Over the past few decades the cost of tuition has skyrocketed into something that parents and students across the nation fear paying every year due to the fact that it is so expensive . “According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average annual tuition, fees, room and board at a public college or university in 1964-65 – the earliest year for which data is available – was $6,592, in 2011. In 2010-2011 the figure had risen to $13,297, or an increase of 101.7%. The increase for private schools was even more dramatic. The average tuition, fees, room and board in 1964-65 was $13,233 per year; in 2010-2011 it was $31,395, a 137.2% increase (Mathews, 2013).” This 101.7 simply proves that tuition is too high and has increased substantially over the last fifty years, but for what reason? Raising tuition not only makes it harder to pay for school, it also affects students' futures. careers. “To repay their debts, students anticipate the need for immediate, gainful employment after college, so they choose both “practical” and “well-performing” fields of study, resulting in the decline of majors such as philosophy, history, and literature English ." Rising prices are pushing students to choose more mundane jobs that they know they will do to pay off their debt. There are three main reasons for the tuition increases, the first is that at public colleges and universities the story is mostly that states have cut funding for higher education and that schools are compensating with an increase of school fees. “Public community colleges, the largest category of higher education institutions, have seen real spending per full-time student decline from…middle of the paper…-part-iv-how-are-they-important- - state-higher-ed-cuts/>.Matthews, Dylan. “The Three Reasons Why Tuition Is Rising.” The Washington Post. Washington Post, August 28, 2013. Web. April 9, 2014. Matthews, Dylan. “Why going to college is still worth it.” The Washington Post. Washington Post, August 27, 2013. Web. April 9, 2014. Matthews, Dylan. “The Tuition intro is too damn high series.” The Washington Post. Washington Post, August 26, 2013. Web. April 9, 2014. .Nathan, Rebecca. My first year. 1. 1. Penguin, 2006.168. Press.