The cost of my parents’ dream has far outpaced the realities of wages.
(Illustration by Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Note to readers • This is part of a collaborative project between The Salt Lake Tribune and the Highland High School Rambler. Read more about these young Utahns’ experiences and perspectives here.
Since the 1950s, the American dream has been simple: Go to college, get a good job, have a family and own your own house. For a long time, this dream was viable. As a high school senior forced to really consider the matter, it’s not so clear cut anymore.
Once a staple of life, this dream is now nothing but the lonely aspirations of a dreary night — primarily because the cost of the American dream has far outpaced the realities of wages. Nowhere is this more clear than in the cost of a higher education.
For a long time, I planned on going out of state for college. I wanted to have an experience that was different from the one I had grown up living — I wanted new experiences that helped me understand the world a bit better. I had gone as far as committing to the University of Oregon after they offered me a large scholarship that would have covered the first year of my education.
It still wasn’t enough.
After a long period of denial, I finally came to the conclusion that my college dream had died. I would never be able to pay off $150,000 at the University of Oregon with a communications degree. I pulled the plug on leaving Utah and committed to the University of Utah in order to save $100,000.
And don’t get me wrong: I’m lucky. Many people can’t even afford their local school’s in-state tuition and are going to community college — an education no less valuable, but not one that fulfills my dream.
College has never been this expensive. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost to attend college — including books, supplies and daily living expenses — is $38,270 per year. That makes a bachelor’s degree cost, on average, $153,080. And then there’s interest on student loans, the cost of living and every other economic misfortune that befalls a broke college student.
This cost has exploded in the last 20 years.
According to the Daily Utah Chronicle, the cost of tuition for a year at the University of Utah for an in-state student back in 2005 was $3,624. In 2025, the cost of tuition alone for the same in-state student at the U. is $10,004. That’s a 176% increase over 20 years.
Clearly this is out of control. How can an 18-year-old be expected to manage over $150,000 in debt as they go into life? On top of incredibly high house prices, on top of wage stagnation, amidst a world where you’re forced to claw your way up, how is this dream viable when an 18-year-old kid must be a millionaire to even consider it?
This has left a lot of people wondering if college is even worth it anymore.
When higher education costs an arm and a leg to attend, it puts people at a disadvantage from the start. Despite the high costs, a college degree still almost guarantees a higher salary. Yes, trade schools are becoming increasingly popular as a way to compete economically, but in the long term, a college degree still feels critical.
This critical step, however, now has an economic gate in front of it that only those able to take out massive loans can pass through. These loans can be crippling, but what choice do we have? Either take out the loans or be stuck in a trade working until the bones in our body wither away.
Morally, something has to change. The cost of college and the cost of the American dream has become a check that the future of our nation can’t afford.
(Luca DiGregorio) Luca DiGregorio is a senior at Highland High School and is editor-in-chief at The Rambler, his high school newspaper.
Luca DiGregorio is a senior at Highland High School and is editor-in-chief at The Rambler, his high school newspaper. After graduating, he plans to pursue journalism. When he’s not reporting, he can be found at any number of coffee shops reading and enjoying the world around him.
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