Back in February 1970, Harvard University broke the bad news that tuition was on the rise to college students and their parents. By the fall of 1971, the annual fee for attending the prestigious institution had risen from $2000 to $2,600, the first time that the school had increased tuition fees two years in a row. Now, over forty years later, tuition fees at American colleges and universities have dramatically increased, surging ahead at a much faster rate than was predicted. Today, a year’s tuition and fees at Harvard University will set you back $45,278 – more than seventeen times as much as it cost back in 1971. So, is the cost of college sports too high, and are we losing potential athletes because of it?
Unaffordable Costs
For the majority of families, $45,278 per year is a cost that simply is way out of the budget. Although student loans are accessible, many students are skeptical about using this system due to the repayments, which will need to be made for many years after they graduate. For many young budding sports athletes, the only hope that they have of going to college is being awarded a scholarship for funding, but scholarship awards are few and far between, and only given to the best. As it stands right now, America may well be losing out on a number of talented athletes as they never have the chance to go to college thanks to the significant cost.
Getting a Sports Scholarship
Being awarded with a sports scholarship such as water polo scholarships might be the only answer for many budding professional sportspeople, however getting one is certainly not easy. In order to be awarded with a scholarship to study and compete in sports professionally in college, the individual must have already achieved a significant amount and show a large amount of promise and talent. In order to achieve this, it is often necessary to have to pay for extra coaching, lessons, and team memberships – an expense which some parents are unable to afford. Unless a child’s school has an excellent sports coach, many young athletes are missing out on a chance to be a star.
Why Are College Tuition Fees So High?
There are a number of reasons why tuition fees for those attending college are so steep. There are a number of researchers who have studied the rising cost of American university tuition, and their general answer to the question of why is that there are a number of different forces which are driving the cost of delivering education, therefore increasing the price that students and their families need to pay. When it comes to cost, more and more colleges are working to attract students by employing top faculty, state-of-the-art facilities and next generation student amenities. These factors, along with other contributions, add up to giant costs for colleges which need to be covered in tuition fees.
What are your opinions on this matter? Are colleges spending, and therefore charging, too much? Leave your response in the comments.
