Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to inform you of an issue that many Americans face today and will continue to face if something is not done. Are you aware that 66% of students who graduated from a four year college are left with debt to pay from student loans? That is a lot of people but, with your help that number could drastically decrease.

I am sixteen years old, a fourth of the way through my junior year. This year is when teenagers start looking at colleges and getting prepared. Many students will have to worry about if they will be able to get into the school they want or even be able to go to college at all. We have to start trying to qualify for scholarships, look at options that may lower the total cost of our schooling, and so much more. Is that the kind of pressure a sixteen year old should feel, along with having to worry about high school and possibly a job?

Student loans are a large source of being the reason kids will be able to go to college but, the toll they take on those students future is severe. “Americans owe nearly $1.3 trillion in student loan debt, spread out among about 44 million borrowers.” As I mentioned earlier, 66% of students will graduate and be in debt because of student loans. The average debt for americans is $30,100. That is a 4% increase from people who graduated in 2014. A 4% rise in only three years is too much. My parents, well into their forties, are continuing to pay off their debt. They will continue to do so for the rest of their lives. That thought is stuck in my head and will not go away. Paying the rest of my life so that I could be able to live comfortably? Who would want that?

As an article in the Huffington post has said, in the last thirty years college costs have risen 1,120%. This is ridiculous. Elementary school is free. High school is free. Why should it not be the same for college? With these prices in college, students who have to pay their way on their own will have little money to spend on anything else. If the campus is large, they may need to walk everywhere because they can’t own a car. Some students may be living off of Ramen Noodles and boxes of cereal to lower the cost of their expenses.

It is up to you to fix this issue. I don’t want to be worrying about my future and paying off my debt for the rest of my life. Will you help us?

Sincerely, Madeline S.

Work Cited

Mosbergen, Dominique. "Cost Of College Degree In U.S. Has Increased 1,120 Percent In 30 Years, Report Says." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.

"The Institute For College Access and Success." State by State Data 2015. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.

"U.S. Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2016 | Student Loan Hero." Student Loan Hero. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2016.