Since 2017, the cost has increased by 2.9 percent, and it is expected to increase. In 2018, a private college on average cost $42,380 for a master’s degree annually in the United states according to the College Board.

Universities and colleges should lower the price of secondary education because it is unaffordable.

It is highly recommended for most people to attend college because studies have shown that extended education allows students to work in higher paying careers. In essence, a college degree makes 500 dollars more in one week compared to a high school diploma according to National Bureau of Labor Statistics (NBLS).

Education is expensive, and the majority of people can’t afford it without financial aid. 63 percent of the population that will go to tertiary schooling need a loan, according to the NBLS.

On average, students who borrowed money to attend graduate school owe $48,000 dollars according to National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). 12 years after their schooling, only 20% had paid off the entire loan without missing a deadline.

Colleges and universities get grants from both the state and federal government and donations from former students and supporters and communities. Harvard’s donations that they received in 2015 was 37.6 billion dollars. This is enough money for all students to go tuition free for an entire year according to entrepreneur Ron Unz in an article published in Money.

Harvard isn’t the only one with lots of donations or endowments. Yale received a 27 billion dollar endowment in 2017 according to National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). All of the ivy leagues have billions of dollars in endowment rates.

A study done by the Congressional Research Service found, “The average spending (payout) rate from endowments in 2017 was 4.4%. Between 1998 and 2017, average payout rates have fluctuated between 4.2% and 5.1%. In recent years, institutions with larger endowments have tended to have higher payout rates.” This basically means that colleges make a profit out of their endowments that could have been used to pay for someone’s education.

The high price of this schooling is hurting these institutions too. 40 percent of people according to the Longmire Foundation see the price and automatically reject the college because they cannot afford it.

Students looking to attend tertiary schooling can change this. They can elect school board representatives for their desired education institution who are interested in lowering the price of education.