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Originally Posted by aceventura3
But what happens when a person faces a bill for $100,000 for a four year degree, gets $50,000 in aid and before they graduate the cost ends up being $150,000? It seem like a shell game to me.
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This compared to not going at all? Financial aid helps with such things as living expenses. It's hard to attend school full time while working full time.
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I think he wants to simplify the process and give tax credits.
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So tax credits instead of loans?
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Or, you would have found an alternative. Perhaps, some people would actually get more out of college after spending a few years working full time and saving before entering.
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The alternative would be to find a job that doesn't require a college diploma, most of which are low-paying. Saving up for college would be a difficult thing to do in this situation. How long would you expect one to delay college in this case?
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Also, the point is to look at the real costs. And we should ask the question why are the costs of higher education consistently exceeding the national inflation rate. why do you think this is happening?
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I'm sure there are a number of factors. I think one is the level of competition. To run a successful college or university you must be constantly upgrading and developing your facilities and programs. You must pay a lot to retain and obtain talented faculty, etc., etc. A big reason why the cost of education is increasing is because the sophistication of education is increasing. We are shifting from a manufacturing-based society to an information-based society. The spiraling costs of education is a result of this. The problem is not everyone can be a knowledge worker. The realities of blue-collar, white-collar, pink-collar still exist despite this shift toward higher education as the pinnacle of pre-workforce achievements.
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I think the two issues are connected. I think if classroom capacity was increased, costs could be driven down. Giving more access and lowering the cost. I think this can be done while maintaining the quality of the degrees.
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They are connected. And I think many schools (in Canada anyway) are increasing their capacities. But I think this is only one factor that would affect the costs. There are far too many other factors that are likely driving things up, as I've mentioned.
The factors affecting degree quality depends on the area of study.