For today’s college-aged generation, earning an undergraduate degree is essential. In most well-paying industries, it has almost become the equivalent of a high school degree 50 years ago. The key difference, of course, is the staggering cost of college tuition in the United States. For almost half a century, the cost of attending college has been skyrocketing, and it is showing no signs of stopping. Even when accounting for inflation, families all over the country struggle to provide their children the opportunity for higher education. Northeastern University’s tuition rates are inordinate and its continuous rise pushes a college degree further and further from many young people’s grasp.

Northeastern’s tuition is $59,100 for the 2022-23 academic year, marking an increase of almost 5% from the year before. Even when adjusting for inflation the increase is completely unreasonable, regardless of how the institution attempts to make up for it through financial aid, scholarships and grants. Accounting for inflation does nothing but emphasize the problem. Yearly inflation rates in the United States have averaged 1.8% over the past decade, while Northeastern’s tuition has risen an average of 4.5% per year. The current school year is 4.6% more expensive than the last. 

While inflation rates this year have been devastating, offsetting it doesn’t explain the continued increases. This is because Northeastern’s tuition isn’t only high when considering inflation, it’s high compared with other universities as well. In 2021, Northeastern’s tuition was 82% more expensive than the average college in the country, with the average for private non-profit institutions being $29,844. The university is among the top 100 most expensive schools in the United States by in-state tuition, coming in at #80. This makes it 58% more expensive than other schools in Massachusetts, whose average comes in at $34,405; and the 10th most expensive college in the state.

Northeastern and other institutions are able to do this because the system itself is deeply flawed. College tuition prices have been increasing by gigantic margins for decades, making most families unable to afford them without significant aid. The minimum wage; however, hasn’t even come close to that rate of growth. Fifty years ago, the average college tuition in the United States was $394 and the federal minimum wage was $1.60. As of the 2021 academic year, the average U.S. college tuition is $10,560, and the current minimum wage is $7.25. While tuition prices have risen a ridiculous 2,107%, the minimum wage only grew 353%. In 1970, a college student could pay off a year of college by working 246 hours a year, or 5 a week. By 1995, the number was 670. In the current academic year a student must work 1,457 hours a year, or 28 a week, to put themselves through college. Tuition prices like this have caused an epidemic of inaccessible higher education, forcing students into grueling schedules or massive amounts of debt. 

Northeastern furthers this trend and in doing so deeply hurts its past, present and future students. Sky high tuition not only promotes but also directly causes classism amongst the Northeastern community. Unreasonable prices make hundreds of thousands of high schoolers unable to apply to higher education institutions regardless of academic merit, which directly contradicts the values we are told they hold. It makes wealth go a long way in deciding who applies, possibly causing Northeastern to miss out on brilliant, deserving students. Working while enrolled is always an option, but the 28 hours per week necessary to cover average tuition is grueling when paired with a full course load at a university as rigorous as Northeastern. Working students have a harder time joining clubs, extracurricular activities and having personal free time, putting them at a clear disadvantage over students who do not. 

If students choose to take out student loans, they are sentenced to bear the cost of tuition for decades of their professional careers. The student debt crisis is currently at a cumulative of $1.7 trillion and is rising steadily. Graduating with thousands of dollars in debt should not be an asterisk on higher education and the ripple effect it has on those unable to pay for tuition out of pocket can not be overstated. 

Northeastern is fully capable of lowering its prices but continually chooses to put bandaids on bullet holes. The university is giving over $400 million in financial aid this academic year and continues to fulfill any stud

ent’s fully demonstrated financial needs, seemingly mitigating the very problem they are perpetuating. High tuition is necessary to maintain Northeastern’s campus, staff and resources, but lowering the yearly tuition increases by even a small amount would go a long way. Reducing the financial barrier the university places on its accessibility will allow the experiential education it holds so dear to be available to all who deserve it, instead of those whose parents can afford it.

Ada Spiwak is a second-year journalism and political science combined major. She can be reached at [email protected].