Is College Worth the Cost?

When I attended NCC and then CUNY Hunter College for my BA in the early eighties it was basically FREE..


I predict that in a few years the total four year cost to attend SUNY Binghamton will be $100,000. Out of state public colleges will be over $140,000 and private colleges over $200,000. What makes college affordable today are Scholarships, Grants, Financial aid and loans. Without help from the Colleges, the Fed's and the State, a middle class family will have no option but to have a student live at home and commute to a community or public college. Not that there is anything wrong with community or state colleges; remember I am a graduate of both. It's just that having a residential four year undergraduate experience is something that seems to be slipping away from the middle class. It is still attainable but if financial aid were no longer an option due to the current credit crises and income thresholds going up a great number of our children will become part time students with full time jobs to support their living-at-home lifestyles. Having no option but to have a son or daughter live at home and commute to college is not something I look forward to. It is all about options and access. If the middle class accepts that the only option they have is community college, then the educational upper hand goes to the wealthy and those who know how to play the financial aid game.