Going to college costs money, lots of money. For the most part, people are unable to afford college payments on an all at once or even at all basis. Recently, college tuition has been increasing at a faster rate than ever before. It is said that tuition rates are increasing at twice the rate of inflation. (Westgate, Cornell Daily Sun) The tuition costs are to high by everyone’s standards. Overpaying for college is an injustice that needs to be changed. Young men and women often are not able to get the education they desire due to unreasonable costs. Another prevalent issue is the discrimination state schools use against out-of-state prospective students. The schools charge almost three-times the in-state tuition rate to non-residents.

This cause paper will dive into five different areas of interest dealing with the high college tuition. The history of college tuition is an important place to begin. Readers need background information in order to completely comprehend the information presented later in the paper. A visual representation of the tuition rates and increases in the statistics section. Actual numbers give readers good references and a clearer picture of what is being said. After the "basic" knowledge has been feed to the reader, the paper then moves on to its strongest point; Do states have a right to discriminate against non-resident students? Reasons for the tuition increases around the country are vital pieces of information. Most interested parties would like to know why tuition prices have escalated to where they are. Finally, how to do deal with the tuition rates should a family or student not have the money to pay for it. The financial aid section describes the types of financial aids and what types are used for different circumstances.

Over the years, College tuition has quickly become unreasonable. "The college board reports that private college tuition rose most sharply in the early to mid 1980’s, while public college tuition increased most in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s."("National and Regonal") Tuition is not the only source of income for schools. As Westgate says, "Alumni, local governments, environmental movements and external factors are crucial educational supporters that contribute revenue, which is comparable to the amount of tuition…"(Cornell Daily Sun) The tuition system as it exists now is consistent with its history. However, its often inflated prices are not. In earlier decades, differences in tuition rates between public schools and private schools existed. States discriminated against no-resident students. This discrimination has only really been put under the microscope recently because the tuition has been exuberant. Certain aspects of the life in an "in-stater" do cause their public school tuition to be lower than one of a non-resident’s. However, the difference between the two is far to drastic.

In general, public and private school tuition have been rising far to quickly. Average public college tuition has risen 128% and average private tuition has risen over 130%.