College tuition is a concern for many students in the United States. About one in four adults are paying off student loans; the average borrower has around $37,000 in debt. That’s a 54 percent increase from 2009 where the average student debt was $24,000 at graduation. In 10 years there has been a $13,000 increase in student debt.

In 1987, the average tuition for a public four-year institution was $3,190 (this price and all others were adjusted for inflation, so it is in terms of 2017 dollars). Minimum wage in 1987 was about $3.35 which is the same as $7 in 2017. So in 1987, you could pay for a year of college with 57 days of eight hours of work, which if you work three days a week is 19 weeks. That means working for minimum wage in 1987 you could pay for a year of college in around five months just working three eight hour days a week.

In 2017, the average tuition for a public four-year institution was $9,970 and the federal minimum wage was $7.25. That means now it would take you about 15 months to pay for a year of college working three eight hour days a week. These prices are not taking into account food and other necessities, which have also greatly increased in price since 1987.

About 70% of high school students enroll in college after graduation because it is hard to get a decent paying job without a college degree. The average salary with just a high school diploma is $35,256 per year with an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent. With an associates degree, the average salary is $41,496 with an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent. With a bachelor’s degree, the average salary is $59,124 with an unemployment rate of 2.8 percent. To make a higher salary, the easiest way is to get a college education, which is what many Americans do.

I am a senior, and now that I have been accepted into college, I’ve stopped worrying about acceptance and now I have just been worrying about how I am going to pay for it. I knowing I am not alone in this. Finding scholarships and figuring out when and how to pay is a constant stress for many seniors this year. The College and Career Center has resources available if you don’t know where to start.

Many adults and people in America don’t realize how much harder it has gotten for students to pay for college in recent years, and there needs to be a change. Students have gotten so deep in debt and it is a huge cause for anxiety and depression for many. We need to find a way to fix this problem so future generations don’t have to worry about whether or not they can afford an education.