The Pros And Cons Of Free College

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

College is a head turner, eye catcher, and attention grabber. From making the decision to even attend to selecting the perfect school, the whole experience turns out to be incredibly stressful and multiple aspects go into what seems simple at first glance. The cost of attending college is on the rise. Parents and students anxiously await scholarship letters to help with these rising costs of education. State schools usually offer a financial advantage, but a new “law” is being proposed - free in-state college tuition to those students with a 3.5 GPA or higher. Few benefits are available and numerous disadvantages are present when it comes to this recently produced regulation. A few negative factors in this situation will be covered and the explanations will go into depth to prove that this idea is too good to be true. Even though the conception of free college is enticing, the cons outweigh the pros.

The prospect of attending college can be both exciting and disconcerting, particularly given the current cost of tuition. “Free college programs that cover students' tuition are a step toward addressing issues of the cost of higher education, but leave questions of quality unanswered” (Bayer). Which means free tuition for a student that doesn’t have financial aid assisting them. I believe college should be free within the United States. Although there are states with “free”college or some kind of program to assists students in ; I believe all the states should provide free college for students. This being said, college should be free for students; no matter their race, religion, or sex. They would only be responsible for utilities and whatever else they chose to buy. Tution would essentially be paid by taxpayers within the state. Students can’t afford tuition and expenses due to them not making enough money at their part time job while going to school full-time. Even if a student could afford the tuition they still would not have enough to cover their other expenses.

Each year, American students owe about $1.3 trillion in student loans. In the article “The Argument for Tuition-Free College” the author, Keith Ellison, states that “student loans [have] become the largest form of personal debt in America”(Source 3). This is affecting millions of students nationwide as soon as they graduate college. Instead of landing on their feet with a stable job and trying to find living space, they are blindsided by five-figure debt. In the political cartoon by Jeff Parker, a man is carrying a large bag on his back labeled “Five-Figure Student Loan Debt”(Source 5).

In the same article Why Free College is a Bad Idea, Bob Luebke said “Calling something free doesn’t make it free. Nothing in life is free.” I choose that because if someone says something is free it really isn’t. A huge problem with free college there will be dropouts and no motivation whatsoever. In the second article, The Problem Is That Free College Isn’t Free, Andrew p. Kelly said, “there will be so little motivation to do well that the entire quality of the degree will degrade.”

Community college which is usually paid off by the government through grant and fee waivers for for low-income students is a way of continuing your growth after high school, although these institutions aren’t the very best type of education you can get it is a start. The type of students that usually go to community colleges are either low income and can't afford to pay for any other schools(without help from financial aid) or people who simply didn’t get the best grades in high school but still chose to continue their path of education. In the article “As He Promotes It, Some Question Obama’s Free Community College Idea.” Joanne Jacobs explains to us some of the pros and cons about having free community college. With the cons weighing out the pros, in my opinion, community college should not be free because it would take away the significance of going to college. I highly doubt that college students would want to slack off in classes that they are paying for. It works sort of as like an incentive since money isn't easily earned, so by allowing students to attend college for free would make community college more of a continuation of high school.

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

As it is, there is about $1 trillion in college debt in America. A Philadelphia Enquirer article warns that, “The average debt owed per person is $25,000 -- the highest level of student debt in the nation's history,” and that the number is increased by tens of thousands of dollars for those who go on to get higher degrees. $25,000 is a lot but the reality is that a lot of people have even more than that. For example, what if someone goes to an expensive private college and their tuition is anywhere between 30 and 70 thousand per year. In total they could be paying between 120 and 240 thousand dollars per year. The majority of the country is most likely unable to easily pay for that and could end up with extensive amounts of debt just because they went to the college that they wanted to. Student’s education shouldn’t be compromised just because the school they want to go to has a high tuition. Alarmingly, “Study after study has shown the number one barrier to attending college is the published rate of tuition.”(Lowe) The amount of student debt as a result of a school’s high tuition should decide where people should go to school. If tuition is decreased then simultaneously, student debt would be as well.

For many in the middle class student debt has a strong and relentless grasp on their economic future. In their article "Why Free Higher Ed Can't Wait" Jeje Biola and Belinda Rodriguez state that, "Student debt has reached a record total of over $1.3 trillion" (6). This has left many people wondering where this is coming from and wanting change. This number is just too high in the minds of the average American. In the last few years free college tuition has been a hot topic in American politics, as recently as the 2016 presidential race. Candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton proved to be a huge push for free tuition. The raising college tuition rates effect all Americans in some form or fashion, so support is quickly rising especially

Today, many people seek higher education for a better advantage in finding a job and getting a better life. Even though many people think going to a four year college directly from high school is a good idea; they are wrong. Starting out at a two year community college is more affordable. Also, it helps people explore careers and prepare people to do better in four years college later down the road.

For instance, financial aid forms, part time job, and assistantship program. There are many financial aid forms, like grants and loans, available which will help students afford college. Besides assistance from government students should look for eventual employment. Many students work either part or full time, while they are taking college classes, so that they are able to cover their tuitions, books and other fees. In addition to occupation students can look for help from colleges as well. Universities offer assistantships program, as a way to gain employee, in return offer significant financial help and tuition waiver. In general, college should not be free, because students might be unmotivated, lazy or unconcerned about their education. Having to work while going to school can be hard, but it can also teach students the value of a hard day’s work.

One of the main reasons why college should not be free is because of the common conception of free things: free things are not good quality. Nothing that is given out for free is ever good quality, they are usually simple things such as a pen or sunglasses covered in a company's logo—never anything with great use. Many are afraid that if college becomes free the quality of the education will suffer tremendously. If colleges weren't being paid money by the students they will cut professors pay and other education boosting factors that will result in a lesser education. This point is further explained and supported by the website "idebate" stating that nothing is good or worthwhile if it is free, just

In 1958, the National Defense Education Act provided college students up to one thousand dollars a year in loans, but the average annual loan was actually only five hundred dollars or less because students could afford the rest of tuition on their own. Interest began at three percent a year after graduation and could usually be paid off in ten years. (Good 590-591) These statistics are a far cry from today’s, with student loan debt surpassing one trillion dollars and many graduates paying off loans well into middle age. As a result of the government shelling out billions of dollars in loans and inflation, colleges have had to increase their tuitions thus creating a college “bubble”. In the past year or so many political leaders have proposed plans to pay for two years of community college, such as President Obama, or for a full four years, such as Bernie Sanders, a frontrunner for the democratic candidacy. Even states like Tennessee,

good career if college was free.The recent studies of tuition increases have proven that it is obvious college should be free.

Should the United States develop a system for free college tuition? Free college tuition would benefit many college students and people interested in getting a higher education because as of the moment the education system is built around money and having to get student loans or scholarships if you cannot come up with tuition up front. It would also take a lot of money out of the economy for the first 10 years or so, mainly because it would take people being able to graduate with a degree for a higher salary for the United States to be able to charge more on taxes to make up for the money lost going to pay for the faculty salary and the student textbook fees. Many are for a free college tuition system but many are also against it because nobody wants to pay even more on taxes but once the people who are against it would see the amount of money begin put back into the economy from the raised taxes there would be able to see the goal of the whole idea. The United States needs to develop a system for free college to give students the ability to get an education they never would have been able to get before and would allow for more money to be brought into the economy from more Americans getting higher paying jobs and make the U.S. a more prosperous nation.