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Recently, I’ve seen a lot of hand wringing about student loan forgiveness, and I’d like to use a personal antidote to put things in perspective. When I attended college, tuition was $1,880/yr. While I can’t find my room and board paperwork, the average in the USA was $1,538 per year.
So, $3,418.
When off campus, I split the apartment cost with my gf. I paid ~$160/month. Our groceries were ~$25 per week. So, about $3,000/year (the entire year and not just the school year).
I made ~$2,200 at my summer job building trails for the DNR. During school, I worked 20 hours a week and made ~$4,000 per year. I covered my costs, bought a used car and a nice mountain bike, road tripped to go rock climbing, etc…
I still had debt but not that bad.
Now at the same college, according to the college’s website, it’s $21,800 + $5,000 in extras to attend per year. Working at $20/hour in summer plus 20 hours a week in school, a student would make ~$13,200 (best case). I scanned part time job openings for the college I attended, and part time jobs aren’t even $20/hour. Most average $15-16 now.
My college cost: $3,418
Working my way, I made: $6,200
College now: $26,800
Working now at an above average college job: $13,200
College for boomers was even cheaper than it was for me, a Gen Xer!
State budget cuts made it more expensive to attend college than it was for Gen X and Boomers. So, when I see our kids getting a break, I don’t see it as anything other than our responsibility to make up for the wrongs of right-wing boomers cutting higher education funding.
State colleges and trade schools should be free to attend. Education, whether in college or the trades, is how we continue to build a better society. We need to invest in our citizens and quality education is one way we do that.
Thanks, Bryan Hansel, Grand Marais, MN
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