Over the past few decades, the cost of tuition has skyrocketed and become something that parents and students across the country fear paying every year due to because they are very expensive. “According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average annual amount of tuition, fees, room and board at a public college or university in 1964-65 – the first year for which data exists – was $6,592, in 2011 dollars. By 2010-2011, this amount had increased to $13,297, an increase of 101.7 percent. The increase for private schools was even more dramatic. In 1964-65, the average tuition, fees, room and board were $13,233 per year; in 2010-2011 it was $31,395, an increase of 137.2 percent (Mathews, 2013). This 101.7 simply shows that tuition fees are way too high and have increased significantly over the last fifty decades, but for what reason? Not only do rising tuition fees make it more difficult to finance education, but they also impact students on their future. careers. “To pay off debt, students anticipate the need for immediate, lucrative employment after college, so they choose fields of study that are both “practical” and “interesting,” leading to the decline of subjects such as as philosophy, history and English literature. Due to rising prices, students are choosing more ordinary jobs that they know they will get in order to pay off their debt. There are three main reasons for tuition increases, the first being that at public colleges and universities, the story is primarily that states have cut funding for higher education and schools are compensating with a increase in tuition fees. "Public community colleges, the largest category of higher education institutions, saw their real spending per full-time student fall by...... middle of article...... -part- iv-how-important-are-state-higher-ed-cuts/>.Matthews, Dylan. “The three reasons why tuition is increasing.” The Washington Post. Washington Post, August 28, 2013. Web. April 9, 2014. .Matthews, Dylan. “Why college is still worth it.” The Washington Post. Washington Post, August 27, 2013. Web. April 9, 2014. .Matthews, Dylan. “Presenting the series The Tuition is Too Damn High.” The Washington Post. Washington Post, August 26, 2013. Web. April 9, 2014. .Nathan, Rebekah. My first year. 1. 1. Penguin, 2006.168. Print.