College should be more affordable.
March 1, 2016
Dear Editor,
In our country, a college education is usually required for most high-paying jobs, while the majority of Americans canai??i??t afford it. In a poll held by gallup.com in October, 2015, only 4% of Americans believe that education is the most critical issue our country faces, making it one of the lowest polling issues.
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wants to make all public colleges and universities free to attend. He states that education should be a right rather than a privilege. On the Republican side, some Presidential candidates such as Marco Rubio donai??i??t want America to ai???be like the rest of the worldai??? with free education. Forcing students to pay for school and smother them in crippling debt doesnai??i??t make this country better.
According to another poll by gallup.com, around ten years ago, 50% of graduates thought the money they spent on their education was worth it. In 2015, the statistics have gone down to almost half of what it used to be. Nearly half of graduates that have student loan debt have been forced to put off further education because of the money they owe. Graduates have also stated that theyai??i??ve given up buying a car and starting a business so theyai??i??re not overwhelmed with more debt than they already have to put up with.
In conclusion, the cost of education is keeping Americans from getting the skills they need to get jobs that pay well and achieve a brighter future.
Sarah Reinhardt
Junior
Munguia, Hayley. “Education.”Ai??The Big Issues of the 2016 Campaign.Ai??FiveThirtyEight, 2016. Web. 17 February 2016. <http://fivethirtyeight.com/
Morgan Murphy • Apr 13, 2016 at 11:07 AM
The price of college tuition has risen exponentially over the past decade. It has gotten to the point where most young Americans cannot graduate college without a crippling amount of debt that will hang over their heads for a lifetime. College should not necessarily be free, but it should definitely be more affordable. As stated in the letter, a poll conducted by gallup.com suggests that in 2015, only approximately 25% of college students believed the money spent on their education was “worth it”. Extreme college debt prevents students from receiving a higher education; this causes a domino effect that hinders people from reaching their full potential, as well as getting a job in order to be able to support themselves. The debt caused by higher education causes the overall well being American citizens as well as their economy to suffer.
Samantha Imber • Apr 13, 2016 at 10:58 AM
I agree with this letter, which concerns the amount of money it costs to further ones education. With the increasing expenses of college and many other graduate schools, success seems to depend on how much you can afford, and no longer the intellectual abilities of the person striving for these goals. People are forced to give up aspirations in fear of more accumulated debt that prevents them to live how they want to live. “Nearly half of graduates that have student loan debt have been forced to put off further education because of the money they owe” (Reinhardt). This goes to show that someone who may be smart enough to be the doctor that discovers the cure to cancer, may be forced to follow a lesser career path due to the cost of medical school; a student who could prosecute some of the most dangerous criminals in our country could have to decrease their goals because they can’t afford law school. With the astronomical costs on college and graduate schools, our country is stunting the progress it could be making towards a better world.
Megan Eppley • Apr 13, 2016 at 10:52 AM
Many people are unable to further their education because of the fear they will be unable to pay off their debts. Throughout the country many also feel a college education should be a right and not a privilege. I also agree that college should also be more affordable for those who wish to attend but the financial burden holds many of those who aspire to further their education back. For example those who may be wanting to or own a business and want to buy a car might not be able to because they have other financial obligations such as college debts. As well as families who may have more than two or three children also have to feel stress about putting all their children through college and the financial burden it will weigh upon them. Therefore although college may not be able to be free such as in some countries it should be more affordable for those looking to attend. People who wish to attend shouldn’t have to suffer financially for wanting to better their education.
Bianca Flores • Apr 13, 2016 at 10:21 AM
The article I read was about how college should be more affordable. I knew I would agree with the article when I first read the title. College cost a lot. From what people tell me they are still paying off their loan debts. College loans debts aren’t like any other debts that you could walk away from; they will be gone once you pay all of it. In the article Sarah Reinhardt said “Forcing students to pay for school and smother them in crippling debts doesn’t make this country better.” I would agree with this because why pay for your education when you have been receiving it free since kindergarten if you went to a public school. For some people college might not be their opinion because how much it cost and it’s taking away the skills they need in order to improve their future job. Therefore I agree with Sarah that college should be more affordable.
Adam W • Mar 21, 2016 at 9:20 AM
In response to college being free, it’s a great idea, but most people don’t realize how it’s going to affect other people. It’s great for students who are going into college; they won’t have to pay off their student loans. Most people don’t realize that they will have to pay it off in taxes anyway. Even the people who aren’t going to college will have to pay it off in taxes for the people who are going to college. Taxes will increase because of college being free. There is no way the government would be able to afford all the students going to college, also almost every student would go to college if it’s free to get a better education. That would cause less job spots, although unemployment would decrease. It’s a great idea, but not a logical working one.