Why is College So Expensive Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Why is College So big-ticket(prenominal) - Research Paper ExampleTuition, books and housing be enormously expensive and take the biggest bite erupt of the higher(prenominal) education budget but it doesnt end there. It never ends. There are laboratory fees, dorm needs including computer, clothes and stereo, commuting costs, parking fees, tutoring and food. Forget entertainment expenses, no money left wing for that. College is expensive, very much so but just how expensive and why? According to experts, the cost to observe a four-year public university is about $16,000. That includes tuition, housing and general fees but not books. A private university is much than(prenominal) than double that amount. Add to that other expenses such as dorm room accessories, electronics and clothing. Then theres commuting which includes gas, maintenance and parking fess which piece of tail extreme up to $500 per semester. Tickets for outdated stickers pass on out by the campus police push the cost higher. Getting a little tutoring help for that physics test will run about $30 per hour. The luxury of living on campus costs more than anyone dope possibly anticipate. The main reason why people who go to public universities end up in debt, is not the tuition, but the living away from home expenses, which at a public university, are three or four times more than tuition. (Hacker, 2010) The price of books is another expense that is always higher than anticipated, shockingly so. The cost of books sometimes determines a schoolchilds major. The difference in price of books can total $1200 depending on the field of study. (Beeman, 2011). There is a legitimate justification for why college schoolbooks cost more than paperbacks at discount book stores. Producing a new textbook is often very expensive. The market for these books is particular and has become increasingly so. In days past there were more buyers for new textbooks. Publishers could, therefore, distribute deed exp enses over a larger number of buyers. The relatively recent expansion of the rental and used textbook market has diminished the number of new books sold which has kept the price of new editions inflated. Publishers now throw updated editions. In this way they sell more books which acts to spread the production costs over more buyers. The total cost of college textbooks has actually fallen recently even as the price for new books has risen. (Weston, 2011). Student expenditure on textbooks has been decreasing since 2006 because of the rise of electronic books, rentals and the used book market (Why, 2011). During the 2010-11 scholastic year the norm amount spent on books at a four-year college was $534. During the 2005-06 year that amount was $644. Students spend more on gasoline and going to the movies during the academic year and twice the amount on cell-phone use as they do on book expenditures. (Weston, 2011). Tuition costs are high for many reasons. Colleges have expenses which may or may not be obvious to the casual observer. The high-end salaries paid to employees have risen. The expense of employing well ameliorate people began to increase substantially about 30 years ago for every pains. Colleges are an industry that cannot readily cut back on labor and much of its work force is well meliorate by necessity. (Goldstein, 2010). Salaries of faculty and supportive staff account for the largest piece of the college expense pie. The second highest expense can be classified as building maintenance which includes paying the electric bill, ongoing construction, cleaning and furnishing classrooms, libraries, gyms, labs, dorms, student centers and supplying computers, software, IT needs and books. (Trachtenberg, 2011) Colleges have been allocating more for support