With debates about free college becoming exceptionally heated due to the proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders, it’s important as voters to be completely educated about the lack of simplicity to the word “free.”
Cost is a major factor in the application process and limits college choices for many students. Big schools with recognizable names like The Ohio State, Northwestern University, and The University of Missouri take pride in the financial aid they administer to their students. Many students aren’t satisfied with the aid yet.
What many students don’t know is exactly where the thousands of dollars we spend on tuition goes. College Board breaks down the cost of a year of college into 5 separate categories: tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, personal expenses, and transportation.
These include the costs that are forgotten when it comes to higher education.
Many students take advantage of work-study programs offered by the government. Work-study is a program offered by the government that hires students to work in jobs geared towards their career choice. These students earn at least the federal minimum wage. In an interview with AU student, Clarissa Garcia, she said she found that work study jobs really helped pay for her college tuition. AU student Sophia Baneth, also worked through the program and agreed that it was nice to have the money.
Many people hope that college will be free and that everyone will have equal opportunities. In a job market where a degree is necessary, people that don’t go to college on average make about 30,000 dollars a year according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Those with a college degree of any level earn an income that is substantially higher than that of a high school educated employee.
Garcia said, “Education is a universal right. Many kids don’t go to school because of cost but many don’t go due to a lack of resources. There will always be a pushback, it all depends on how the public perceives the idea of free education. There needs to be a change in mentality. It’s only fair.” The change in mentality is necessary for free education to be successful because all taxpayers contribute to paying for tuition to be free.
An increase in taxes is not always popular in the eyes of the American public. Until the public agrees that education should be more of a priority, success in free education may be limited. According to CNN, Bernie Sanders’ plan has Federal and State governments picking up the costs for education. The federal government at 67% and the state government at 33%. For states in financial need, like Illinois nearing 148 billion dollars in debt, the idea of the states having to contribute to free education seems impossible.
There are three kinds of public benefits that college students are eligible to receive: tuition subsidies, living grants, and public loans. Both AU students that I spoke to expressed that they had benefitted from financial aid at their university.
AU is a private university so students there would not be on the receiving end of free college. Garcia described her student loan debt as manageable and Ms. Baneth said, “I am very lucky in my college situation.. Many private institutions take pride in the financial aid that they offer. There are around 40 million people in student debt in the United States.
Harvard University’s financial aid office says, “most of our students graduate debt-free.” They achieve this by not charging students more than they think they can afford. There has been a lot of success in these programs that encourage students not to take outside loans.
The debate on free college has encouraged people to think where education lies in their priorities. Many people claim to be in support of free college but fail to consider what that may mean for the distribution of money in government programs and taxation. As more and more politicians are in favor of this idea, the possibility of it becoming a reality increases.