For the 1975-76 school year, the average cost of tuition and fees at a four-year, public university was $2,387. Since 1975, the cost of college tuition has increased by roughly 394%, with tuition costing $9,410 during the 2015-16 school year (College Board, 2016). As college costs continue to rise, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for students, and their families, to bear the costs of getting an education. According to a survey by Edward Jones, financial advisor, “83% of Americans say they cannot afford the expense of a college education for themselves or a family member” (Levaux, 2015). Because of this, the United States should implement a policy that allows all U.S. citizens to obtain a post-secondary education at public institutions, up to a Bachelor’s Degree, free of charge. The above-proposed policy is completely nondiscriminatory. This means that under the policy, all U.S. citizens – regardless of socioeconomic status, race, age, etc. – will be eligible for a free post-secondary education. In addition to free tuition, post-secondary students will also receive a financial allotment, based on the number of course hours taken, for textbooks and other school-related supplies. Some of these supplies could include, but are not limited to; calculators, laptop and parking pass. For example, a student taking fifteen credit hours may be given between $1,000 and $1,500 for their school-related expenses. To receive the benefits of a free education, student’s must meet certain guidelines each college semester. Students will be expected to maintain a 2.0 GPA throughout their entire college career. If a student’s GPA falls below a 2.0, they will be put on academic probation. Also, students will be expected to attend class regul... ... middle of paper ... ...ing in a lower percentage of individuals living in poverty and decreased crime rates. As with any governmental policy, there are both pros and cons to this proposed free post-secondary education policy. With a higher percentage of individuals obtaining a Bachelor’s degree, both poverty and the income gap will be lessened for all races. In turn, criminal activity will be at an all-time low. However, the amount of tax increases needed to fund free college may be a great deal, and therefore, not all individuals may have the financial means required to pay these increased taxes. Many people would argue that higher education is a human right, hence it should not be so financially difficult for one to achieve a post-secondary degree. Therefore, this policy would be perfect for ensuring that every United States individual has equal opportunity to receiving higher education.
When hearing the words “free” and “college” in the same sentence, that is exciting to anyone who is interested in not paying those thousands of dollars for their pursued education. However, when it comes to Obama’s free community college idea, for the first two years, many people skip over the many factors that go into this issue. Some may agree with President Obama’s plan fighting for a fair chance for all student to get a degree and not go into debt receiving an education, and others argue that community college already being inexpensive will only make the system difficult to work with. While making community college free for everyone is considerate, the students with low incomes already get the aid they need without this program and the
According to Trade Schools, Colleges and Universities “Many of America's top-performing high school students never apply to the most challenging colleges and universities even though they have the ability to succeed at them. They often come from minority and low-income households and end up pursuing more affordable, less-selective schools instead.” College can be a burden to many students in a variety of different ways, but the most common reason is due to funds. Making college free for students will help this problem by increasing jobs in the work industry that require degrees, they should be affordable to all people at all cost, as well as the funds should be completely cut off because it would increase jobs and help America's economy grow.
When the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony founded the first college in America, Harvard, in 1636, it marked the beginning of college as the backbone to the American Dream (“About Harvard” ). Around the world, America is coveted for the “American Dream” in which someone can go from deep poverty, to unbelievable wealth, all by getting an education which allows a person to obtain any job and reach any economic level. The article “Peter Thiel Thinks You should skip college, and He’ll Even Pay For Your Trouble; The famous disrupted says overpriced universities hold back innovation, and what's to rewrite education to his liking” by Tom Clynes argues people should not attend college because it is a hindrance to innovation, while the article
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition and relevant fees have increased by 893 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). 893 percent is a very daunting percentage considering that it has surpassed the rise in the costs of Medicare, food, and housing. As America is trying to pull out of a recession, many students are looking for higher education so they can attain a gratified job. However, their vision is being stained by the dreadful rise in college costs. College tuition is rising beyond inflation. Such an immense rise in tuition has many serious implications for students; for example, fewer students are attending private colleges, fewer students are staying enrolled in college, and fewer students are working in the fields in which they majored in.
Rep. Dick Zimmer predicts that at the current rate of rising college costs, by the year 2000 the average price tag for attending a four-year public university will be over $50,000 and the average four-year cost at a private university will exceed $104,000. (College costs continue to climb, 14) During the years between 1970 and 1994, the consumer price index increased just under four times, but the average cost of tuition, room, and board at four-year public colleges went up nearly five times, and private college costs rose almost seven times, from just under $3,000 to over $20,000. According to the U.S. News Cost of College Index, the average middle-class worker must now labor 95 days to pay for a year at an average private college. Two decades ago, it took slightly more than half as long to pay for the same education. (Elfin, 90) By 1994, the average four-year cost at a private college was over three times the typical family's annual income. (Reiland, 59) However, The College Board recently announced that US college tuition and fees for 1996-97 increased at nearly the same rate as they had in the previous year, adding that the more than $50...
Calling a college education “free” is a contradiction because nothing in life is truly free. Someone will be responsible for paying for this education, even if it is not the person receiving it. To support this flood of hopeful college students, the American Government will have to heavily tax the working and upper classes. Taxes will have to be inflated to compensate for the price of college, and in some cases, may become outrageously high. If the upper class becomes constantly taxed, what keeps them from dropping down a class? What keeps the middle class from becoming the lower class? In an extreme situation, if the middle and upper classes were constantly taxed, there risks a problem of creating a bigger class divide. Maybe the plan to pay for college education starts out with only the rich being taxed. In America, there are roughly 324 million people. This number increases every eight seconds, so there is a constant increase of citizens. Imagine if half of that number decides to go to college. College education is free for them, but their tuition is paid for by the upper class. Now, average college tuition runs for about $9,410 for State Universities, and around $32,405 for out of state students. This amount of money, per student, is paid for by the upper class’s taxes. Taxes are raised higher and higher to pay for all these students until they cannot be raised any further. The upper
If state colleges change the tuition to free tuition not only will doors open for these students, underprivileged will accomplish their dreams by getting education. Helena G. replies to the question of free public colleges “Next, I believe free college tuition should be given because there are students from underprivileged families that work hard in school and deserve the opportunity for a college education. Some students who get exceptional grades in school don’t have enough money to continue their education” (Teen Ink 1). These students are already struggling financially at home. Allowing free college would cause less stress for parents to deal with. “They spend so much time and effort on school work that they earned the right to acquire free college tuition. Lack of money should not stop a student from completing their education, but mostly their dream to become whatever they want to be” (Helena G 1). Many of students who live poor lives do an excellent job in school, but do not have enough financial support to enter in college. No outstanding student should remain home with a chance of getting a college
Thousands of dollars for college tuition; thousands of dollars for textbooks and materials, the cost just keeps building up! Students going through high school right now do not have the experience of having to actually pay for school. Often enough, colleges and universities require students to pay hefty prices to attend their schools and leads the hole in our pockets to become deeper and deeper. To change this problem, public colleges and universities should not require tuitions and school materials to be fiscal problems for students. With this, students would not worry about not going to college just because they could not afford it.
...o funding her education with grants and scholarships (Gormus 11). Since scholarships do not need to be paid off through interest, students do not have to worry about future debt. Hence, in the future, a student 's focus can be directed towards other aspects instead of earning enough income to satisfy fines.The weakness presented by this solution is the time required. Scholarships often call for essays, and there is no guarantee that a student will get the scholarship. Due to this lack of assurance, scholarships can appear as a risk that is not worth the effort.
Tuition free colleges should be given because it helps students focus on their studies rather than their jobs. The students will study well and use their time in productive way instead of thinking about their financial situation. The push for free-college plans would also turn American higher education into a government- administered program (Kelly). Education is a key factor in the economic and social development of a country. The federal funding flows directly to public institution that are subject to federal rules. Free tuitions help the unprivileged families deserve an opportunity to get the best education. Lack of money should not stop a student from learning. If the colleges were free to attend these unprivileged
Around 20 million American students attend college every year; 12 million of those students seek financial aid in order to pay for their education (Lanza). Education offered to the public should be free. Public universities that once charged themselves to open doors for students are now charging students to open doors for them. These state controlled private universities hold values that correlate to ones of or like a business (Bady). Instead of opportunities being given to everyone, universities sell their products “for as much as the market will bear”(Bady). With the fall in public funding it has led to public universities putting the need to educate students on the back burner. Public schools tuition should be made free so that everyone can have the opportunity for educational, economic, and social advancement.
To this day, countless college graduates are still paying back their school loans from years ago with no foreseen future of the bills ever ending. To many, college is believed to be the best time of your life, where young adults get to be who they are with no adults to tell them what to do. However, years later when the bills start to seem like they are getting too much, it is probably because they are. School loans are ridiculous for the small snippet of what people actually learned and leave the universities with. All high school graduates in the United States should be given an opportunity for a tuition-free college education, following the model used in European countries.
There is no doubt that college is expensive, price tags for some universities go over a quarter of a million for just a bachelors degree! (That’s if you graduate in four too). The extravagant price for college is no doubt crazy. Trying to better yourself and your future shouldn’t cost $250,000 plus. If public universities were to be free a plethora of problems could be solved instantly. According to Forbes the National student loan debt has surpassed 1.2 trillion dollars (Denhart )! This number is growing exponentially as more students enroll in to college. Why question then whether college should be free? Well, this number is the total amount of student loan debt from all students that have exited college. Some of these students are freshly graduated while some are aged with the wisdom trying to pay their loans back. If public universities were to be free and funded by our federal government, our government would pay this amount within ten years. Relatively a short amount of time considering that the student loan debt is an accumulation debt from students that have graduated more than ten year ago, also this also greatly increase with the following years as well.
Increasing college costs has proven to be a major issue for those who pursue higher learning. With institutions raising tuition and fees, students are forced to make life-altering sacrifices to repay soaring student loans. We have come to a pivotal place in history, where individuals have no choice but to minimize or delay important life decision’s such as moving home with their parents to save money, becoming home owners, retirement saving and forfeiting higher education. The impact of increasing college costs has become so severe that it is at the forefront of politicians, political agenda, inducing conversation and policies like the revised income-driven repayment program. The program proposed to help combat the effects of massive student loans.
For most young Americans, college has always been preached to them as being a vital part to their success in the adult world; but as they reach this educative rite of passage many find they must take out inflated loans, work part time jobs, or even become dissuaded entirely due to the exorbitant costs of higher education. We must forsake this current antiquated system in favor of government subsidized tuition. Therefore, college education must be free because of its benefit to the economy, creation of equal opportunity, and the resolution of the student loan crisis.