6,800 + Syrians Flee to Turkey
PHILLIPS: College. We all know it's extremely expensive. But new numbers show that the price of higher education is growing so quickly that it's actually squeezing out many people in the middle class. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. So Alison, how bad is it?</s>ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know what? It's just not good, Kyra. You look at this, the reality is for so many families they're really just being priced out of a college education. Here's what's happening. College prices are going higher, but wages aren't. Let me lay it out for you and show you the numbers. The average tuition at a four-year public school in 1988 was $2,800. That's adjusted for inflation. In 2008, it was $6,500. That's a 130 percent increase. And guess what? It doesn't count room and board. And keep in mind, the median U.S. income declined over that same period again. That's adjusted for inflation. But again, it means it's really tough financially just to afford to send your kids to college, Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: So, I crunched the numbers a couple months ago, and it's pretty scary where my kids are going to be in 15 years. Well, is there any way to deal with the financial burden?</s>KOSIK: You know what? For many families, it winds up being just really tough choices. The Department of Education says what's happening is fewer middle-class students are going for the four-years degree. Instead, they're going for a two-year degree. So, yes, it's a great financial decision to not take on more debt than you can handle. But what you wind of doing you could be hurting your earnings potential over the long-term, because that two-year degree may start you at a lower pay and that limits how high you can go during your career. But you know what? You can't blame them. You've got to make these tough choices and at least get into college, right? And then there's just one more reality for you, Kyra. Analysts say most graduates from a four-year school will be paying off student loans in 20 years, which means when we're sending our kids to school, we're still paying off our loans. So, a lot of this is about tough choices. That's the reality of the age we're living in, Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Start those 529s immediately. Alison, thanks.</s>KOSIK: You said it.</s>PHILLIPS: Firefighters making slow progress against the Arizona wildfire. Some evacuees are returning home while other, well, still waiting for the relief. Next hour, we'll check in with one of the homeowners.