Dear Future president,

College, Debt, Tuition, all these things are roaming around the heads of high school seniors across the United States. Which college should I go to? If I go there am I going to be trapped in debt for the rest of my life? This fall seniors all across the world will be starting the next stage of their lives. The number one factor in where students choose to go to college is the overwhelming price of college that continues to grow every year. When you graduate high school everyone imagines moving out and going to college living on their own and starting the rest of their lives. In an infographic I saw, on campusriot.com, it talked about the side effects of going to college and the overwhelming costs, “85% of students are forced to move back home.” Because the cost of college students often don't have very much money; the info-graphic also stated, “42% of students live from paycheck to paycheck.” College tuition has more than double because of the inflation for the last thirty years. Students are forced to delay buying their first home, getting married, and pursue their desired field of work because of the skyrocketing price of college.

Student loans were created to be the backbone of social mobility, but they are, in fact, a limitation on young people’s ability to achieve financial success. Thousands of students across the country look to student loan programs such as FAFSA to aid them into going to a college that they really desire, but it turns out to be a downward spiral into an insurmountable debt. An article published on US News stated,

“ When Reza Sabooni was accepted to Emory University, the advertised price was an intimidating $63,058 a year. A determined negotiator, majoring in business, Sabooni ended up paying much less than that. Though Sabooni still has had to borrow some $20,000 a year in loans. The experience, he says, "was stressful." It's surprising that Sabooni doesn't pay actual average "net price" Emory students paid in 2013-14 at $28,203, federal figures show.”

 The cost of college has more than doubled the rise of health care costs, and it is going well past the average household incomes. In another article I found, on american student assistance website stated, “27% of respondents to ASA’s survey said that they found it difficult to buy daily necessities because of their student loans,63% said their debt affected their ability to make larger purchases such as a car, and 73% said they have put off saving for retirement or other investments.” This is where the slippery slope starts. When college students put off saving for retirement or other investments then their children have to go through the same process of getting financial aid, student loans, and scholarships, then they have the insurmountable debt and the problem is recreated over and over.

Friday , January 9, 2015 President Obama released his idea of making 2 years of community college free, well pretty close to free. Does this mean that seniors should just go to a community college for 2 years and use all their scholarships and financial aid towards their last 2 years of college when they go to a university? The problem is that free college isn't really free, the cost just shifts from the students to others in the community. An article from New York times named “the problem is that free college isn't free”, stated, “the cost gets shifted from students to taxpayers and tuition is capped at zero. The tuition makes it so that the college is limited to spending money based on what the community is willing to invest.Enrollments will also increase and it causes the cost of college to increase even more.” this shows how the idea of “free college” is actually a worse idea than leaving students to pay for it through loans and financial aid. If the community decides they're done being so generous to the college what happens then, the article states, “it would strain budgets even more leading to shortages rather than increased access.” this scares a lot of people because the cost of college isn't getting smaller anytime soon, instead of making college free and shifting the pay onto other community members what could be an alternative to the cost of college? Many people start their own business after enrolling in college to try and come up with the funds to pay off their loans. Since these people are already in debt opening their own business causes them to dig a deeper hole. The article in New York times suggests, “instead of spreading scarce federal funds across all students, policymakers should target those resources for those who need it the most and give them the option of public or private.” this will cause colleges to have money as more students enroll because then federal money is going towards those who need it most and the upper and middle class students can’t take advantage of free college when they can afford to pay the price of college. Colleges will have excess money so they don't have to rely on the generosity of the community for how much money they can spend, but now, more and more students are enrolling bringing more and more money to the college.

In the end college is still one of the most stressful and intimidating things that seniors across the united states are constantly thinking about. It doesn't have to be though, with the chance for community college and the financial aids, scholarships and etc. there is many alternatives to paying for the skyrocketing costs of college. If the cost of college is too much there can be new and better things offered to those students that qualify. College should be the next chapter in your life and everyone should be extremely ecstatic to attend a college, community or a university. College is right around the corner, what can you do to help? 

      -sincerely Andrew Jones

Works cited

-By. "President Proposes Two Years of Free College for Students." Newsela. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

-N.p., n.d. Web.

-@SurvivinCollege. "Infographic: The Side Effects of College Costs | Surviving College." Campus Riot. N.p., 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

-"How Tuition Increases Affect College Students." Our Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

-@OU_com. "15 Surprising Side Effects of Rising College Costs - OnlineUniversities.com." OnlineUniversitiescom. N.p., 17 Oct. 2016. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

-"Developing Appraisal Tools and Strategies." New Directions for Student Services1988.43 (1988): 25-38. Web.