The Do You University Revolution Has Begun
OK. So, on last night I finally made the big announcement about the impending launch of Do You University. I truly believe that Do You University is going to be a difference maker in the lives of many--if not all of the college-bound students that join the DYU movement by becoming a member of the DYU community. Yes, DYU is a movement--a student movement to right the ship or let us say correct the current directional impact that higher education continues to have on hundreds of thousands of students in the United States, and around the globe. As I am quite sure that you, and your parents are aware of the yearly rise in college and university tuition in the United States, it seems that every college or university whether small or large has joined the annual tuition increase parade. Personally, I believe that such exorbitant ticket prices for a four-year college education are out of control, and similar to the way that American citizens get gouged at the gas pump--tuition paying parents are being gouged by U.S. colleges and universities. So, what's a parent or guardian of an aspiring college student to do?
Middle-Class Family Incomes Cannot Keep Pace With Annual Tuition Increases
If you believe that I am being overly dramatic here let's look at some empirical data, and move beyond my mere conjecture. Despite the fact that the economy is still in recovery, and the fact that the rate of inflation continues to outstrip the median family income in America--college and university tuition is up arithmetically at not only private colleges and universities, but tuition is also up at public universities that have for so long been subsidized for residents of the states in which those universities are located. The Federal Reserve Bank chart below illustrates my point:
As you can see from the Federal Reserve's data, the difference in income and the cost of attending college in 2011-2012 is about 50 points higher than it was in 2001-02, Furthermore, if I extrapolate, in 2014-15 the disparity will probably move to the 60-70 point mark. So, what does this do? Increase the need for student loan indebtedness apparently, as more and more college financial aid packages constrict based on the parental and student income levels. The irony here is that because household incomes are so grossly disproportionate to the perpetual tuition increases, it is nearly impossible for middle income families to keep up with such cost increases, and annual college tuition increases. So, while colleges and universities continue to increase their tuition each year--most of them are doing nothing in terms of providing additional financial assistance in the form of grants, or scholarships. Instead, many middle-income families are left to their own devices, which usually amounts to government-backed Direct and Parent PLUS loans.
Student Loans Abound
The chart below delineates the stark reality of this new epidemic of student loan indebtedness:
Today's economic landscape impresses upon all future collegians, and their families to vigilantly prepare for their student's matriculation to the college campus. Student loan debt in America has more than doubled from 2004 to 2012 to more than 900 billion dollars. So, what's a family to do? The simple and short answer is to start saving for your child's college education the minute that he/she is born; however, not everyone is able to do this effectively for a plethora of reasons. So, the next thing you can do is try to save as much as you can, and be prepared to wing it. That is to say, be prepared to set up a college payment plan to pay-off the balance of your student's cost of attendance once scholarship money, grant money or (un)subsidized loan funds have been applied to your bill. This is always the practical alternative when you don't suddenly experience a major comeuppance six-months before little Stevie is about to go off to college because you found a chest of buried treasure in the back yard or the wall of your home using that ole' trusty metal detector. Anyway, enough of my attempt at humor to lighten the mood. My point here is simply this: college tuition around the country is exorbitant, and its about time someone started a movement to shakeup the higher education paradigm in America. Otherwise, college truly will be for the children of the 1% alone, and eventually most of the 99% will be totally priced out of the market or if not, living beyond their college affordability means to keep up with the Joneses.
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