Dear Next President,

There are a number of reasons as to why students don’t attend college but one of the most common issues with going to college is due to high tuition rates. Yes, you could get a student loan, but loan debt can affect anyone as they are trying to organize themselves into the workforce.

All we want is an education we can use in the future at a price that we can afford. If college tuition was made affordable and so students would not need to borrow money constantly, there would be more people helping to set America in the right direction for the coming generations. These recurring money issues are an implication that is explained but not fully understood until you’re handling your own finances. We all sit contemplating, letting this boil over in our heads and it scares us. Wouldn't it be nice to not have to worry about paying off your student loans for the duration of your time in college? Once college is over and you are looking for a job, you don’t need any extra work on your hands such as your student loans that you need to pay off.

Studies shown, over 45 million of all Americans were living below the poverty line in 2014, most of them are not able to go to college. You see, people often expect teenagers to finish high school and go straight to college as soon as possible, but that’s not always the case. For example, a student with a GPA of 4.0 may not be able to attend college because they don’t have enough money to pay for tuition which may also decrease their chances of getting a better job. This is something that can affect America greatly, even though we don’t think it’s that big of an issue. All of these smart and intelligent people that could help benefit our society aren’t getting the education they deserve. Reasons being, because they’re either in debt or they can’t afford to pay college tuition, both are financial issues. Not only that but when you can’t finish college or get into college, you worry about what you’ll do in the future and how you’ll support yourself and your family. As you know, poverty has been and is a huge problem right now whether it’s because people can’t get a job or they just don’t make enough money to support themselves and their family on a daily basis.

The College Board reports that full-time students at private institutions typically paid almost $44,000 for tuition, fees, room and board during the 2015-2016 academic year. That's the average, so costs at some private colleges and universities were well over $50,000 per year. Higher education at public schools was much less expensive, but in-state students still spent nearly $20,000 on average. Many Americans are struggling to pay for college now but if these costs keep increasing, how will we ever be able to?

As president, you probably don’t have college tuition as one of your top priorities but in today’s generation, we all need a good education to start us off when we start to establish ourselves into the working world. If we want to succeed in life, we need a good education. Right now, college tuition is the only thing stopping us from succeeding. How much better would we do, if we knew we could afford a better education?

Sincerely,

Pachia Amy Yang