I believe every college student eventually asks themselves if their time at school was really worth it.
Fortunately, I believe that my time was worthwhile, but I can't help but feel like the money that my family has spent to send me to ASU is just short of highway robbery.
Prior to enrolling to this fine University, I earned my associate's degree at a community college, which cost me about $1,000 a semester — a fair price for a fair education. At community college, I had professors with doctorate degrees and absolutely tiny class sizes.
The quality of my education was nothing short of wonderful, but I remained hopeful that ASU would be even better.
My first year here is finally winding down, and I can honestly say that I am rather disappointed in my experience. There's no doubt that my time here will benefit me in my future career but no more than anything I experienced at community college.
I was thrown into gigantic classes taught by professors who, with a few major exceptions, appear totally dissatisfied with teaching. The material covered in my classes was no more rigorous than those I took in community college.
I'm told that ASU educates students to understand advanced concepts, but it sure feels like mostly rote memorization to me.
My family is paying much more in tuition than before — about four times as much — but the quality of my education hasn't even marginally improved.
What is ASU spending that extra money on? Sports teams that do nothing to further my education? Academic advisers whose appointments are booked up weeks in advance so you can't get in to ask even the simplest questions? Free parking?
I don't write this column out of bitterness, but out of concern. I know that a college can be much better for far less money, so I am left wondering how things got to be so incredibly overpriced.
ASU is supposed to be the "New American University." We are supposed to be the future of higher education, and frankly, I hope that a university with a dedicated school of business could attract some minds smart enough to know how to run a university more efficiently.
ASU may be one of the cheapest four-year univerisities in the country, but that isn't saying much when education is such a racket everywhere else.
Students and parents should really be asking themselves if the constant tuition increases are actually doing anything. We're already paying far more than we ever should, and every few years the school will choose to increase tuition and the education will probably never get any better.
So what do we do? My best guess is to learn a lesson from Michael Crow who said that the American university system "cannot assume that its competitive position in the world is unassailable."
He's right. It's not.
Drive down tuition prices by giving a little competition. Save as much money as possible by taking community college classes.
Reach the columnist at Jacob.Evans@asu.edu or follow him at @JacobEvansSP
