Summary: The Importance Of Free College Tuition

American students owe a total of 1.3 trillion dollars in student loans, and about 44.2 million students are in debt. Colleges all over the United States require a tuition for students to attend, which is detrimental to families with low incomes. As a result, students from low income families opt to not attend college. A solution for this problem would be to institute tuition free colleges. Advocates for free colleges state that it would enable students to achieve their dreams, regardless of their monetary situation. Proponents against free colleges say that the public would have to be taxed too much to cover the expenses. College should be free because it would help the country economically, allow students to be more focussed, and it would let students to pursue any career that they would like.

College has become a norm in today’s society so much so, that the average costs of higher education are not really discussed. A public two-year in-district college was $3,520 for a full-time undergraduate student in 2016-2017 (Baum 68). Baum also declares that a public four-year in-state undergraduate tuition was $9,650; a public four-year out-of-state college cost $24,930; a private nonprofit four-year college costs $33,480; and a for-profit college cost $16,000 for that same school year. (68). Across the nation, figures will vary because of the obvious geographical region differences, but also because of price discrimination. Price discrimination allows institutions to discount their prices for a lot of students (Baum 79). Institutions do this based on individual student circumstances, and it segments the market. Institutions

Over the last decade—from 2004 to 2014—the share of graduates with debt rose modestly (from 65% to 69%) while average debt at graduation rose at more than twice the rate of inflation.” and According to the Department of Labor, as of 2008, 17 million college graduates were in positions that did not require a college education. 1 in 3 college graduates had a job that required a high school diploma or less in 2012.

During one of his campaign programs, Presidential-candidate Bernie Sanders stood before a thousand applauding and cheering people. This man just announced, as hopeful future President of the United States, that he planned to make college free for every US citizen. Many young adults favor Bernie Sanders, and other political leaders, idea of free tuition because they believe that it will open more doors for them and allow them to not worry about the burden of student loans. However, there are many reasons that regulating free college education could hurt our society and economy that people don’t often realize. College education should not be free because it would raise taxes, it would devalue the worth of a college degree, and it would pave the way for more welfare dependency.

Along with the average tuition increasing, so has the average income of Americans. In order to afford college tuition, student loans, financial aid, and scholarships come in handy for the time being. Unfortunately, American’s who have finished college still have a load of debt to pay off for many years after graduating. Americans are spending money they don 't have to finance educations they are not sure are worth it. In some cases, students who find jobs right out of high school are left without college debt, but also without a degree. On the other hand, many people who attend college have large college debts yet have a decent

Free college tuition is crucial for the millions of students across the country that either cannot afford an education or are struggling with enormous debts. Statistics show that the amount of

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

Introducing free college tuition would have a positive impact of The United States, even so much as two year associate’s degree would have a hung impact. Free college tuition would give hope to the families which can’t afford the cost of tuition. Fran Cubberley states in his paper “The reality of Free Community College Tuition” that “1,300 students who completed our entry process through course registration ultimately dropped out before classes were underway. One of the major reasons was they could not pay their tuition.” Cost for tuition is huge factor on why people don’t attend college. Just think of all the amazing talent that the world is missing out on because people don’t have the money to attend college and get a degree or

As shown, there are strong arguments for and against free college. Thompson, Golden and Katz provided strong evidence that free college would be beneficial. However, the case against free college is more convincing. As shown earlier, free college for all will not proportionally help poorer students. That is wealthy students who do not need assistance will gain the same advantage. Not all students want to go to college or would benefit from it. Yet, these same people will be required to pay for free college through their taxes. There is little evidence that free college will increase graduation rates as more unqualified students enter the college system. Finally, and maybe most important, the resources are not available to ensure students receive

In the 1950’ and 1960’s, graduating high school students were able to earn a decent-paying job with benefits almost immediately. However, as time went on, the educational requirements to earn a stable job rose. Along with educational requirements rising, so did the cost of getting that education. Rising costs for education have made it almost impossible for many students to earn an education they want and need. The most promising solution to this problem seems to be making college free for everyone.

It is difficult to comprehend how third world countries have tuition-free colleges and America does not. How can economically underdeveloped countries offer free colleges with little problem, but America struggles? While politicians such as Bernie Sanders, President Obama, and Kate Brown talk about making colleges and community colleges tuition-free and eventually free altogether, they fail to see the bigger problem of economic disparity. Implementing a tuition-free program where everyone is eligible is not sustainable nor fair. If a student comes from a household that makes less than the average annual salary of $56,516, tuition should be completely free. College must be tuition-free because most first world countries already have free college, it is an investment that will benefit current and future generations, and people’s inability to repay back their student loans is negatively affecting the United State’s economy.

In the article “Free college? We can afford it”, author Katrina Vanden Heuvel believes that higher education should be free because the cost has risen and many students are no longer able to attend. Students cannot afford a college education. Low paying jobs are some of the reasons why people have a hard time finding a 2-4 year college degree institute. Why increase the amount of tuition for students? The author also mentioned that decreasing student funding restrains them from attendance. Katrina’s statements are agreeable because free education will expand opportunities for the youth.

According to MyBudget360, college tuition has skyrocketed over four hundred percent since 1984. Now, the average tuition rate for private universities in America is over $31,000 and over $9,000 for public universities. Not only that, but thirty-seven million Americans have outstanding student debt and thirty-seven percent of college students look for a job requiring no higher than a high school diploma AFTER they graduate. Tuition has tripled, graduates have outstanding student debt, and in addition to that, graduates look for menial jobs where even a high school diploma is not necessary. College expenses definitely adversely affect students and graduates in the long run.

There are many factors that contribute to student loan debt some of which are, increase in tuition, out of state fees and private colleges. In fact, the cost of education always rises faster than inflation. The cost of operating a college is getting higher and at the same time, governments are contributing less money. State support for public colleges and universities has fallen by about 26 percent per full-time student in the last 20 years. (Luzer) For the 2011-12 academic year, average tuition and fees range from $2,963 per year at public two-year colleges and $6,604 at public bachelor’s colleges, to $35,195 at private doctoral universities. In 2015-16 the cost of a four-year private school was $32,405, and $43,921 if you add on fee, room and board. (Tuition and Fee) The cost of tuition will inevitably raise due

The United States Government should ensure students are debt free. “According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2016–2017 school year was $33,480 at private colleges, $9,650 for state residents at public colleges, and $24,930 for out-of-state residents attending public universities.” (Klijn, J.) The tuition for colleges have increased tremendously over the years, making it harder and harder for many students to pay and attend for 4 years. “Average tuition at public 4-year colleges was $7,600 in the 2010 academic year, up from $2,100 in 1980,” the report notes, while “average tuition at private 4-year colleges nearly tripled in a generation, increasing from $9,500 in the 1980 academic year to $27,300 in 2010. At the same