As someone who is currently applying to college, cost is a huge consideration. Not only is the cost to attend undergraduate school a problem, but what about graduate school and beyond? Many students consider going to a cheaper school for their undergraduate education in order to save money for graduate school education.
At Bronx Science, applying to Ivy League schools is extremely popular, but is the price really worth it? The most popular school is Cornell, which costs about $85,568 (including tuition + room and board) a year. When you multiply that by four years, that adds up to $342,272, which is extremely expensive and out of a lot of people’s price ranges. Should students risk going into debt just to attend a great school?
Even public schools, which are traditionally more affordable than private institutions, are increasingly expensive. For example, the average cost of living on campus at a University of California school for non-resident students is $83,731, which is under $2000 less than Cornell. Do we really need to pay this much just to receive a quality education?
Additionally, different schools excel in different fields. For example, if someone wants to pursue a less common degree like art history, the best courses/resources/curriculum is often at an Ivy League or Ivy League-adjacent school, which are some of the most expensive universities in the country. Since certain topics may be stronger in one school over another, students may end up paying more depending on what they want to study.
Students may switch majors once they arrive in college, leading many to pick schools based on how well-rounded they are. These types of schools are often larger and more expensive. While most offer financial aid, it still can cause a problem for parents due to how they calculate need based aid.
Also, when considering a school, distance is a key factor. Moving farther away from home can influence the cost of attending due to the cost of travel. Depending on where you live, students may need to pay extra for transportation, such as flights or train rides.
There is also the consideration of whether or not you want to go to a big school versus a smaller school. Larger schools typically offer more sports teams and more school spirit events such as rivalry games, playoff games, or March Madness. Meanwhile, smaller schools may have fewer competitive sports teams or limited athletic opportunities. Larger schools offer a wider variety of majors, while smaller schools tend to focus on one or two majors.
Another big decision that can impact the cost of attending college is its setting. City schools often have higher costs of living, including housing, food, and other expenses. However, urban campuses may offer more extracurricular activities and school sports, especially if you are in a city like New York or Los Angeles.
Some schools offer certain brand partnerships for internships during college or jobs after college. A strong alumni network for the school can help for jobs and internships. For schools in one part of the country, they may have more alumni located there that are available to help.
The brand reputation of a school is important to many students. Many want to go to a famous school or prestigious school because it looks good on a résumé.
Our society places a great deal of importance on the schools people attend. Individuals are often judged as less capable or successful if they go to a less prestigious university or do not attend college at all. Why is this?
Why do we care so much about what school people go to? Shouldn’t people care more about who a person is instead of what school they went to? If somebody works hard and does good work, that should carry more weight than where they went to school.
At almost every college event, the admissions counselors claim to only accept people they believe will be successful at their school. When college representatives visit Bronx Science, they believe every student here could be successful at their school. That poses the question: why isn’t everybody who applies accepted?
Each school can only accept a certain number of kids from certain high schools, but that causes the kids that aren’t accepted to stress out about where they are going to school. This stress makes people make rash decisions about college and where to apply.
Many people believe they deserve to go to an Ivy League or top 25 school. But even if that’s true, it doesn’t guarantee they will get in. This causes students to apply to what are called “safety schools.” These are schools with higher acceptance rates, but someone’s “safety,” could be seen by another as their dream school.
It can be really discouraging when someone says, “That’s my safety school.” Another student may question their own goals or feel like their own dreams aren’t impressive enough. It can make you rethink your whole college decision. Some students even end up applying to prestigious universities they may not truly want to attend simply because of what others say.
Financial aid is supposed to make college more accessible but the way it’s structured often doesn’t account for each individual’s specific circumstances. It’s based on national income standards, which don’t take into account the huge differences in cost of living across the country. For example, families living in big cities may earn more money, but they also have to spend far more on basic needs, making financial aid harder to get.
This is a problem because it makes people in large cities struggle more for college because even though they make more money they need to spend more money for goods and services. Also, if parents have more than one child applying to college, they might have to pay for two colleges in the same year, adding financial strain.
All of this brings me back to one question: is the price of college worth it? My answer is no. Why is “student debt” even a common phrase? It is absurd that so many people have debt due to college prices that there is a phrase specifically devoted to that.
Why are we plunging ourselves into debt because we want a good education? The so-called “better schools” also tend to cost more, which might make sense to some people — but to me, it doesn’t.
Now, you might be wondering which schools am I applying to. The truth is, I am still applying to the very schools that I just criticized despite stating that they are not worth it. I’m doing this because I believe that one person alone can’t enact the kind of change I want to see.
These universities need to understand that they should not be reserved for the fortunate. Higher education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status. While scholarships and need-based aid exist, they don’t apply to everyone that needs them. That means the so-called “need-based” system isn’t truly based on need.
The bottom line is simple: the price of college just is not worth it!
These universities need to understand that they should not be reserved for the fortunate. Higher education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status. While scholarships and need-based aid exist, they don’t apply to everyone that needs them. That means the so-called “need-based” system isn’t truly based on need.