Kris, a wife and mother, is concerned about the rising cost of higher education. She and her husband have a two-year-old daughter who they are determined to send to college. They want their daughter to succeed in life, but they must also weigh the complications of going to college. “I've always thought of college as a 'catch 22'... You're taught from a young age that to achieve the 'American Dream' you have to graduate from high school and go to college,” Kris contemplates (Kris 5). During the ten years of Kris's college experience, has seen tuition increase to shocking levels. In fact, he claims community colleges cost as much as state colleges when he began his college hunt. Back then, remember, people were overwhelmed by the fact that the enrollment rate was fourteen dollars per unit. Now, the same universities charge around $253 per unit. The irony is that despite the tuition increase, the same schools, same classrooms, and same degree programs are offered. Kris' last attempt at a higher education also failed, not because she slacked off, but because of the formidable cost. He had to pay $30,000 for a year of education. Unfortunately, Kris didn't expect it to be that expensive, so he dropped out. Kris realized that it wasn't worth paying more than $100,000 for a college education if his future job only paid $30,000 a year. “As of now, I think the education system is building up our young people and then tearing them down once they reach college. They understand that you have to work hard to get the 'American Dream,' but then you sit back and look at all these people living that dream and realize they didn't work very hard,” says Kris (5). Most people dream of going to college, which... middle of paper... 12. Network. December 10, 2013.McGuire, Jeff. “The Benefits of Having a College Education.” View of the college. Hobsons Inc, nd Web.02 December 2013."Michigan." Student Debt Project:. Peterson's, Nelnet Company., nd Web. 03 December 2013.Robbins, Alexandra. The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Motivated Children. New York: Hyperion, 2006. PrintRuytenbeek, Jacob. “The Problems (and Solutions) of Higher Education.” The Huffington Post.TheHuffingtonPost.com, August 19, 2013. Web. December 4, 2013.Shellenbarger, Sue. “Evaluate the value of that college degree.” The Wall Street Journal.WSJ.com, December 16, 2009. Web. December 04, 2013. U.S. Department of Commerce. “STEM: Good jobs now and for the future.” Economic and statistical administration. July 14th. 2011. Network. December 04, 2013."What is the price of a college education?" COLLEGE data. NACAC, 2013. Web. 03 December.2013.