The Cost of college education

College bills are a little on the high side, considering the amount o money involved in the payment of admissions and semester fees. Other items like accommodation and books are among other things that college students have to pay for. Additionally, they have to pay for meals or buy food items to prepare their own food.

College fees range between 6,000 to about 30,000 dollars a year, depending on the school. Most parents, unfortunately cannot pay this much. Some of them do not earn this much and even if they do, they may have to pay other bills like mortgage, car loan, water and electricity bills, medical bills and many more. Other parents may also have other wards whose school fees they pay as well, making it difficult for them to save that much to pay college fees.

Some students are also matured and so are independent. They pay rent and provide every other thing for themselves. Once in college, these students have to pay up their own fees and provide for themselves. Most of them have to work to raise that much money for their fees. Since they are now in school, they have fewer hours for which they can work and so end up earning less.

The cost of college education is not all about tuition fees, but other costs also come in here. First, students may need to buy textbooks for their various courses. These books are more expensive, compared to those needed for the lower levels. The average price of a single text book is about 45 dollars, of which a student may buy as many as their studies demand, and this puts a lot of strain on their finances.

Accommodation is another element in college education. Most college students attend school far away from their homes and so they may have to find rooms and hostels close to their campuses. Some colleges offer accommodation for the students within the facility whiles other students may have to find rooms at private apartment close to the campuses. Those on the campuses are relatively cheaper than those offered by other landlords.

Government grants are available for students to cover some of the cost. Some non-governmental bodies also offer grants, which students can access to pay up their bill. The grants may however not be enough to cover everything, and so some students have to take loans to survive. These loans come with their own associated problems, but at least, they solve an immediate problem of helping students through college.

Some of the loans have flexible payment terms and reasonable interest rate. Some of the loans give a fixed amount of money per year while others offer amounts, depending on the amount of fees the applicant is paying per year. Some loan facilities on the other hand grant amounts as much as the applicant may want to have.

Upon completion, students are expected to pay back the loans and grants within a number of years, mostly 5 to 10 years. The repayment may also include interest on the loan accumulated over all these years. Students’ loans offer the lowest interest rates, but with time, the interests accumulate to become another cost of college education. By the time of payment, the interest accumulated on student’s loans could be as high as 40% or even up to 60%.