There is no question about it, the price of college education went through the roof years ago. Today, any student who plans on getting a private four year college education, can expect to pay around 200,000 dollars in college education costs at the most expensive schools. Of course, the price of college education also takes into account food and board, but students will need a place to sleep and study, and will also need to eat. As such, unless a student earns enough scholarships to make a significant dent in the bill of 50,000 per year, private school is likely out of the question. When you think about it, even if a high school kid gets good enough grades to receive a 50 percent scholarship, he or she will still owe 100,000 dollars at the end of four years.

The price of college education has become so out of control, that attending even the most inexpensive state schools can put students in debt for at least a decade after graduation. For instance, during the 1980 to 1981 school year, the average cost of a college education at a public, four year institution was about 2,550 dollars. During the 2010 to 2011 school year, the annual average cost had risen to nearly 16,000 dollars per year. As far as the price of college education at a private college, the average annual cost for college education at a four year, private college was 5,594 dollars per year, but had risen to 32,600 dollars during the 2010 to 2011 school year. Of course, some of this is duly attributed to inflation. However, it is ludicrous to blame it all on inflation, for that would be an inflation rate of 400 or 500 percent.

While the price of college education is clearly out of control, there are alternatives to college education for those who cannot afford it, or do not want to take out the loans. Although there is evidence that a college education leads to higher lifetime earnings, that number is a bit skewed, since many college graduates never end up making more than their trade school educated counterparts. Whatever path one decides to pursue, it is important to be as certain as possible that the price of college education is worth it in the end.

The cost of a college education is an entirely different experience for each person. Two people can attend the same college in the same town and have very different college education costs. This is because there are grants, there are loans and there are other forms of financial assistance that each student can apply for and qualify for too, giving various students different experiences when they are applying to these colleges and universities.

So the cost of a college education is worlds away for one kid as it is for another kid. These kids could be sharing a dorm room and never know that one is paying considerably more for tuition than the other. This is also because college education cost is largely a private matter that people do not like to discuss with others. Also, most college students are not entirely aware of how much it is costing their parents for them to attend college, so they are not really sure of the actual cost of a college education.

Now, the cost for college education will have its standards, like how much books are, how much room and board costs, and how much tuition is for the average student. These costs usually are set in stone and are relatively the same if not exactly so for all students, but where the costs diverge is in the aforementioned areas of grants and loans. So a student’s financial situation, his or her grades in high school or community college, and various other considerations are formed into play when there is any discussion of the cost of a college education.

Because there are so many variables ranging from a person’s grades to his or her family’s financial status to the student’s academic strengths in particular areas, the price of college education varies considerably. This makes it difficult to pinpoint the typical cost of a college education without having to say that this cost falls within a range rather than a specific number. Thus, when any financial analysts are predicting to clients the cost of a college education, they usually are making some assumptions and are giving averages rather than concrete facts. It ultimately will be known what the typical cost is for a college education once a student enrolls, gets to school and settled, and starts taking classes. For most parents, then, knowing a round number they can grab onto usually is enough.

The cost for college education has steadily increased over the years, and average family incomes are not keeping up. During the second half of the twentieth century, a good college education became available to members of the middle class for the first time due to the advent of federal student loan and grant programs. However, as the asking price of college education has grown by leaps and bounds, more and more young people are finding themselves in an enormous amount of debt. In the twenty first century, many people are asking themselves whether the cost of a college education is worth the benefits.

Certainly, there is extensive evidence that people with college degrees have more job opportunities and make a higher wage than those who have only graduated high school. However, for many individuals the cost for college education necessitates carrying a heavy debt burden that may cancel out those higher wages. It is therefore worth considering whether you actually need to attend college to have the career you want. If you want to go into a professional specialty like medicine or dentistry, then going to college and graduate school is not negotiable. In those cases, college education costs, however extensive they may be, must be viewed as an investment in the future. However, if your goal is to become an actress or a writer, I humbly suggest that you not go directly from high school to college because the cost for college education may not be worth it.

If you have artistic aspirations or want to go into communications or the entertainment business, it would behoove you to take a couple of years off to pursue those activities in the field because the cost for college education is so high. For example, if you want to be a Broadway entertainer, move to New York City, wait tables, take some individual acting classes with professional instructors, and audition as much as you can. Acting is a career that the exorbitant cost for college education is not worth forking over. If you find after a couple of years that you are not able to make a living as an actor, then you can consider a new career and reassess whether going back to school is worth the cost for college education.

The value of college education is immeasurable. However, the cost of college education is another matter. For many parents, as well as students who plan to support themselves, the price of college education seem totally unaffordable. And we have heard too many horror stories about college loans. So, what is really the cost of college education? To shed light into the current cost of a college education, here are three facts about college education cost.

First, according to the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics, college education costs are significantly higher today than in the last couple of years. For the school year 2010 2011, the cost of undergraduate tuition fee, board and lodging is about $13,600 in public schools. For the same academic year the cost of undergraduate tuition fee, board and lodging in private and not for profit educational institutions is around $36,300. And for private for profit educational institutions, the cost for undergraduate tuition fee, board and lodging is around $23,500. This shows that the cost of college education in public school is about half the cost of college education in private for profit institution and it is even significantly higher in private nonprofit educational institutions. So if you are sending your child to the university in the next academic year, you can already see how much you will spend on the average.

Second, the cost of college education increased by 42 percent in under a ten year period in public institutions. From 2000 2001 academic year to 2011 2012 academic year, the cost of college education in public schools which included undergraduate tuition fee, board and lodging rose by 42 percent . For that same academic year comparison, in private not for profit educational institutions, the cost of college education, which included undergraduate tuition fee, board and lodging increased by 31 percent . For private for profit educational institution, the undergraduate tuition fee, board and lodging increased only by 5 percent . The rate of increase is already adjusted for inflation. This trend shows you how the cost of college education in the United States has increased in a decade. If you are sending your child in college in five years you can expect additional increase based on this statistics.

Third, the above stated cost of college education does not include other expenses, such as books. Books and other expenses vary per educational institution. In some universities, books and supplies can cost only $800. In some schools, the cost of books and supplies can reach $1,500 or more. It depends on the school and the program. Aside from these there are other expenses to be considered as you send your child to college.