Increasing Cost Of Higher Education

“The cost of college education today is so high that many young people are giving up their dream of going to college, while many others are graduating deeply in debt.”

Bernie Sanders couldn’t have articulated today’s college scenario better; the increasing cost of higher education is like a noose around the student’s neck. Students and their families take years to pay off their college loans because of the high-interest rates imposed by the banks and other financial institutions.

It is not only higher education, putting your child through preschool is expensive enough to burn a hole in your pocket. Coupled with coaching classes and other co-curricular training institutes, putting your child through school and then university is enough to give any parent a nightmare.

Let’s look at the fees of a few preferred courses among the youth today:

• MBA:

A highly popular course of this decade, the tuition fees for an MBA degree are anywhere from Rs. 8,00,000 to Rs. 18,00,000 and a little more for the coaching for the entrance exam.

• Medicine:

A very lucrative career option, the medical field finds thousands of hopeful applicants every year. However, only a few are able to get past the many barriers and pave their way till the end. Out of these aforementioned barriers, the tuition fee continues to be the most daunting. For MBBS, an applicant has to shell out anywhere between Rs. 2,00,000 to Rs. 40,00,000 just for the tuition. For further specialization, the costs are even higher.

• Engineering:

Engineering is seen as a very good career option by most parents for their children. However, the tuition fees for a four-year course are very high – around Rs. 2,40,000 to Rs. 6,40,000.

The solution to this problem, which continues to become more serious by the day, does not lie in cursing the system and getting saddled with debts. It lies in smart financial planning from the day your child is born. Creating a college fund is one of the easiest ways to tackle this problem head-on; this fund will give wings to your child’s dreams and as a parent, you will be relieved to be free from the brunt of eleventh-hour loans and subsequent debts.

No parent would like money to be a limiting factor in any aspect of their child’s life.

Investing regularly in an endowment plan will provide you with a prominent sum at policy maturity. This amount can help you fund your child’s higher education and marriage.

Swati Tumar - Travel & Finance Writer   

Swati is a Writer in the day and an illustrator at night. Among her interests, she is quite fond of art and all things creative. She often indulges herself in creating doodles, illustrations, and other forms of content. She identifies herself as an avid traveler and shameless foodie.