Persuasive Essay: Should We Have Free College?

Perhaps one of the greatest concerns that torments America’s new generation is pursuing higher education in order to make more money and while avoiding being in debt, decades after graduation. This topic has become even more as tuition continues to rise and politicians are left to ponder the best course of action to insure that the next generation of Americans is more educated than the last. One particular solution was posed by former president, Barack Obama, who promoted the idea of free community college. Although, it may not be the most direct or most elegant solution, it would certainly be a push in the right direction. By making community college tuition free nationwide, states would become more invested in accommodating the influx of students, lead different school systems to compete by lowering tuition prices, and finally address America’s shortcoming in adults who possess more than just high school diploma.

Since Obama’s announcement of his idea to provide free community college an uproar of an argument has arose with two distinct sides: community college should be free and community college should not be free. The idea behind free community college is to help individuals reach towards a college degree just as people are easily set forth to reach for a high school degree. The hope is that by deleting the financial barrier that comes with community college more people are willing to aim for an associates degree and possibly higher. There are states that have decided to take the matter into their own hands and are planning to implement this idea. However, the idea of having free community college implemented throughout all states is still questionable

Many people believe that making community college free is a step to bettering the country. The article “As He Promotes It, Some Question Obama’s Free Community College Idea” by Joanne Jacobs, gives us insight on both sides of the argument and allows us to form an opinion based on what we read. After reading this article, I had to agree with not making community college free. Although it sounds nice, and other world countries have free college at the price of higher taxes, I feel it best to keep it at a tuition basis. Instead, I believe that we should work towards lowering the costs of private or public four years for those low income students, and also think about how making community college free could impact the enrollment at these campuses,

In an article by The New York Times, by David Brooks, called, “Support Our students.” Brooks explains that instead of free college, maybe they should help college students with everyday needs. He said that college is already free for the working class and underpaid. (Brooks) He doesn’t believe that making community college free will help anymore with the debt, then it did before. In sum, I will discuss the argument that David Brooks portrays and explain why I agree with it. I will talk about three main points from Brooks’ article and discuss what it’s like in other countries that do have free college.

There are a handful of students who work hard everyday in school, but has never had the chance to go for a degree. The lack of money should never stop a student from achieving success in any school. Free tuition will allow underprivileged students to work hard in community college for the possibility of scholarships when they move into a four-year college. The only way they can prove themselves is by first attending a community college. ("Three Reasons Why Community Colleges Should Be

A college education has become a necessity in today’s civilization. Students all over the country are concentrating on their academics and are attempting to receive perfect grades. Many students struggle with tuition fees and are forced to find financial aid. Think of it this way, what if you were working hard to support you and your family and you had to pay for your education, would you want to do it? If student’s pay for their own education then they have to put more efforts in doing job to pay their tuitions. By this their grades are getting lower and lower as time passes during their education. Thus, many students, teachers, and people wonder if free college tuition should be granted. A four-year degree has basically replaced the high school diploma as the necessary preparation for a career in this modern economy. Currently most noteworthy discussion is going on through our president Barack Obama to make first two year of college tuitions free.

College should be free, because low income families have college ready kids. Still the kids don’t go to college, there must be something stopping these kids. The percent of people who are 25 and over that had some college is only 58.57%. These numbers decrease as the amount of college increases, this fact is very disappointing. 62% percent of people said they didn’t go to college because they thought that it was ridiculous to even think about the cost. This is so sad, to think that the people are scared to further their education because of the lifetime

Currently, there is a debate going on between many when it comes to answering the question: should college be free or should students pay for it themselves. Many authors seem to think that free college is a nuisance to taxpayers and those that are actually funding it, while on the other hand some authors believe that it is a great thing for our nation. In “Obama’s “Free” Community College Scheme,” Michael LaFerrara argues that Obama’s plan for free education is “immoral and destructive” (LaFerrara line 4) because he is funding this program with taxpayers’ money that could be used differently if those taxpayers could keep their earnings. In Celeste Carruthers article “Tennessee Is Showing How Free Tuition Community College Works” and she is attempting to persuade her audience that the Tennessee Promise is effective because it convinces more students to attend college because of the lack of payment, and if they can be this successful in Tennessee, so can other states if they establish a similar program. There is also Michael J. Petrilli and his work titled “Free Tuition Is a Needless Windfall for Affluent Voters and State Institutions,” where he suggests that politicians should be working to improve schools to make sure that students are more prepared to go to college, rather than providing them with free community college. Meanwhile, there are authors like Deborah Santiago and her article “Free Tuition Can Boost Latinos College Access and Completion Rates” and Bernie

January of this year, President Obama made a proposal for free tuition for two-year community colleges. You must be thinking, no way are we going to see free college tuition. That’s the same thought I had after hearing this on the news. I’m going to talk about if this proposal will come true or not and what it will do for our economy.

Many people don’t go to college because of the price and often just settle for a high school diploma. Most people would think that a free college would be great however a free college would affect government money, student motivation and job accountability.

Due to the fact that free college becomes a disadvantage to those relying on loans, college cannot be free, but why not make it more affordable? By providing a much favorable tuition to the public, this can minimize the disadvantages of the students’ with loans. This may also increase the amount of Americans that will attend college.

You’re a grade A student, and you’re extremely smart. There’s only one problem, you aren’t able to afford college. So you get through high school, and get a local job at a grocery store. You knew you would have became a doctor if your family had the money, but they don’t. There was a different path that you could have gone on, you could have went to college, and got a really nice job. Why couldn’t college just be free for people with a 3.5 higher GPA? What if they are a current resident of that state?

With the development of society and the improvement of technology, our need for high educated people and high-tech talents is growing. President Obama proposes making community college tuition-free for responsible students, in order to let more students receive the bachelor’s degree and earn skills that meet employer needs. The starting point of the proposal is good, because more students can have the chance to get the higher education, especially for students who are from low income families. While free tuition proposal engages more students to go to college or the university, I consider it is not a right solution.

Everybody here are paying for their college tuition. Some, including myself, have financial aid and/or scholarships to help us with our tuition. With that, there’s this pressure on us to get good grades and maintain a good GPA so that we don’t lose that scholarship. So imagine how great it would be and less stressful if we didn’t have to worry about keeping our scholarships or paying off loans after graduating. My speech today is on college tuition, and I believe that public colleges should be free. Why? Because there are many people who struggle with their tuition, and even if they were accepted into their first choice college, sometimes the tuition makes it impossible for them to even attend a full year. If college tuition was free, many students would have the opportunity to go to college without worrying about the cost or paying off loans. I will be discussing the issue of college tuition, why it should be free, and its benefits.

Education plays a huge role in today’s society. The only downfall about education is not being able to afford it. Education eats your bank account and costing people to lose thousands so they are able to do something they love or just get a degree. People always question one another asking why people do not go to college. Why are people not taking advantage of something that will pay well after it is completed? Most of the answers for that is that they cannot afford to pay for schooling or they have to work to provide for their family and school is not a number one priority right now. If education was tuition free students would only be able to focus on studying and passing college then looking for money to pay for their schooling and that would help them perform better at school if they do not have to worry about finding a way to pay for it. Education should be free because it would help lower the homeless population, dropout rates, and stop student debt after they graduate college.