>>> The in-state tuition at Missouri State University is $7,306 (yearly!), which is actually cheaper than the typical German education
No it's not. $7k+ is not a "deal", it's outrageous.
No it's not. $7k+ is not a "deal", it's outrageous.
"the average cost of an undergraduate degree in Germany is $32,000, PAID FOR BY THE STATE" [1] (emphasis mine)
7306 x 4 = $29,224 < $32,000.
Math!
Notice I put some caveats in my original post -- US states do spend some money per pupil in high ed, but those numbers are relatively small and rapidly shrinking. Tracking state cash to specific schools is pretty hard, I wasn't able to do it, so instead I just chose states known for relatively low per pupil higher ed spending.
It is possible that the schools I mentioned are more expensive than universities in Germany. But not by much.
Also. Parent claimed that education in the US is expensive in absolute terms, insinuating waste. No one is disputing that students in the US have to pay a lot for their education. But I am disputing the common myth that all colleges in the US are absurdly expensive -- in absolute terms -- compared to universities in other countries.
[1] https://www.marketplace.org/2015/03/31/education/learning-cu...
What is outrageous though is that unlike in most of the Europe, students actually have to pay for it themselves. There are around 20 million university students in the US. If every school charged less than $10k tuition per year (which is totally doable in principle, which can be seen by comparing European schools cost), it would require $200B to cover that. US government is already providing $80B to support students pursuing higher education, and remaining $120B is only 20% of military budget.
That seems like a pretty decent bargin!