College Tuition Cost Benefit Analysis

One of the biggest issues in today 's society is the affordability of continuing education. The increasing cost of tuition over the last couple decades have forced young adults and teenagers to make one of the hardest decisions of their life. They have to make a choice on either putting themselves in debt that could sometimes exceed over $200,000 or battle it out in today 's struggling economy with nothing more than a high school diploma. Now, this should not be the case, everyone should have the opportunity to continue their education without putting themselves at risk or in a situation where income after graduation heavily outweighs their tuition cost. For example, in Kelsey Griffiths case, she is graduating on Sunday from Ohio Northern

The figure demonstrates the average tuition costs of Arizona Private Universities to be roughly $16,900, $9,700 for Arizona State Universities, and $2,280 for Maricopa Community Colleges (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES])(NCES). Considering the statistics, the message is quite clear for those who wish to save. Certainly, attending community college first is a must, since it is the cheapest entrance to college without financial aid. Another key point is the two-year associate degree earned at a maricopa community college is applicable to any public university in Arizona. In other words, community college is basically a stepping stone toward a four-year institution. Not to mention it is roughly the same as if taken at a university, but for much less. With this in mind, it is best to avoid private universities entirely. On account of the figure, there is an average difference of over $7,000 between each average tuition statement (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES])(NCES). Thus, taking the community college route is choosing to save more than $7,000 in