Brian Funfgeld
ENGL 1030
Stephanie Beard
December 2, 2013
Capital Clemson
In today’s society,
it seems as if college is necessary for one to succeed in life. An education at
a university is what students strive for in order to precede in life and
hopefully as a successful human being. As a student graduates from high school
and proceeds to the next level of education, do these students they
know what to look for when applying? Are these universities
worth the high cost of tuition and other costs that are necessary to attend the
university? Clemson University is an above average public learning facility
with an above average cost to attend. Clemson University is a college
university that is very expensive for an out-of-state student to attend and the
cost does not correlate to the poor facilities and privileges that come to the
average Clemson student. The cost does not equal the benefits.
Clemson University is an expensive
institution. The University sits way above the national average for public
schools and private schools, which is surprising because it is a public
college. State funding supports Public Universities, while state funding does
not support private institutions. Because of the state funding for public
colleges, many universities allow in-state students a cheaper price for tuition
costs, because these students and their households pay their state taxes
towards their own state, which gives money to the university. Private
universities do not receive funding this way, but by tuition, endowment and
donations. Some private universities do not give a cheaper tuition cost to
in-state students because they university does not get funding from the state.
Private universities are normally more expensive to attend than a public university
because private universities do not get extra funding from the state unlike
public universities.
The cost to attend Clemson University
annually is far above the national average. The cost for out-of-state students
is extremely high, “For out-of-state students, tuition and fees averaged
$22,203, a 3.1 percent increase from last year” (Lewin). On the Clemson
University’s website, the university created a chart that
illustrates the cost to attend Clemson University through different decisions
and privileges. The cost to attend Clemson University as an undergraduate
student would be approximately 45 thousand dollars a year, which is a huge
amount compared to the national average of public colleges. The cost of going to
Clemson University is more than doubled the cost of the national
average. The cost to attend Clemson University as an out-of-state student is
also above the national average to attend a private college annually, “And at
private four-year institutions, the average published tuition and fees are
$30,094, up 3.8 percent from the year before” (Lewin). The cost to attend
Clemson University as an out-of-state student costs approximately 15 thousand
more dollars annually than the national average of a private university, even
though the cost to attend a private university is more because these
universities do not get state funding.
Clemson University is also expensive to
attend as an in-state student compared to the national average. According to
the Clemson University website, the cost to attend the university as an
undergrad student is approximately 26 thousand dollars. This cost is extremely
high compared to the national average for in-state students for public
universities, “The average published annual tuition and fees for in-state
students at public universities total $8,893” (Lewin). For in-state students,
the first semester is normally a lot cheaper for the students as they are under
a grant from the state called the Palmetto Fellows scholarship, “The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship offers up to $6,700 in
renewable scholarship assistance to entering freshmen. The amount of the award
increases to $7,500 for upperclassmen and may be "Enhanced" to $10,000 for upperclassmen in declared science and
mathematics related majors” (Student
Financial Aid). This scholarship is only for in-state students and is hard to
retain, so in-state students will lose the scholarship and pay the regular
in-state cost to attend Clemson University.
President Barker increases the cost to
attend Clemson University every year. The cost increases by small percentage
each year, but the extreme percentage trend has decreased, “Tuition and fees at
public universities increased less than 3 percent this academic year, the
smallest rise in three decades” (Lewin). While the increased percentage
annually of tuition has decreased, the cost of universities is still
increasing. President Barker believes that the increase in cost of tuition will
directly correlate a better national ranking, “The
president of Clemson University, James Barker, implied that the increase in
tuition will help them reach their goal of a place in the top 20 of the
nation’s public universities” (Meyers). This article was written in 2008 and
appears to be true, because the national ranking of Clemson University has
increased since then, but this cost also prevents financially frustrated
students from attending. The increase in tuition increases the amount of money
the university can spend: “Clemson will “maintain focus” on
accomplishing its goal as it pockets $10.9 million more of its students’ money
next year” (Meyers). The money that these students are giving to the university
does not always come back as benefits to the students.
Over the following five years, Clemson
University’s athletic department plans on spending 50 million dollars towards
improving Clemson athletics; “Clemson University’s athletic department is
continuing its plan to improve facilities by announcing a goal to invest $50
million over the next five years in capital projects” (Nixon). Clemson is
spending a large sum of money towards the athletic programs, but only a small
percentage of students participate in Clemson’s athletics. Students that do not
participate in athletics gain no benefits by having Clemson spend millions of
dollars on athletics. Spending large sums of money on
Clemson’s athletic programs is not new to the university, “Over the past 10
years, Clemson has invested nearly $120 million in athletics facilities
enhancements. These investments have benefited virtually every team, from
football to women’s volleyball, from baseball to track, from golf to women’s
rowing’ (President Barker). The opinion of Clemson University’s
president is that to increase athletic programs, the money formed to aid
athletics is by increasing the
cost of tuition, which forces students to pay extra that do not aid some
students.
Clemson
University does not have the greatest facilities on their campus. Many of the
dorms are out of date and in major need of replacement and or renovations. The
dorms on Clemson campus are very unequal. Johnstone Hall is a prime example in
showing a housing facility that needs to be
replaced. Johnstone Hall was built in the early 1950’s as a military housing
facility. The dorm is known around the campus for being the worst living
quarters on campus. The dorm can be considered unsafe to even live. The dorm
lacks fire exits and accessible windows; if both stairwells were to be engulfed
by flames, students would be stuck on the higher floor with no way of escaping.
The dorm was considered unsafe, because of asbestos that could destroy a person’s
lung, “In 1993 the first phase of demolition began, tearing down Sections B and
C. Both phases required asbestos to be removed from the ceiling” (Smith). The
dorm is known as the “Tin-Cans” because of the thin metal walls, which removes
a student’s privacy. These metal walls prevent students of a good nights sleep,
which can affect their academic success. The lavatories are too small and
because of the old piping and the dorm has a foul odor. These
poor housing facilities deter visitors from
wanting to visit and attend Clemson University.
Students are
deprived from a healthy and beneficial, daily
meals, while attending Clemson University. Some students may find the dining
facilities at Clemson University to be unsanitary and disgusting, “According to
LePrevost, the two inspected the anonymous object and realized it looked
exactly like a cooked maggot” (Lundstrom). There have been reports of insects
being found in food that students are being served. The food that is served at
the dining halls are very similar every day and lacks variety. Students are
paying extra to eat at Clemson University and are not getting a meal
up to standards with their payments.
The large
expenses to attend Clemson University have affected many students after
graduation. Debts of college students have risen in the nation and increase
every year. Most students are graduating with a bachelor’s degree facing debt
to pay, “In 2009, the most recent data available, 67 percent of graduates had
debt, averaging $24,000 per student” (Cohn). With the cost of attending Clemson
University is far above the nation’s average, students are expected to have to
pay off large debts after graduating. As an out-of-state student that is
attending Clemson University, the high cost to attend this university would
have me take out a total sum of loans over 100 million dollars. That much debt
to pay off for one person is insane. If I was unable to find a sustainable job,
I would have large problems that would affect my family, this is the case for
Kyle McCarthy, “McCarthy, 28, has a master’s degree—and, he estimates, $72,000
in student debt. His job at a local Border’s bookstore barely pays him enough
to meet his rent, let alone the demands of the collection agents that he says
call him at all hours of the day” (Cohn). This man is unable to pay off his
large debts and fears that the debt collectors will attack his mother. I am in
the same situation in which the debt could destroy a person’s life after
college. I have found it in my own experiences that attending Clemson
University is not cost efficient for me. The high cost to attend this university
has crippled my spending and will affect me long term after graduating. Because
of these economic problems, I have chosen to transfer to a cost efficient
university, Stony Brook University, which the tuition is much cheaper, but the
graduation degree still holds value.
Clemson
University is not a cost efficient university and can be improved in numerous
ways. Primarily the university must decrease their tuition and other costs.
These large costs are forcing debt on students. The university is a public
university, which gain funding from the state, so the decrease in out-of-state
tuition would be acceptable. The large cost drives away intelligent students
that cannot afford the tuition cost; a decrease in cost would increase the
amount of out-of-state students that would apply to Clemson University. More of
the spending should go toward the student directly and away from athletics.
Better housing facilities can help increase a
student’s ability to academically succeed.
With increase
in costs of college tuition there will be an increase in debt of graduated college
students. The high cost to attend college universities is increasing the idea
in high school students to not attend a college, because there is a lack of
jobs for graduated students, “More than 40 percent
of recent U.S. college graduates are underemployed or need more training to get
on a career track” (Snyder). With students being forced into debts and are
unsuccessful with finding a job, this is leading to high school graduates
deciding to not search for a higher education. People are finding it a waste of
money and time to attend a college university and are searching in the work
force directly without a college degree.
Tuition costs need to be fixed in
order for Clemson University to excel. The high cost of out-of-state tuition is
preventing more students from attending Clemson University. To fix these
problems, Clemson must relocate its money and funding to help the students
more. Too much money is being put toward athletics, while other facilities are
being ignored. Poor housing facilities must be fixed first, because these
facilities are where students sleep and live in. There should be more financial
aid to middle class students; students that have parents that are making too
much to apply for financial aid, but are not making enough to pay for the
student’s tuition are causing these college students to have large debt after college.
Clemson University is ranked one of the
best universities nationally, but is known for it’s high tuition costs for
out-of-state students. This high cost of tuition for out-of-state tuition for
Clemson is the driving force, which is preventing me from attending this
university in the future and causing me to transfer. With many students having
large debts to pay off after graduation and with a high percentage of college
graduates not being able to find a job, it would conclude that a student in my situation
must look for a college degree elsewhere. With a cheaper out-of-state tuition
cost, Clemson University would have more students attending. With more students
there would be more money from more tuitions instead of less students with a
higher cost. Nationally Clemson University is far above the national average
for public tuition and this must be changed for Clemson to excel as a highly
regarded public university.
Work Cited:
Lewin, Tamar. "Annual Rise and Cost
of Public College Slows." The New York Times. The New York Times,
23 Oct 2013. Web. 11 Nov 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/23/education/annual-rise-in-cost-of-public-college-slows.html?_r=0>.
Cohn, Scott. "The Debt That Won't Go
Away." CNBC.
N.p., 20 Dec 2010. Web. 13
Nov 2013.
<http://www.cnbc.com/id/40680905>.
Meyers, Luke. "Clemson: Why Spending
Does Not Equal Quality." The Center For College Affordability and
Productivity. N.p., 12 Aug 2008. Web.
<http://collegeaffordability.blogspot.com/2008/08/clemson-why-spending-does-not-equal.html>.
Nixon, Angela. "Clemson Announces
$50 Million Plan To Continue Athletic Facility Improvements." Clemson
University. N.p., 14 january 2011. Web. 14 Nov 2013. <http://media-relations.www.clemson.edu/3274/clemson-announces-50-million-plan-to-continue-athletic-facility-improvements/>.
Student Financial Aid. "Estimated
Cost of Attendance." Clemson University. N.p., 16 Jul 2013. Web. 14
Nov 2013. <http://www.clemson.edu/financial-aid/costs/COA.html>.
Smith, Erin. " Johnstone Hall: A
Living Building." Scout. N.p., 28 Apr 2003. Web. 1 Dec 2013.
<http://www.scout.com/2/107868.html>.
Lundstrom, Kelsey. "Dining hall
sanitation questioned." The Tiger News. N.p., 4 Nov 2011. Web. 1
Dec 2013. <http://www.thetigernews.com/news.php?aid=7222&sid=1>.
Snyder, Brian. "Recent U.S. college
graduates disillusioned, more than 40% unemployed: poll." NY Daily News.
Reuters, 30 Apr 2013. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/college-grads-disillusioned-unemployed-poll-article-1.1331346>.
The Dean. "Private Versus Public
Colleges." College Confidential. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec 2013.
<http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000294.htm>.
Student Financial Aid. "Palmetto
Fellows." Clemson Student Financial Aid. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec
2013.
<http://www.clemson.edu/financial-aid/types/scholarships/palmetto.html>.
