Letter to the Next President

Dear Future President,

Many students in high school have this goal of going to a name brand college and getting a great job that they just love to do. But these goals do not always work out like you want them to. There is one big problem that stands in the way of many students all across the country; money. The cost of tuition each year can increase by the thousands. In a small research project I had conducted last year, it costs nearly $185,000 for a 6 year bachelor's program at the University of Michigan. Most people don't just have money like that laying around. Although loan plans may cover most of the initial cost of college, you could be in debt for a very long time. All in all, because of high tuition costs in American colleges, students go to the college of their desire; this is why we should lower college tuition costs.

For the past 15-20 years, students have had trouble getting into good colleges due to money problems. Many colleges use the excuse of having to pay for technology and machines; but really it could be avoided. Some colleges even raise their tuition costs by the thousands to achieve this goal. In the article ¨College Tuition On Rise¨ by the NYTimes author Karen Demasters, she explains to us ¨College tuition rates regularly increase faster than the rate of inflation because colleges are labor-intensive and technology-intensive and both are expensive¨. She is trying to explain to us that payment for colleges are getting more and more expensive all of the time because of advancing technologies. But this doesn't help us students. Some colleges are costing families way to much money to pay. Altogether, this shows that the price increases for colleges aren't making it easier to pay this kind of money.

Some smaller colleges across the country are offering options for free schooling in certain masters programs of the laboring force. In the article “Free College Options Still Exist, for those willing to build ships, milk cows or salute” by Ariel Llaminer of the NY Times, It shows us that “ A few outliers across the country and even New York State offer a college education for one price that looks good in any economy, nothing.” This is showing us that there are still some options around the country for those looking for certain laboring jobs. But in all honesty this doesn't help all students. Although this is a great start to lowering tuition costs, many people don’t prefer to go into a laboring job when they become older. But in conclusion, starting free college is a great start for students and their parents and would be beneficial for many looking to go to college.

Every year, many colleges across the country increase their tuition costs based on how much the family income is per year. In home equity loans they will make financial aid for the family just over the estimated value of the income. In the article “College Tuition Not On House” by New York Times author Bob Tedeschi he visualizes for us that “If an applicant had, say, $500,000 in available home equity and the household income was $100,000, some of these colleges would consider only $120,000 of home equity in their financial aid calculations, or 1.2 times the family's income. Others would multiply the household income by 1.5 or 2, instead.” This is showing us that these colleges are purposely making it more less money than the home equity value and are limiting so many people based on income rates. But in the end, Colleges are sometimes cheating us out of our own home equity money.

In conclusion, as the result of high tuition costs in American colleges, students can’t go the the college that they want and this is why we should lower tuition costs. Many different sources are showing that tuition costs are rising at a very fast rate. This is a very large problem in the U.S. today. Students aren’t getting the education that they need and they, we are the minds of the future. It’s not just for them it is for us. So what I ask from you Mr(s). President is to collaborate with the financial advisors of U.S. colleges and lower the price of tuition. Maybe support fundraisers for lowering price of individual tuition, raise money for the young minds of America and get them the education they need.

Sincerely,

Ben