Where once higher education was considered a prime investment, it can now be considered a financial nightmare, as recent studies show the rise of college costs and the infirmity of solutions to the growing problems in the United States.

According to the Project on Student Debt, whose findings on graduates’ dues were released this September, a degree from Binghamton University leaves students with an average debt of $14,734 — nearly $1,000 more than in 2001. And the rising trend is national: one in three recent college graduates with college debt has sold personal possessions to make ends meet, according to a survey conducted earlier this year by AllianceBernstein, an investment strategy firm.

BINGHAMTON’S PUBLIC NICHE

But even with these increasing costs, public colleges — like Binghamton University — could be finding a unique niche as an alternative when the nightmare of financing a $40,000-a-year education overshadows the dream of an Ivy-League future. The average debt for a graduate from Vassar College, by contrast, is nearly $20,000. When student Bernie Sonenberg had to choose between Brandeis and BU, for example, he chose BU.

“Binghamton provides a level of education perceived to be on par with upper-tier schools such as Brandeis for a price that is much more affordable,” he said.

Using this strategy, students have a greater chance of avoiding student debt, allowing them to reach for higher-quality graduate schools. “For undergraduate education, I feel the school has served me decently,” said Sonenberg, a computer science major. “For graduate level education, a different school would probably be better.”

State tuition, however, is far from static. According to a report under the Committee of Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the cost of attending State University of New York and City University of New York colleges, for example, increased by 30 percent over the past four years; costs for books and supplies at public universities have increased by one-fourth.

Dennis Chavez, director of financial aid at BU, facilitates students in exploring federal, state and institutional financial options that exist — despite ongoing setbacks. He teams up with Vice Provost Sandra Starke to “work and advocate with the Foundation Office [a not-for-profit corporation at BU] to allocate funds for financial aid purposes.” By the year’s end, he anticipates giving $500,000 to 400 to 600 students through a financial aid program.

Chavez remains optimistic. “You’re investing in students’ future,” he said, “which is going to pay dividends in the end.” (For more on financial aid at BU, see sidebar “Words from BU’s Financial Aid Services.”)

The fastest growing option for financing higher education is private loans. Last year they totaled over $17 billion.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

Increased tuition is the result of growing enrollment demands, some colleges say. While other businesses can cut costs through greater efficiency without harming quality, colleges contend that superior teaching and researching cannot be bargained.

It’s true that the United States was at one point at the forefront of educational attainment in the world. However, recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reveal that the United States is now ranked ninth among major industrialized countries in higher education attainment.

The data was cited in a report published this September by the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a panel appointed by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. The report delineated current problems like rising tuition costs and what it claimed were signs of “unwarranted complacency” on some college campuses, as well as offered solutions through access, affordability, quality and accountability.

Though the commission pointed fingers to despairing universities, students and college officials retorted right back at them, claiming that many of the report’s ideas about student aid were too vague to support. Other ideas were deemed unfeasible.

In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of victims fall prey to scholarship scams, according the Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org. Trickster advisors collect upfront, promise to set up scholarships and financial aid and then avail little or nothing in return. These scams rake in more than $100 million a year, he said.

The Spellings report pointed out another reason for high costs: colleges have been using much of their revenue on services like state-of-the-art fitness centers and dormitories.