preview

Should College Be Free College?

Better Essays

With the upcoming elections, third-party candidate Bernie Sanders has been one of the most talked about candidates because of his belief that tuition and cost of living at public colleges and universities should be free. Free college has become one of the most talked about policy proposals on the campaign trail, but questions surround the policy, such as how it would work, how much it would cost and how it would affect students (Rhatican).
Most colleges bundle their prices in terms of tuition and fees. In 1995, tuition for private colleges was around 14k, for Public out of state it was around 7k and for public in state it was around 2k. (usnews). According to the College Board, the current average cost of tuition and fees for the 2015–2016 school year was $32,405 at private colleges, $9,410 for state residents at public colleges, and $23,893 for out-of-state residents attending public universities. Tuition reflects the overall cost of a college providing instruction and usually incorporates a college 's costs for staff, faculty, grounds maintenance, buildings, computer systems, and libraries (Dominique).
There is somewhere between 902 billion dollars and one trillion dollars in total outstanding student debt today, and around 60 percent of college students borrow money annually to pay for their tuition and books (Ghannam). Seven out of 10 seniors (69%) who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2014 had student loan debt, with an average of $28,950 per borrower.

Get Access