The United States government in total spends around “$247 billion per year” on college grants and loans (Kamenetz). Imagine this: an 18 year-old fresh outta high school has two opportunities- to go to a free community college, or a high tuition university. They decide to go with the obvious choice, the free community college. After a year, their grades utterly low, and they drop out. Why is this? Public college should not be free because it would have to be paid for by the federal government and taxpayers, it reinforces the same standards for overpriced education, and lowers the chances of student success.
To begin, college should be the responsibility of of the student. Proponents of free education believes that the federal government and
If college was free students would have to want to continue their education and get a degree. While free would make college affordable, those receiving the benefit would need to have stipulations for the free classes they are attending. Michael J. Petrilli is the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Petrilli states, “… just 40 percent of 12th graders are college-ready, even though nearly 70 percent already head straight into college.” He is correct that many high school graduates are not prepared to transition to college. Many don’t have the attention span to sit in longer classes. Students are used not study over a time period, but rather cram the night before the due assignment. Some stipulations would be; you have to finish and get a degree, you have to keep your GPA up, and if you drop out without a good reason you have to pay back the money you used.
Higher education through colleges and universities has been going on for hundreds of years and can be dated back to ancient Greece. In the United States, it was long the second option for those wanted more knowledge and a better paying job. In recent years it has become increasingly more expensive, and more necessary to make a living wage. This has raised the question of whether or not college should be free. While current system for college payment is flawed in many ways, eliminating its costs would not solve the problem, and instead, create more.
In today’s work place having a degree is an expectation set by most professional jobs, there seems to be a negative stigma towards those workers without a degree. Nowadays students feel like they are being forced to go to college if they ever plan on having a “real job”, and colleges capitalize on it with unreasonably high tuition rates, overpriced living expenses, and trying to provide a “College experience” rather than a college education. I strongly feel that if college should be free of charge because universities would be more selective about the education standards required to enter their school. In turn this would produce a more prestigious college degree and keep the young adults of America debt free when entering the work field with
Just about everyone agrees that college should be more affordable. A century ago high school was becoming a necessity, not a luxury; today the same is happening to college. If college is essential for building a career and being a full participant in our democracy as high school once was, shouldn 't it be free, paid for by public dollars, and treated as a right of all members of our country? The average college graduate comes out of college with at least $60,000 in debt and if they went to an Ivy League should that shots up to upward of $100,000 all this debt before they even get their first real job (“Fast Facts”). This is the burden that students have to worry about and then they only have six months to find a job that can cover they loan payments, which can be as much as a couple thousand dollars a month and most working people can’t afford that. These days it is highly emphasized that the responsibility to educate the poor lies on the shoulders of the government. It should be, considering the significant hike in the tuition fees worldwide. In such circumstances, many intelligent and hardworking students miss out on studying in a university due to lack of funds. This not only demoralizes the student, but also has a negative impact on the society as it loses out on its future professionals.
Imagine a world where college was completely free. Tuition is completely paid for, no book fees, housing fees, everything is one-hundred percent paid for by the government. Unfortunately, the only downfall to that is that the people fund the government. Taxpayers, which should be almost all of America, are the ones who give the government the money to do every day necessities. The government will not be able to afford to pay for every student to have free college on their own, all of that money will have to come from us, the people. This means that college really isn't free. The government should not pay for everyone's college because it is unfair to those who can easily afford it, taxes will go through the roof, and will inhibit a lesser education if it is free for everyone.
The debate of whether community college should be free or not has been going on for many years. For the most part, many students have been able to have free education even if the are low income or high income. Most students are able to have equal educational opportunity to be able to learn for around 12 years. If it has been going on for 12 years, then why not make higher education free as well. In the article written by Joanne Jacobs titled, “As He Promotes It, Some Question Obama’s Free Community College Idea” discusses the main arguments on whether Obama’s plan of making community college free plan can be a benefit or a waste of money. Community college offers the ability to be able to finish one’s first 2 years of their general general education plan at a free or reduced price compared to completing general ed a a 4 year institution. Community college should be free because it allows lower income students the ability to have their tuition paid as well as their books and it allows students to be able to earn their bachelor's at a better rate.
One of the largest reasons many people oppose that college in America should become free for its first two years is the cost. “By White House estimates, the total expenditure would be about $60 billion over a 10-year period.” (Free Community College) Two factors are at question with this kind of money. First, why not use this money in other areas of our nation? 60 billion dollars could be put towards our public high schools to increase education at a younger level. It could also be put towards creating new jobs. Even if America has become more educated doesn’t mean that an abundance of
It becomes a major controversy when the idea of something being “free” is brought up in this economy. Money is what operates the economical system and it’s the factor that leads colleges in providing resources for their students. President Obama’s idea of having community college be free leaves many skeptical on whether it can be beneficial, or in some ways hurtful. However, there are upsides to allowing community college to be free. Community College should be free because it will cause a diversity of students to attend, allow students to save money, and offer an opportunity for those who aspire to continue their education.
“Forty percent of college students choose community college…Whoever you are, this plan is your chance to graduate ready for the new economy, without a load of debt,” quoted President Barack Obama (Calvert). The average community college tuition is about five thousand dollars or less. Compared to an average four-year college, it can ten to twenty thousand dollars of tuition. Let’s say you decide to go to a community college after high school or whenever. You would most likely be saving a lot of money by going to a community college instead of a four-year school. Imagine how much you would save if America’s community colleges were free. Not having to pay for two years of college would save around ten thousand dollars,
With the shockingly high number of student debt in America, it is no wonder why people constantly look for alternatives to make education cheaper.Certainly, higher education is in need of reformation. However, it should not come at the expense of dollars from people who pay taxes. In theory, free college sounds fantastic, but it must be understood that this luxury is not free. The money would come from people who pay taxes, which is evidently twisted as a majority of people do not value higher education. They should not be forced to pay for something that is optional in one’s life. People will be paying for free college for the rest of their lives in taxes. Moreover, free college removes the incentive of valuing education in high school. There
Loans and grants don’t always cover everything we need for school. If community college were free, you wouldn’t develop the worry about being in debt before you even start in a four-year college. Aside from having to pay for the tuition itself, you still need books for your classes, and that makes meeting ends even more difficult. After having to pay for the tuition, we must purchase the books for the courses we’ve selected, and they get more expensive as the years go by. Textbook fees have more than tripled in price since the 1970’s; in what way are students expected to pay this while they can barely afford tuition.
Free college is a commonly accepted idea, as a crucial part of society's advancement. Education is the foundation for building a strong country, as knowledge is what allows for productivity in all areas of life. However, the cost and accessibility to standard higher education limits many people's availability to a quality schooling. Some may argue that public colleges should continue to charge tuition, as the federal government can not afford the cost nor will creating higher taxes to enable the program solve the crisis. However, ultimately, higher education should be free as it would stimulate economic growth, remove the primary deterrent for not attending college and decrease dependence on government aid.
Should college be free or is it good the way it is? This is one of the most debatable questions of this generation. Like every other thing it would also have its pros and cons. Many say that it would greatly help a country while others say that nothing is truly free and someone must pay for it. However the growth of a country’s economy over the long run is miles more than the loose in the short term. So in my opinion College should be free for everyone.
If you had the chance to go to college for free and pursue your dream would you take that opportunity? This should be offered to kids who really want to pursue a degree and are serious about college, there will be guidelines to ensure that student will be responsible with this opportunity. This could change the life of someone who cannot financially afford to go off and pursue their dream, this could give them hope of getting their dream job; College can be very stressful emotionally and economically for some people, but with free college they can be relieved of their stress. The idea is that everyone should be allowed the opportunity to receive a higher education, it would relieve them from the financial situation when they graduate, and more jobs can be taken with people that have a degree and knowledge of the field.
This is the mindset that I choose to declare in that education should be free of charge for anyone that is willing to study hard, dedicate time and commitment to better themselves in a desire to service the public. Education is critical for the survival for one's academic, social, and if necessary, political career. It requires a massive amount of money that it becomes an obstacle for many. According to Trade Schools, College, and Universities, more than $80 billion is spent each year by the federal government on post-secondary financial aid. In the 2012-2013 school year, that represented over 70 percent of all student financial assistance in the higher education sector. Indeed,