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Studentsacquirelong-termburdenas ruitionrises LAUltAVANDE PETl'E NEWS EDITOR Lcv722@CABIUNLEDU
It's three o'clock in the afternoon and Megan O'Brien, an early childhood education major, is running around her dorm-room frantically eying to throw off her jeans and change into her work clothes. She has been in classes since 8:15 this morning and is exhausted but manages to rush out the door in time for work with text books in•hand to study on her dinner break. "I'm graduating in less than two years and will be $35,000 in debt before I ever get a job. Having to face such a huge debt scares me," O'Brien said. The explosion in student debt has been propelled by rapid increases in college costs, far outpacing the rate of inflation. Nearly two-thirds of students attending a private, f01¥year college or university take on student loans while they are in school. As of last year, the average indebted graduating senior was $17,600 in debt on graduation day. A recent study on student debt finds that a "sizeable proportion of college degree recipients either do not borrow at all or graduate with modest amounts of federal student loan debt." This is according to the Federal Student Loan Debt: 1993 to 2004. Over the past few decades,
dents '(PLUS), are available regardless of need, up to the total cost of attendance. Getting a college degree is a good investment if the student can find a well-paid job after graduation. This investment has paid off for many graduates. Recent college graduates currently receive about 80 percent more in pay than recent highrschool graduates. This is up from about 40 percent more in pay in the late 1970s, according to CEPR. O'Brien wonders what will happen to all the college graduates who are in less lucrative careers like education or students who plan )m Wuia/f'HOTO Eo!TOR to attend graduate school, "the Unda Ross,from financialaid, helps senior Colleen Bowman,ilS' Anita Catalanotto looks up Bowman'scurrent information. debt is just going to pile up, bigger and bigger." O'Brien said, "I do not the average tuition, foes, room debt as soon as l received my state grant, the Stafford loan, and regret making the decision to and board charges at .private loans. I feel like I'm simply an academic scholarship, I am attend Cabrini, I know it is the struggling to pay for my tuition four-year in·stitutions have risen treading water," O'Brien said. best investment, but I find it Students are receiving more and will continue to struggle for far faster than the rate of infladisturbing that an average many years after graduation," loans, compared to grant aid, tion. At private, four-year colCabrini student like myself is leges and universities, expensel> because of policy changes during O'Brien said. The financial aide department graduating with double the have risen by 51 percent since the 1990s. In 1992, Congress 1990, after taking into account passed the Reauthorization of the at Cabrini explains that subsi- debtas compared to the nationinflation, according to the Center Higher Education Act. This leg- dized loans do not accrue interest al average of $17,000." Because of the rising costs for Economic Policy Research islation increased the amount of while the student is in school or (CEPR). This means the cost of money students could borrow in a grace period, whereas unsub- of higher education, even stucollege goes up twice as fast as under the student loan program, sidized loans begin to accrue dents who take out loans are other costs. For example, if a changed the definition of need so interest from the date of disburse- working a significant number college tuition and something that it was easier for dependent ment. Subsidized loans are a part of hours while in school. Since else both cost $10,000 in 1996, students to qualify, and made of a student's aid package, and a the average number of hours today the tuition would be unsubsidized loans available to student must meet need qualifica- worked is already above 20 $20,000 . whereas the other dependent students for the first tions in order to receive them. hours per week, there is not a Some unsubsidized loans also great deal of room for students expense would only be $15,000. time, according to CEPR. "l have so many different require that the student be finan- to work more and stay in "I am in over my head in interest rates.. I have acquired Joans and grants ifs difficult to cially needy under student aid school full-time. Among stueven more debt as a result of keep them straight. But even guidelines, but some, such as ParDebt, page 4 interest being tacked on to my with the Pen grant, which is a ent Loans for Undergraduate Stu-
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Cabrini's tuition rises above national average MELISSA STEVEN PERSPECTIVES EDITOR
Ms727@CABRINI.EDU Cabrini's tuition and fees accelerated more over the past five years than the average of private four-year colleges. Cabrini has gone up 32.7 percent whereas the national private college average has gone up 22.2 percent. The College Board released its annual tuition survey on Tuesday, Oct. 17, which said that the costs for a private four year private college this year is $21,235, including fees. Last year the
average cost was $20,045. Once again, the average cost of tuition grew higher than the rate of inflation this year. In 2001, Cabrini's tuition was $18,090 when the national average was $17,377. Since then Cabrini's tuition bas risen at a steeper level than the national average. Cabrini's tuition with fees, for this current year is $24,000 and last year it was $22,250. That is a 7 .8 percent increase. The national average from last year was only a 5.9 percent increase. The report also said that there
is considerable variation across institutions and among states and by region. Also, many students pay less than the published price According to the College Board's report, Trends in College Pricing, the average student at a private four-year college receives about $9 ,600 of aid in the fonn of grants and tax benefits. Then they are left to pay the remaining balance of about $11,635, not including room and board. A big growth that was seen in the report last year was students getting aid in the fonn of private student loans. Also, the number
of Pell Grants dropped. They only increased 3 percent from 2004 to 2005, while in the past three years it had increased on an average annual rate of about 8 percent. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, students took out $14 billion in private loans, which is a 33 percent increase from last year and the highest percentage growth for any type of student aid that year. Why does college tuition go up so much? The New York Times reported that the president of the National Center for Public
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Policy and Higher Education, Patrick M. Callan, said, "There's a belief that high cost equals high quality ... Most of them [students] want to go to college, and so it's a seller's market. Universities raise tuition because they can." Loquitur welcomes your comments on this story. Please send your comments to: Loquitur@yahoogroups.com. The editors will review your comments each week and make corrections if warranted.