Throughout the past decade, the national matriculation rate for a four-year undergraduate university has jumped significantly, from 10% in the early 1940s to more than 60% in today’s world, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. As demand for higher education continues to increase, more elite and prestigious institutions are emerging to meet such a demand. But, there seems to be an ever more pressing predicament regarding today’s economy.
“It seems as if all consumer goods are going up in price, whether it’s gas or snacks at the grocery store,” AP Economics student Tyson Deveze said.
Although inflation is beginning to cool, with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates, many Americans still face high prices for almost three years.
“Consumers remember a couple of years ago when they could buy something for quite a bit less,” said Kayla Bruun, senior economist with market research and analytics company Morning Consult. “Food prices are a very visible [piece] and something you’re buying very frequently, and there’s a lot of awareness of what those prices are, maybe second only to gas prices.”
Despite this, the growth rate of prices continues to slow down, with an inflation rate of 2.5% for the month of September, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in great contrast to June 2022’s rate of 9.1%. Does this mean costs will be transferred toward consumers?
“Those costs certainly have to be passed on,” AP Economics teacher Paul Chiment said. “Wages for professors and staff, the cost of room and board, especially the cost of food has jumped way up, so those will have to be reflected in the price of attending [a university]. I think COVID’s supply shortages and low interest rates triggered some of that, but there is a lot more going on.”
College is not just a critical part of people’s lives, it is a central aspect of one of Laguna’s core pillars — scholarship, especially as the school boasts a 100% matriculation rate towards a bachelor’s degree.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, in 2021, the average holder of a bachelor’s degree earned 62% more than someone who held a high school diploma.
Even with the rising cost of college, Head of Upper School Anna Alldredge is confident that Laguna’s ability to adapt to and approach the college process is as strong as ever.
“Laguna focuses on our core values of preparing students well for the next level of their educational journey. And I would say that one thing our college counseling team does incredibly well is educating families about the rising costs.”
Exposure to the new college environment is essential, and Laguna is beginning to expose families to the admissions process earlier than ever.
“One new approach that we have as a school is starting that information sharing in the ninth grade with our families. So that is something that we are already talking through with our families and with our students even earlier than we used to so that they are informed and understand all the ways that they can, indeed, make college affordable and accessible, even though the sticker prices are increasing,” Alldredge said.
This is also a consolidated effort, as the college counseling team continues to work closely with the administration.
“I’ve really felt a lot of support from all parts of the school, whether it’s Ms. Murray, Dr. Alldredge, or my teachers,” Tyson said.
Another thing that Laguna does extraordinarily well is placing an emphasis on AP exams and scoring well on them.
Laguna boasts an impressive 79% pass rate on a myriad of different exams, inlcuding several exams such as United States History, which has a pass rate of just 48% percent nationwide.
As the rigor and competitiveness of the college admissions process continue to ramp up, questions continue to rise regarding the possibility of Laguna implementing more high-level classes. However, alumni tell a different story.
“One thing that I think Laguna does really well in our upper school, and we hear it from our alums again and again, is not only do our students matriculate to excellent universities, but frankly, once they arrive at those universities, they are incredibly well prepared, and they thrive,” Alldredge said.
Such a perspective ties into a college admissions stance. According to Collegiate Gateway, around 75% of American high schools publish “high school profiles,” which are high-level examinations of a school’s scholarship and community. These profiles explicitly introduce a school’s specific policies; for example, Laguna limits students to taking four Advanced Placement classes per year.
“Colleges always interpret our transcripts in context compared to some other schools, which have different bounds, which helps them understand what a student has opted into within the opportunities and constraints of their particular school,” Alldredge said.
But, Santa Barbara is also a microcosm of a county, with a median property value of around 1.8 million dollars, nearly five times the national average. For many, the low cost of trade school and the emerging “blue-collar millionaire class” may be more feasible for the average American.
“There are a lot of what we call ‘blue-collar millionaires’ now, where you can earn a lot of money as a plumber because there’s a shortage of plumbers, for example, or an electrician,” Chiment said. “If you look at these kinds of opportunities, in the trades, if you enjoy that, you can absolutely do very well because they’re always going to need it. So many of the knowledge-based jobs for people with advanced degrees that could be replaced with AI are not threatened in some of the trades, though.”
