Three years later, the United States is still pulling itself out from its recent financial crisis where businesses suddenly crumbled, unemployment rates skyrocketed, homeowners faced foreclosure, people stopped buying, and the whole world was in the wake of a massive economic depression. 

            Now, the United States is getting back on track. People are returning to work, malls are expanding, and, although this country still has a long way to go until it reaches economic security, people are feeling more hopeful. But what exactly is happening in terms of higher education?

            Things are becoming increasingly expensive nowadays. The most expensive thing that a family must think of paying for is not a house, but a college education. It is a burden that many are unable to carry, leading to a decrease of high school seniors becoming college bound directly after the summer of their high school graduation. Many take “gap years” to work and save up for a college education, join the military in order to gain support for funding, go to classes part time to get as much of an education they can afford, or start their higher educational progress as early as their first years in high school so that they can cut off semesters from their college education and graduate early with smaller fees. Those who are college bound are switching from their ideal, private, and “prestigious” universities, to smaller in state public universities that, according to USA Today, are approximately one-fourth the cost.

            The world we live in is not an easy one. Children do not even get to experience the freedoms of childhood because they must begin thinking about their futures so early in life. Parents find it increasingly important to start their child on an early path to an elite education because of increasing global competition for jobs, rising prices for commodities, and a growing debt. Children start thinking about scholarship opportunities the moment they reach high school because they are already aware of the expenses associated with a college degree. This past summer, it was reported that the national peak for student loan debt had surpassed that of total credit card debt at $850 billion with an average debt of $23,000 per student and that the tuition of universities is rising an average of five percent each year, according to coloradoan.com. The trouble is that the government is unable to keep up with these increases by directing more financial aid and government grants to students. Parents have to take out of their already strained retirement funds and students are having to borrow from loan agencies (USA Today).

            In an economy where jobs are scarce, competition is constant, and money is becoming more difficult to obtain, a good college education with little cost and big possibilities is a true diamond in the rough. The University of Massachusetts Boston is one such school. Students here can study for their undergraduate and graduate degrees under prominent professors in the heart of the east coast academic community. Since the economic downturn, the university has experienced a rise in admissions from 13,433 students in 2007 to 14,912 in 2010 due to its affordable tuition ($12,215 for MA residents) and a promise of a good education (School Guides).