In 1978 college cost an average of merely $700 per year. In 2018, college can easily cost a student $30,000 for a single year, not including the price of textbooks. Taking inflation into consideration, the cost to attend a public 4-year university has still skyrocketed in the past 40 years, forcing the majority of students to apply for loans and scholarships. After tuition and fees, students are required to purchase textbooks for their classes.

A rough estimate of about $400 per semester is spent on textbooks, and oftentimes some books collect dust on a shelf for the year. Luckily for students, there are alternative sites that sell textbooks at a fraction of the cost than from the school bookstore, however, for those who do purchase from the bookstore, their rental books may come heavily used and falling apart. Books with pages falling out should not cost over one hundred dollars, just to be borrowed for a few months. However, rental is the cheaper option, as many books may come new for you to buy for about double the price.

With our advancing society, a Bachelor's degree is not adequate qualification for many careers. A Bachelor's can compare to a high school degree a couple decades ago. So, with the need of longer school careers, the cost should not increase as much as it has, and is continuting to. It is increasingly difficult for students to receive enough education to have their desired career, because it is incredibly financially demanding, leaving thousands in debt for years to come.