Free college? Exposing the possibility of free tuitions in the US.
“The benefits of post secondary education are well documented and have major implications for economic growth, equality, and social mobility” (Dominguez). This was reported by the white house on January 2014. Many others can agree education is the key to a healthier economy. But lately, students throughout the United States have been struggling to pay the expensive tuition fees that tag along with having a college education. These expensive college costs have been largely debated and constantly listed as a national concern for middle class families all around the US. Many believe free tuition is the solution to our country’s trillion debt problem, but with our economy on the
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After all, education in the great equalizer in our nation, it can bridge social, economic, racial, and geographic divides like no other force. It can mean the difference between an open door and a dead end. And nowhere is this truer than in a higher education” (Mckeon). No one could have said it better than Representative Mckeon. According to him, if we had free college, millions of students around the country would focus less on working to pay tuition, and instead entirely on their studies. It would distract the students less, and allow them to concentrate on what they’re being taught. Because of these short budgets and stressful environments, most students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds often tend to try and complete their studies quicker than students from high income families. The low income students will generally choose fields of studies that are more directly linked to the professions, like marketing or human resources, while the wealthy students study long term professions, like law and medicine. This creates a gap between wealthy and poor families, losing valuable opportunities for hundreds bright students …show more content…
“Calling something free doesn’t make it free, it’s simply a matter of who pays the costs” (Leukbe). College can’t be possible without someone paying the expenses. Yes, making college free for students will spare them lots of struggle. But then, the money will still need to be made up for one way or another. If we make college free, states will struggle to pay and Taxpayers will be forced to pay for what the students don’t. “We will come into a situation where, just like in any downtown there will be problems for the states to keep up the funding for the universities, or raise it”, as Professor Woessmann clearly states, free tuitions could also mean the downfall of of our country’s economy. A perfect example of a situation like this would be in the state of California, where college costs were decreased drastically, and as a result ended up putting the state in debt. Unable to raise incomes, the colleges were forced to turn away more 600,000 students
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
Iris Palmer, the senior policy analyst with the Educational Policy program at New America, notes in her article The False Promise of “Free College” that there is no denying the appeal “free college” offers to students pursuing a college degree. In this article, Palmer discusses several reasons why presidential nominee Hillary Clintons’ plan for free college would not have been beneficial to the United States, or to students hoping to earn a college degree. Although the articles main focus is about the plan created by Clinton, it ultimately can be used to form an argument against the general plans for “free” college tuition as a whole. The article lists several reasons why “free” college tuition would not solve the problem of the lack of students
Recently there has been a lot of debate about the importance of college education. Students are asking if it’s worth the debt to attend a four year university or community college. Some are thinking what are the benefits of a degree is in the workforce. With college tuition increasing and state fundings lowering, low income students are struggling to attain a higher education. College institutions should have a role to provide students higher education and equal opportunity to students to increase social mobility yet intergenerational reproduction of privilege has produced inequality in education.
In the article titled “Should Community College be Free?” written by Joanne Jacobs, the author talks up the argument about whether Community College should be free and presents both sides being that Community College should in fact be free for the many students who cannot afford it which will increase, “the number of people with degrees”, according to past President Barack Obama. The other side argues that making Community College free will only help those whose parents make too much to afford Grants stating that those who can afford it will be taking advantage of the free cost and making the schools overcrowded.
Universities used to be a privilege for most academic students to attend and it was very affordable, but currently the price per year to attend college has drastically increased. For instance, in the “1970’s the average cost was 10,000 dollars a year and today the average cost is 30,000 dollars a year” (CQ Researcher). This is a triple increase in the price per year to attend college. Allowing this increase on college tuition has impacted the student’s attendance rate. This is a significant financial burden for college students and their family. Some believe that college shouldn’t be free because we are risking the value of college education, while others think it should be free because we are trying to avoid having our upcoming generation
Degrees are one of the most important documents in todays society besides the constitution. Almost all americans will go to college and get a degree for the occupation they are interested in. Without a tuition todays society wont be getting bigger rather, smaller. The tuition cost has gone up 2.8 percent in the past decade. States have cut spending costs to higher education. More recently states are slowly making college tuition more affordable using the limited amount of tax dollars to help lower the cost. Minnesota for example, has created a law that has made community collage almost free, the new law allows students with financial aid which might not pay all of the tuition, force the state to pay for what the finical aid can not. Some have
I personally don't think that college should be free. Students who pay for their college are more motivated, hard working and independent. Many students would have poor motivation to finish school, because they can always come back. As a matter of fact students with ambitions to get university degree are learning much harder in high school than other, who thinks they don’t need an extra paper. There are many students that are so smart, and they will find the way to get money for school. With extra work and help from family students will be able to afford college tuitions. Students need to depend on themselves; otherwise every taxpayer will have to cover their education expenses. There are several reasons why
With the increase of college tuition, many students and their families are struggling to afford college and repay its debt. Over “44.2 million Americans have and are struggling to pay off student loan debt” (Student Loan Hero). There are ways to afford college, such as scholarships, loans, and grants. Unfortunately, not all students qualify for these types of financial aid. There are still “up to 40 percent of low-income students who are accepted to college in the spring [that] never make it to the first day of class in the fall.” (The Hechinger Report).
Increase of college tuition in the U.S. has strong controversy and is considered the highest fee collectors among all nations. "Freezing tuition: It's not such a hot idea." Except for its military academies, the U.S. federal government does not directly support higher education. Loans and grants are offered dating back to the Morrill Act during the U.S. Civil War and the "G.I. Bill" programs implemented after World War II. In 2012-13, the average cost of annual tuition in the United States ranged from $3,131 for public two-year institutions (community colleges) to $29,056 for private four-year institutions. "College Costs: FAQs". The College Board.
In the United States, a college degree comes with the promise of a bright future, but also the guarantee of an average of $33,000 in debt (Izzo). Many of us have hopes and aspirations to attend prestigious Universities across the country, but perhaps that dream may be more expensive than we envisioned. Costs of a college education in America have skyrocketed since 2005 (Izzo), and have left newly graduated students searching for help. In order to offer a helping hand to those affected by tuition costs, we must first look at the root issue: The high cost of tuition. Lowering tuition will not only save thousands of people from debt, but it will also boost the economy, and keep us competitive with other countries. The cost of attending college
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”-a lingering question posed to countless children time and time again. Some people find the answer immediately; others take a little longer, but eventually everyone figures out who they want to become. After deciding between traditional professions like doctor or lawyer, and unconventional paths like acting or farming, “grown-ups” are faced with an even more vexing query: “now that you know what you want to be. How will you afford to achieve that?. Since Gen X (the generation after the baby boomers) attended college, the price of tuition has increased significantly. In fact, “over the past 35 years, college tuition at public universities has nearly quadrupled” (Campos, 2015). This issue creates noticeable anxiety for college students who must struggle to find a method to pay for a higher education without falling into massive debt. The solution to rising tuition costs is far from simple and entirely political; however, there are ways for students to afford an
To begin, universities within lack the dispersion of diversity and equality amongst individuals studying from various backgrounds and financial incomes. Therefore, eliminating these towering fees would develop the diversity and equality within. In 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed Americans from the National Center for Children in Poverty, finding that 44% of the nation’s children live in low-income households (Sillers). Amongst these children are longing individuals who are in hopes to attend colleges for their futures. However, under the circumstances, almost half of the nation’s children are financially unable to afford such high tuitions due to their low-income statuses. With this, it is demoralizing for less fortunate students with the same hopes and ambition to those who are privileged and conveniently receive higher levels of education. Having the same opportunities for all would ultimately achieve fair amounts of success for students regardless of class. Needless to say, equality between social classes would create a sense of balance and fundamentally expand within universities.
The government would have to spend 62.6 billion dollars annually in order to make public college tuition free. A recent movement to federally mandate college funding has struck the interest of the lower, impoverished members of society. However, if college tuition were free it would be unfair, unregulated, and cost-ineffective in the long run. What does free really mean? Does it include just tuition, or room, board and books? Also, would it be completely free? Someone has to pay something somewhere down the line. There is no way to make college completely free. It would be average tax payers that will end up paying. America is already 18 trillion dollars in debt. Just imagine how much more it would be if college was free. College should not be free because it effects the entire country, lowers the value of a college degree, and despite what some may think, does not make it more equal.
At the dawn of the twentieth-century, the movement that made a high school diploma widely available for every child in the United States, regardless of the income of their family, solidified America’s place as the home of the most educated workforce in the world, and helped to drive decades of economic prosperity. Now, nearly one-hundred years have passed, and other countries around the globe are catching up. In some cases, foreign nations have even surpassed the United States by providing tuition-free higher education for all.
It is no surprise to anyone that America is in a financial crisis, and student debt is becoming a rising conflict in our country. The future of my generation is important, and we need to take the time to set proper standards towards our approach to higher education for future generations. There are many advantages to obtaining a college degree, such as higher annual salaries and a larger pool of careers to pursue. A reoccurring factor today is whether or not higher education should be provided for free in the United States. I strongly oppose liberal views that propose higher education be provided for free nationwide, but support facts that steps should be taken to provide higher education at an affordable rate, and simultaneously focus