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And this is exactly why information like this never makes it to these types of arguments. It totally refutes the majority of the claims made. I say majority bec

And this is exactly why information like this never makes it to these types of arguments. It totally refutes the majority of the claims made. I say majority because unfortunately there are a number of very needy people who get denied access to the best institutions due to financial considerations instead of scholastic aptitude.

Alex3917 13y ago
"Unfortunately there are a number of very needy people who get denied access to the best institutions due to financial considerations instead of scholastic aptitude." Yes but the article is still completely wrong. They're making a very specific claim that on average students pay X, when in fact that's not true. Of course there are lots of cases where a person isn't able to get student loans or grants because their parents are wealthy but they're also highly abusive or whatever, but that doesn't have anything to do with what the article is claiming.
- Goladus 13y ago
  But they're not making a specific claim. They're making a generalized claim to tell the story. Any one individual student should be able to compare their financial situation to the generalizations in the article. The final sentence of the article is this: How on earth do colleges today ramp up costs to $40,000 a year? And in fact, scholarships, grants and other subsidies would be but one part of the explanation for why costs are high. Just because a student might not pay $40,000 because he gets $10,000 in merit scholarships and need-based gov't and 3rd party grants, doesn't mean the cost of that degree still isn't $40,000.
  - Alex3917 13y ago
    >But they're not making a specific claim. They're making a generalized claim to tell the story. "Consider this: You have just paid about three times as much for your degree as did someone graduating 30 years ago. That’s in constant dollars — in other words, after accounting for inflation. [...] According to the College Board, in 1983 a typical private American university managed to provide a bachelor’s-degree-level education to young people just like you for $11,000 a year in tuition and fees. That’s in 2012 dollars."
    - Goladus 13y ago
      It's not meant to be taken literally. It's just part of the narrative. It's blatantly obvious that the author can't actually know how much his readers have actually paid for their tuition. In fact the audience for this article is probably not even recent graduates.

Alex3917 13y ago

"Unfortunately there are a number of very needy people who get denied access to the best institutions due to financial considerations instead of scholastic aptitude." Yes but the article is still completely wrong. They're making a very specific claim that on average students pay X, when in fact that's not true. Of course there are lots of cases where a person isn't able to get student loans or grants because their parents are wealthy but they're also highly abusive or whatever, but that doesn't have anything to do with what the article is claiming.

Goladus 13y ago
But they're not making a specific claim. They're making a generalized claim to tell the story. Any one individual student should be able to compare their financial situation to the generalizations in the article. The final sentence of the article is this: How on earth do colleges today ramp up costs to $40,000 a year? And in fact, scholarships, grants and other subsidies would be but one part of the explanation for why costs are high. Just because a student might not pay $40,000 because he gets $10,000 in merit scholarships and need-based gov't and 3rd party grants, doesn't mean the cost of that degree still isn't $40,000.
- Alex3917 13y ago
  >But they're not making a specific claim. They're making a generalized claim to tell the story. "Consider this: You have just paid about three times as much for your degree as did someone graduating 30 years ago. That’s in constant dollars — in other words, after accounting for inflation. [...] According to the College Board, in 1983 a typical private American university managed to provide a bachelor’s-degree-level education to young people just like you for $11,000 a year in tuition and fees. That’s in 2012 dollars."
  - Goladus 13y ago
    It's not meant to be taken literally. It's just part of the narrative. It's blatantly obvious that the author can't actually know how much his readers have actually paid for their tuition. In fact the audience for this article is probably not even recent graduates.