Free College : Why Should College Be Free?

Should college be free? A current universal problem poses this question. In today’s world, full of public education standards that hold students maybe too high and in a generation bogged down by student debt, this issue qualifies as a problem more than many are maybe even willing to admit. While the prospect of free college proposes excellent ideals such as a stronger and smarter generation, no student loan problems, and a higher educated society, the truth may actually lie in the reality that making college free would do more hindrance than good and is not the answer to these problems. Free college would increase economic problems, according to Andrew P. Kelly, who says it would only shifts the cost to someone else. As well, it would also hinder our education system. Michael J. Petrilli writes that making college free would “probably shift billions of dollars a year from programs that help talented poor kids access higher education and improve our schools”. Although the concept of free higher education is becoming appealing to the general population, it ultimately would create more problems than it solved and do virtually nothing of huge significance to increase the level of intelligence in modern society.

"Should policymakers make college free or better support institutions?" by Matthew M. Chingos is an article based on the endless debate about college prices. In the article, Chingos is explaining very clearly the Democratic Party platform, the alternatives, the impact of the increased spending or reducing tuition and what would be the result if any of these platforms would pass.

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.

In the United States of America, the public school grades of kindergarten through senior year of high school are free to all students no matter how many times they repeat that education. This is 12 years of basically mandatory education in background areas that will probably be of no use to you on your choice of career path, but merely sets up a base for further learning. So why does this not also apply to college or at the very least community college, where you study your intended path and what you are interested in? There are many theories as to why college should or should not be free for all Americans seeking to better themselves and their educational path. College should be free for those who wish to seek a higher education beyond high

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

Should college be free? In “The Problem is That Free College Isn't Free,” Andrew P. Kelly argues that free college would cost more for the American taxpayer. On the other hand, in “Tennessee Is Showing How Free Tuition Community College Works,” Celeste Carruthers states having free college will give more incentive for students to go to college. It will also encourage them to try community college first. Although free college sounds great at first, it would be more practical to have programs for people who cannot simply afford it. College tuition shouldn’t be the American taxpayers’ responsibility.

How could it possibly be squeezed into the government’s budget? Do they have a secret fund for things like this, or would taxes increase to cover the costs? Free college is now brought up as a debate whether or not students should receive free college tuition while attending college. Some individuals would like this idea, but I am definite the taxpayers would not like it or support it. If the government cannot afford what they are in debt with now, I am quiet uncertain how adding free college would help the debt go down. I am sure that the government would find some way to get their money back from allowing free tuition, or twice the amount the payed by increasing taxes on everything from taxpayers to sales tax. Although it would be extremely pleasant to have free tuition, the tax increase would most likely hurt the taxpayers worse than paying college tuition. I am very much so against providing free college to everyone that graduates high school. Free college would be setting the government up to continue in recession. My biggest concern about offering free college, is how the students who already have student loans be forgiven for the loan amount and have free tuition and debt free as everyone else would be. While more people would have reliable jobs, college should not be free to society because the government budget could not stretch to allow it, more people would take advantage of college because it is free, and taxes would raise on the population.

Why are not more people going to college? One obvious answer would be cost, especially the cost of tuition. But the problem is not just that college is expensive. It is also that going to college is complicated. Free college is not just about cultural and social, neither economic. It means navigating advanced courses, standardized tests, and forms. It means figuring out implicit rules-rules that can change. College graduates have higher employment rates, bigger salaries, and more work benefits than high school graduates. College graduates also have better life, live longer, interpersonal skills, have healthier children, and proven their ability to achieve a major milestone.

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).

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

Imagine a world where college was completely free. Tuition is completely paid for, no book fees, housing fees, everything is one-hundred percent paid for by the government. Unfortunately, the only downfall to that is that the people fund the government. Taxpayers, which should be almost all of America, are the ones who give the government the money to do every day necessities. The government will not be able to afford to pay for every student to have free college on their own, all of that money will have to come from us, the people. This means that college really isn't free. The government should not pay for everyone's college because it is unfair to those who can easily afford it, taxes will go through the roof, and will inhibit a lesser education if it is free for everyone.

As many young millennials rally behind Bernie Sanders and his outlandish claims of free public college for all, others sigh and shake their heads in disapproval. Are these college students really entitled to free higher education? Is it every American’s unalienable right to have a college education? Despite the recent push for free college in the United States, the economic burden and drop in personal responsibility it would create proves that colleges should maintain their current tuitions.

If college was free students would have to want to continue their education and get a degree. While free would make college affordable, those receiving the benefit would need to have stipulations for the free classes they are attending. Michael J. Petrilli is the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Petrilli states, “… just 40 percent of 12th graders are college-ready, even though nearly 70 percent already head straight into college.” He is correct that many high school graduates are not prepared to transition to college. Many don’t have the attention span to sit in longer classes. Students are used not study over a time period, but rather cram the night before the due assignment. Some stipulations would be; you have to finish and get a degree, you have to keep your GPA up, and if you drop out without a good reason you have to pay back the money you used.

First, free college tuition should be given to students because it will assist students to concentrate on their studies. “By the end of this decade, 65 percent of all job openings will require an education or skills training beyond what any student receives in high school. In fact, 11 of the 15 fastest-growing occupations will require a postsecondary education which will push students to take advantage of free college and succeed in college” (NEA). Most college students usually have part-time jobs and are full-time students. They have to rely on their job, as much as their academics, to be able to pay for all necessary books and classes that they are required to take, if free college was offered to any student, they would take advantage of the opportunity and most likely try their hardest in school to succeed and graduate to get the job they wish, instead of losing high concentration and time to focus on a job to

The American dream, the idea of every person having an equal opportunity to succeed in life through working hard and willpower. In order for American’s to achieve the American dream, hard work and dedication are required. Recently, many American’s believe that the only way to be successful is to go to college and obtain a higher education. College tuition cost is one of the main reasons college is not an option for everyone. To allow everyone in America to have an equal opportunity to a higher education, many people believe college should be provided free to everyone. In theory, free college sounds ideal and would help the economy and employment rate because of the opportunities for new jobs with college degrees. However, there are many pitfalls to providing a free college education to the people of America. Although the cost of college tuition has been rising over the years, allowing students to go to college for free is not the answer.