Why College is so Expensive in America

Wanru Xu
Prof. Andrea Paldy
WRT 102
15th September 2019
Why Is College in American So Expensive?
Education has been an important aspect in the lives of individuals across different parts of the world. Different nations have been working on various strategies to ensure that their citizens can access education. Some of the strategies allow citizens to access education for free while in other nations, an individual has to pay for the service. Amanda Ripley’s article points out several countries and the efforts that they have made to ensure that they provide a college education to their citizens. In her article, Amanda Ripley uses credible evidence from experts and comparisons with other countries to prove that the American college's tuition is not really for academic purpose but a service fee.
Ripley indicates that American education is more expensive than in other countries because it is a service.the university is a system made up of various units. Each of the units is prone to loopholes that can affect the educations system. This definition makes it possible for Ripley to show how the different units require money to be run. The author points this out from the OECD report released in 2018, which claims that the United States of America spend a lot of money in college education as compared to other countries across the world. This extreme fee is characterized by "fancy students' apartments, expensive meals and the mania for athletic sports" (Ripley 2018).This is part of the college services that contribute to the high fees. Parents have to pay for their children a yearly fee that is equal to the amount that they used to pay for the whole course. Four years ago. This is an indication that over the years, college fee keeps on becoming more expensive in America, yet the education being offered has not changed. Ripley uses this idea to demonstrate the vast way through which the cost of American education can be compared over the past years. The amount spendt on college fee is estimated to be twice the amount that most of the developed countries are spending on education. Americans believe that every citizen has a right to education. In addition, education is viewed to be a key to success since it helps in the development of an individual’s career path. “Americans with college degrees earn 75 percent more than those who only completed high school”( Ripley 2018). Therefore, regardless of the high cost, it is a necessity in the nation, and people will continue to try to find ways to pay for college. Ripley discusses the fact that the US spends more on student welfare and ancillary services to further make her point about universities’ focus on services rather than on primarily academics. She writes, “ All in all, American taxpayers and families spend about $3,370 on these services per student—more than three times the average for the developed world” (Ripley 2018). The amount that students and parents spent on this fee is estimated to be three times more than what other developed nations are paying. Therefore, this is an indication that the American colleges are not only offering academic services but have also developed other income-generating activities. It is through such ancil...