Is a college education really worth over thousands of dollars each year? I have no idea, but being a high school student, this worries me because I have to actually start thinking about which college I want to go to and especially if it’s affordable for me. Most people who attend colleges take student loans and end up paying their debts for most of their life and I don’t want to be one of those peoples. If college was free, it would be so helpful to me because it wouldn’t cause me as much stress knowing if I’m taking the wrong courses or anything. A free college education would also help me be able to find my career so much easier without spending thousands of dollars for classes I’m not interested in before finding the one I really want to have a career in. Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, noticed that the cost and demand for a college education has risen significantly between when he was a college student and today; he describes this rise as irrational. Thiel thinks that students today are taking larger student loans which leave them in debt and their …show more content…
A free college education would attract more people to become students so they can learn, get their degree, and use it to earn more money in the real world. A liberal arts education within college should also be definitely free or less pricey because it can be “enormously practical because they became resources on which to draw for continual learning, for making decisions in one’s life, and for making a difference in the world” said Michael S. Roth. If a college education really did become low-priced or free within the next few of years, that would help me and others so much financially. It would be really great to see the day where college is much more affordable come in the near
“If a college education has value, why give it away?” (Luebke). Most everyone wants to have higher education because it has value in this day and age. It opens up more career options, and lets them have more freedom to pick the career they want. With higher education being tuition-free, students might take their college education less seriously because they don’t have to pay for it (Should College Be Free? Pros, Cons, and Alternatives). Because of this, graduation numbers might drop, or the people who do graduate may not be as well prepared for the workforce. Yes, there are still entry requirements that limit the amount of students allowed into the school, but much of the drive for the students comes from the fact that they are paying a lot of money to be there. Also, giving away college education would almost certainly do the opposite of what people want it to do, which is give more money to students from richer families than from poorer ones. It isn’t that they want to necessarily take money from the richer families, but they want to give poorer families more opportunities to get money. “Without a dramatic overhaul of how we understand student benefits, making college more or entirely free would most likely boost the wealth of college attendees without securing any important egalitarian gains.” (Bruenig). This is because students from well-off families already enjoy a disproportionately successful future than students from poor families,
The free community college idea sounds appealing, but more time and government money should be spent on making university tuitions lower because the community colleges are already less expensive and give support to those who are not financially stable.
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.
First, free college can encourage students to go to college to get a degree which leads to a high paying career. It can fulfill those students that are having a hard time financially, and fewer students will be in debt. Second, with free college, colleges will be more likely to help students that need the guidance to stay on track and get a diploma. Clayton and Bailey mention, "If we want to significantly improve educational outcomes, we need to make college more affordable so more students can enroll, and make the reforms needed to en-sure community college students can succeed in their courses, complete their program, and grad-uate within reasonable amount of time" (Clayton and Bailey). Finally, free college can help the U.S. catch up to the rest of the countries with higher education. For example, it can help the United States surpass Russia, where more than half of adults have a diploma. Frohlich explains, “More Than 53% of Russian adults between the ages of 25 and 64 had some form of higher edu-cation in 2012, more than in any other country reviewed by OECD” (Frohlich). Although free college is an attractive idea, it will leave the United States in a bigger debt which will be hard to recover from and more students will be unmotivated to
As Bernie Sanders, a presidential candidate for the 2016 presidential elections, claims he can make college free, the subject of tuition for secondary schooling has become a “hot” topic. The New York Times, on January 20th, released a “Room for Debate” titled “Should College be Free?” where many journalists such as Andrew P. Kelly and Sara Goldrick-Rab voiced their opinions on college tuition. “Just one-third of students from the bottom income quartile, who started at a community college in 2003 finished with a degree or certificate by 2009,” wrote Kelly, showing that the poorer find it hard to finish college with a degree. He believed that indigent students would likely not graduate with a degree due to college cost and because they are not motivated enough to get through six years of college. Although it is unpractical to create an educational system where college is absolutely free, creating organizations dedicated to encouraging the needy to get through
Everywhere else in the world college is free but the United States. I believe that people would feel more obligated to go to college if it was free. College is the main reason Americans are having to live such a hard lifestyle. My father did not go to college and makes eighteen dollars an hour. On the other hand my aunt did go to college and make twenty-four dollars an hour but is still paying back student loans so after paying all of her stuff back she only makes around fifteen dollars an hour that she gets to bring back and that doesn’t include taxes. That is why I do not think college is a good choice to make in
Every one that had intentions of starting college all secretly dream the same thing, that college to one day be free. And so everyone can have a fair shot at furthering their education, and getting a better job, as well so students can live as much debt free life as possible. With this topic there are various things that factor in to having a free tuition.
Over the past years of getting a college degree was the pathway to get a settle career. College has been a reason for people to carry on after high school. Now that tuition has been raised, getting a degree seems to drain students with more loans and could be in debt. College has been raised to the point where people rather start working at a minimum wage than continuing with school. Working on a part time job would be an easier choice rather than pursuing towards their degree. As people attend college, fees build up and students loaning money and possibly be in debt. Not only that, some may say college isn’t worth it, but it is. Getting a degree pays off at the end going towards your career path, making twice as much as you would work at a regular job. Students who have received a degree are slowly declining. To make adjustment, College should be free for
The price of colleges in America; whether it is a four-year school or community college, has been viewed as a major issue to millions of citizens. Numerous people have argued that an education should not cost thousands of dollars. Some have even stated that college in general should be free. Although this may seem like an amazing idea, it could actually have negative effects that people may not have thoroughly considered. As simple as an education may seem, students and parents in America must pay their way through college; for nothing is free in life. In order to keep this country functioning in a proper way, community colleges in America should not be free.
No matter what age or where people are in their life, they would be able to go back to school to start or finish their higher education and fulfill what they have always wanted to do. An article “Why Free College is Necessary” Tressie McMillan Cottom presents the need for free college in the U.S. According to Cottom, “Why aren’t more people going to college? One obvious answer would be cost, especially the cost of tuition” (Cottom/115). Cottom states that basically the main reason why many people are not going to college is because of cost, plain and simple. The job opportunities people would be able to acquire would grow immensely for them, instead of being stuck at a certain job making ends meet. I have come across old friends that never considered going to college after high school because they simply could not afford to go college or even pay for a book. Tuition free colleges nationwide would help many people struggling with their jobs, bills etc. and give them motivation to want to do something better in their life by extending their education, creating new career
Deciding whether or not you want to attend college is definitely a tough decision that needs to be taken seriously. The financial aspect of college is always the worst and most dreaded part, but it is many times the biggest deciding factor on which school you actually attend. Tuition rates across the United States are completely outrageous, and guess what? They are still continuing to sky rocket. Year by year the cost of college raises by a seemingly small about, but once it all stacks up and the final cost is all calculated up, it may bring you to tears. My question is, are you really getting your money’s worth out of college?
While the idea of free college is often seen as beneficial only to the wealthy, college should be free for everyone because going to college could once again be seen as a choice instead of a financial problem for many households, people could also better understand others that come from different backgrounds, and there are more
Education reform has been an ongoing debate in the United States for many years. The latest argument that many politicians, teachers and even students have debated is whether or not four-year public universities should be free. Even Barack Obama pushed for a plan that would make two-year community college free for everyone. In addition to this, Bernie Sanders has made free higher education one of his main political platforms in his presidential candidacy. According to "How America 's Colleges Could Be Tuition Free," student college debt has passed the one trillion dollar mark (collegerank.net). This number is unreasonably high. With all the hype, most people’s initial reaction would be to agree with free higher education. Knowledge and education
I chose the concept of free college education as my topic because the price of school has been on my mind a lot lately. College is expensive, and attending a private university is even more expensive. I’m lucky enough to have my dad pay for my education, but for a lot of my friends that is not the case. I have seen through their lives how college funding has impacted their college education. I have one friend who is very intelligent, but chose to go to a community college in our home town instead of a big university because of funding. I also have a friend who is a full time student and working two jobs just to pay for her college education and not drown debt. I decided to have my research question focus on the positive and negative implications on free college education. Before I
I do not agree with your statement, “Education should be free”. First of all, most of our education we can get it for free. For students attending college may be difficult for the reason that students cannot afford an education. These days, students have plenty of opportunities for scholarships and grants the government could provide. Imagine if college education is free, who is going to pay the professors. We as a students pay for our education so professors can teach us the basic tools to enhance in our educational and professional lives.