Free College Tuition: The Access of Education for the Poor Population

Why is there such an alarming rate of people who don’t go to college to get the well-needed schooling and preparation? With prices constantly inflating in today's society, the answer’s pretty clear: they don’t have enough funds to sufficiently pay for it. Due to expensive tuition fees and living expenses, taking up a secondary education could make the difference between someone being impoverished and making a comfortable living. “Not only do people skip college because of the cost of college tuition, but a number of students switch majors from a career they love to a career that will pay off the debt from their degree” (Josephson 2016). This problem could be fixed easily by just getting rid of tuition fees. This seems like an ideally simple explanation to a major issue. However, there is still a large number of people who obnoxiously believe college tuition should not be free for everyone. They look at what could go bad instead of paying attention to what can be good for society. Good things such as; a heavily large increase in the number of people who will go to college, a decrease in the amount of debt students may potentially gain during and after college, and positive effects on the economy. College tuition should be free because it would create more opportunities for students, universities and potentially the economy.

One positive effect is that free college tuition would generate a boost in the percentage of people who go to college, instead of missing out and working a stand still occupation. For example, “enrollment for German universities rose twenty-two percent after tuition became free” (Marcus 2016). However, Germany isn't the only country to experience a rise in enrollment after getting rid of tuition fees. Scotland, for example, had an increase in enrollment by seventeen percent after jettisoning, or dropping, tuition fees. This increase in the number of people who enroll for college would happen for the United States if it too, were to demolish tuition costs. “In fact, Georgetown University's Center for Education predicts that university enrollment in the United States would increase thirteen percent if it too were to take a tuition free stand” (Marcus 2016). “This boost in enrollment means more people would receive a wider range of knowledge and skills, which are necessary as more and more jobs require a postsecondary education” (Bergeron 2015). Therefore, removing tuition fees and imptoving enrollment rates would help more people both secure and be able to keep a job. With this in mind, free tuition seems like a high reward. In addition to higher enrollment rates, free college tuition would help numerous college students decrease the amount of debt they graduate with. “Even though, countless college students already have a large amount of debt from living expenses, such as rent, books, supplies and transportation” (Marcus 2016). For example, “Claudia Niessler, a college student in Germany, who has free tuition, still has to work a minimum of twenty hours a week at a supermarket just to make enough to cover the average living expenses mentioned above” (Marcus 2016). With a college tuition fee is added to the average living expenses, students get in so much debt that it takes them years to pull themselves out of it. With this in mind, it is apparent that college tuition should be free of cost.

Although the solution to making college tuition free may seem like a given, there are still some people who are unconvinced due to the fact that they believe that free tuition would badly impact the economy. “They have these beliefs because free tuition would take away control over what people study, as they would no longer need to worry as much about their financial issue and allow them to get a degree for something they are passionate about, instead of something practical” (Josephson 2016). They ramble on to connect this to a blemished economy due to an absence of control. Nevertheless, what most of these critics also fail to acknowledge is how giving students free tuition, and more choices about their future career, would in effect relieve the economy and not hinder it. For example, “most jobs require, or are going to require, a higher-level of knowledge, skills, and abilities best acquired through a college education” (Bergeron 2015). “However, with the large number of workers that skip college due to it is too expensive, the United States will end up paling in comparison to other countries with workers who are better educated and prepared to deal with what the twenty-first century requires”(Bergeron 2015). This means that the less educated the American population is, the worse off the United States economy is. If college tuition was free, then more people would go to college and get the degrees needed for them to thrive and help the economy thrive. Also, “the country's productivity and GDP would increase as more people found more suitable and higher- ranking jobs” (Josephson 2016). So, in contrast, making tuition free wouldn’t cripple the economy, it would make it better.

If a student wants to seek for higher education to better their self, then he or she should be able to receive the education needed. For example, if a student taking a series of doctoral courses, they are going to need at least six to eight years of education, which is can be very expensive. If the cost of the qualifications were removed, that person would be able to take up jobs on a beginner’s basis and take more time to gain more knowledge skills for their qualifications in a more comfortable manner. Instead of having to waste time as a low-income student while accumulating outstanding debt, the student would be able to spend longer time on a qualification and work while studying so that he or she can enjoy a more favorable college experience. It seems unfair that people who have less money than others are going to miss more opportunities. Ethically, opportunities should be available for all people no matter what status nor ethnicity. Though the availability of an opportunity shouldn’t guarantee that a person receives that opportunity, the opportunity shouldn’t be ruled out. For example, all people should be able to become qualified to work at a job that only requires cutting wires, even though an impaired person would rarely be guaranteed a job position, the opportunity shouldn’t be ruled out by default. Free higher education could open up to plenty of opportunities that some people would otherwise have no choice but to enjoy.

In conclusion, tuition should be free because it could create countless positive effects. Free tuition wouldn’t just only help students trying to get degrees, but it could also benefit universities and the economy. There may still be some people that find these statements inaccurate, however, they are in fact mistaken their selves. People who hadn't even looked into going to college or a postsecondary education as a possibility would finally be able to consider and potentially prepare for it. With all the people finally getting a better education, the United States economy would be better. Also, there wouldn’t be so many people looking for a job because they can’t find one due them not meeting the preferred standard of having a college degree.