The dismal state of college by the numbers

DAVIS COUNTY—It’s a common sentiment – “if only younger generations would just pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and do some hard work, they wouldn’t have to go into debt for college,” but is it accurate? The statement, which infuriates younger generations, and gratifies older generations can easily be explained by looking at the numbers. 

Many saying things like this went to college during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. The data in this article is collected from the median year of 1975 and uses the federal income tax rate from that year. A hypothetical situation: a person graduates from high school in June of 1975. This person is still living at home with their parents and wants to go to college. 

So, this person finds a minimum wage job, which, in 1975, pays $1.35 an hour. If they work the usual 30 hours a week and have a bi-weekly pay period, after taxes they would be taking home somewhere around $70 per pay period, or around $490 for the whole summer. Thank goodness they didn’t take any vacations or sick days though, because tuition and fees for a four-year public institution were hovering right around $432.

It was tough, and they had to make some sacrifices, but, working part time at a minimum-wage job, a person in 1975 would certainly have been able to make tuition, especially if they were living at home, not paying for food or rent. Ah, but, what if those numbers are adjusted for inflation? A dollar doesn’t go as far today as it did back then, after all. 

Adjusted for 2023, the minimum wage would land around $7.72, not too far off from the current minimum wage. This would mean a person working all summer with no breaks would earn around $2,803.28, not too shabby, considering the adjusted inflation rate for tuition and fees would be around $2,471.47. Seems like it would be extremely doable for a young person in 2023 to pay for college by themselves, right? 

If only. The actual numbers reflect a much more dismal situation for young people going to college, especially for Gen-Z. At the actual minimum wage of $7.25, the end-of-summer take-home pay would be around $2,740.50. Not off to a great start, but still above the inflation-adjusted tuition, right? Unfortunately, the reality is a far cry, with local, in-state tuition coming in at a whopping $9,400 for a four-year university. 

Looking around the state, other tuitions still fall well outside the range of simple inflation, coming in around the neighborhood of anywhere from $5,000-$7,000. This has obliged many in younger generations to seek out student loans, which, in recent years, have become increasingly more and more predatory, and, unlike other financial obligations, are not forgiven with the declaration of bankruptcy.

The solution to this problem is no easy fix. There are many factors that have contributed to the meteoric rise in tuition, as compared with the tepid increase in minimum wage. One of the best solutions, and certainly most long-lasting would be empathy across the generations: the younger generation understanding that at one time, it was possible to pay for college with a summer job, and the older generation, many of whom are policymakers, understanding that is no longer the case.