Lately college prices have skyrocketed, and some wonder if paying that much is necessary to enhance their education to begin the career the student wishes to pursue. During this time in the school year, high school seniors all across America are deciding what they are going to do after graduating; the majority of students choose to attend four year colleges and universities that they see best fit for their personality and desired career path.

During the 2000-2001 school year, in-state tuition with room and board and etc. at the University of Minnesota was $12,987. This 2015-2016 school year the in-state tuition at the U of M is about $25,784 with room and board, books, meal plans, and other expenses college requires. This price increase has been seen across the country and has made it much harder for people to pay for college to further their education. “If you look at the long-term trend, [college tuition] has been rising almost six percent above the rate of inflation,” professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Ray Franke said.

This price increase isn’t just seen in public state schools. According to CNBC, the average cost of tuition at a private, non-profit, four-year university the 2015-2016 school year was $31,231-up just slightly from a whopping $1,832 in 1971-1972 school year (in current US dollars). If you inflation adjust $1,832 in 1971, it would be $10,831 in today’s dollars, but instead the cost is almost three times that.

The reasons for this rapid increase is because of the overall cost to run a college in the United States. The money goes to all sorts of things like administrative and teaching costs, sports, new construction projects and scholarships. With the times-a-changing everything is becoming relatively more and more expensive.

Also, the twenty first century could be seen as the age of college athletics, which aren’t easy to support financially. For example, the University of Iowa recently finished a new on campus aquatics center that costed roughly 69 million dollars. But, I mean they have a lazy river in there — totally worth it.

CNBC states that in order to pay for college now, millions of students and families every year are forced deeper into debt to make up the difference; around $100 billion a year is borrowed through a cottage industry of private and publicly funded loan programs. Still, with all this financial help, many students graduate in debt that is hard to climb out of.

Some students are faced with deciding if they need to take this much time in school and spend that much money to successfully begin their career. A student who chooses to attend a two year college for a lesser price instead would be able to start working and make money much earlier. However, in our world today, someone who graduates with a business degree from a four year school will be presented with more opportunities in the business world than someone who graduates with a business degree from a two year community college or state school.

Although all employers take into account where you attended college, and if you even attended college, it’s ultimately up the individual to push him or herself to success. Whether success means flipping burgers seven days a week or making millions a year on Wall Street, success should conclusively just mean happiness.