Tough decisions follow high school: Free college ensures U.S. grows economically, socially
Ask any kid in elementary or middle school what they want to be when they grow up, and the answer is sure to be something that requires a college education. These aspiring doctors, writers, and teachers are told constantly they can be anything they wish to be.
However, due to the ever-rising rates of college tuition, many of these children won't get to follow their career dreams.
According to the national nonprofit College Board in New York City, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2017-'18 school year was $9,970 for in-state residents, and $25,620 for out-of-state residents attending public universities. These numbers are alarmingly high and may keep those entering the workforce from obtaining their desired degree, if any degree at all.
Here's an alternative: Steps can be taken to provide free college education so we can continue to grow economically and socially in the U.S.
Many blame rising tuition on inflation and claim the money spent is relative to the value of the dollar. But even after taking inflation into account, the cost of public college still has risen by over 100 percent just since 2001, according to the Washington Post. Multiple factors contribute to this increase, including decreases in state and federal government funding for higher education.
In order to make up for this lack of incoming money, public colleges have had to increase the price of education. Grants and federal-aid resources that many rely on have failed to keep up with the rising price of college education; grants that once were able to pay a student's entire tuition now can hardly pay for half. To make up for the money these resources no longer cover, families are left to take out loans in excessive amounts. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, after graduation, the average student has around $28,950 of student-loan debt.
So, what can be done to combat this issue of rising tuition? How can we protect the future scholars and promise them an education without the weight of loans and debt? Talk surrounding decreasing tuition rates has been on the rise since the last presidential election. Two options were presented by Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders; Clinton pushed the idea of aiming financial aid at lower-income and middle-income families while Sanders preferred the idea of free college. Though both plans were costly (Clinton's would have cost an estimated $350 billion and Sanders' an estimated $750 billion over the next 10 years) either would show improvement to the American workforce and would result in significant economic growth that eventually would outweigh the original outlay.
Providing equal opportunities for education is the base in building a strong, ever-improving economy and society. With free tuition, obtaining a degree for a career one is passionate about becomes a realistic goal. For prospective students across the nation, it should be readily available.
Mary Aimone of Hermantown is a student at Hermantown High School who researched and wrote this originally as part of a college-level composition class.