Dear Future President,

I would like to address an issue that most of the youth in U.S. have to face at some point in their lives, college tuition. My favorite story my grandparents always tell me is about how when they were kids all they had to do was have a part-time summer job, paying minimum wage, to pay for their college fees. But these days that barely, if at all, is enough to pay for even a semester of college. College fees are the reason why many American citizens find themselves in debt. I have a job, that I work part-time at, year round after school. Yet, I still doubt that I have enough saved up in my bank account to get me through my first semester of college.

These days kids have to rely on scholarships and grants to pay for their college fees, and when all else fails, student loans. Which to be honest is the main reason americans go into debt out of college. Most kids right out of college aren't able to find a job right away. Seven out of tenstudents in 2014 had a debt of around $24,000 out of College. Now even though the information is a couple years old, the amount of debt has only gone up. So, many young adults spend a better part of their adult lives in debt trying to pay back their college loans.

An average year of college tuition fees is over $32,000 for the years 2015-2016. Now I don’t know many people that have that saved up in their bank accounts right now. There are some scholarships and grants, and there are even the few students that get a full ride scholarship to a school. Some kids even join the Army in order to get the help of the GI bill to help pay for their college. But,if you took four years of college, and didn’t earn anything that would help pay for you to go to college,you would have a total that adds up to almost $112,000 dollars by the time you were done with college. Out-of-college grads are expected to make around $48,000 dollars a year,give or take. That money is supposed to be split between house, car, college loans, and any other amenities that a person is paying for.

I, for one, am scared to death to see what I will see in my future. I graduate in 2018, and predictions say in 2020 the U.S. student debt will be up to $1.4 trillion, I don't want to be one of the kids who attribute to that number and are paying back their debts until they are thirty and married.There are some countries in the world that give their students a free college education. People that I have talked to that have gone to those countries say that their education systems aren’t as prestige as ours. But, for some students they aren’t looking for much, they are just looking for ways to continue their educations outside of high school.

Now, I am not saying that we have to be like those countries with free education. I don’t however think that students should have to join the army, or practically have to sell an organ, to pay for college. So, maybe the college prices would be able be lowered for students who want to be able to enjoy the opportunity of college without going broke. However, I do think students should get the benfits only if they earn it. I don’t think that students should just be able to sit around and do nothing and still expect to get cheap college. But, I do think that students like me who work most of the time they are not at school should get the benefits. There is the FAFSA which is the government's way to help pay for college. But, thanks to the amount that I work I make over the amount each year that would allow me to get the highest benefits from the FAFSA. This just doesn’t seem fair. Why should I get lower benefits because I put the hours in everyday after school to make a little extra money. Just because I put the hours in doesn’t mean I am just able to save up all of that money. I have certain bills that I have to pay each month, so I don’t get to keep a lot of the money. Circumstances like mine should be able to be taken into account, and I should still be able to get more help to pay for my education.

On behalf of me, and all of the other student debtors, please take this letter into account.

Yours Truly,

Ethan Tanner