affect the middle class Americans. For a household of three people that are middle class Americans, the annual income is $42,000 to $125,000. If their child wants to apply for a private college to pursue a Bachelor’s degree, they wouldn’t be able to afford it, since it’s $47,831 a year on average. If families can’t afford the tuition, how is their child supposed to get the education they deserve? Another group affected are the people intimidated by the high college fees who decide to find a job after graduating high school instead of pursuing higher education, in fear that they won’t be able to afford it. This decision affects them along with their families for the rest of their lives because the average annual salary for a high school graduate is $30,000, while the average entry level salary for a college graduate is $50,651.

Please ask colleges to stop increasing their fees annually. College tuition have been increasing since the year 2000 by about $1,000 a year. If this continues then within four years when I’m applying for colleges, the average yearly tuition is estimated to be $51,831. The exaggerated increase in college tuition has led to a huge increase in student loans, where the total outstanding student debt is about 1.3 Trillion, which is now the largest form of non-mortgage liability for households.

Colleges can use their endowment funds to help students pay for their tuition. Harvard has over 37 Billion in endowment funds and still has one of the highest tuition fees of $47,000. Additionally, Yale has 25 Billion in endowment funds while the tuition is $49,000. Princeton University has 22 billion in endowment funds while the tuition is $45,000. Lastly, Stanford has 22 Billion in endowment funds, and the tuition is $48,000.

College tuition are too expensive for people to afford a good education. The tuition need to decrease so college is affordable for everyone. When tuition decrease, more people will be encouraged to apply for colleges knowing that they will be able to afford them. This will lead to a more educated population that will be able to make a living with the salary they make. I want the future president to take action towards lowering college’s tuition and fees, so colleges will be obtainable for everyone.

Sincerely,

Sarah E