Dear Next President,

Very few jobs exist for those who do not have a college education. Employers look for people with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. Recruiters look for people who are capable enough to multi task. There has been an increase of many activities and necessary courses students must take in order to graduate. Employers wants people that stand out in a crowd and without proper education finding a good-paying job is not possible. People go through great measures to get the proper education they deserve, but student loans blocks the path to a successful future.

Student loans are a great help for many people, but college costs are much higher than the loans they may be able to afford. When a student can’t afford anymore, they look towards their parents for financial help but, as wages are decreasing so, is the amount of money they may be able to afford to give. According to Jillian Berman she wrote on 19th of January 2016, “Middle class wages are stagnant-Middle-wage workers’ hourly wage is up 6% since 1979, low-wage workers’ wages are down 5%, while those with very high wages saw a 41% increase.” Most students in college are from a middle class family and it takes about 76 percent of their annual income to pay a student’s tuition and expenses at a college. A study researched at the Vanderbilt University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Institute for Research in Higher Education found that since 2008, overall college affordability has fallen in 45 states, owing in part to slash state spending on higher education. To be able to afford college a student may need to work so many hours to pay the bills that it will take away the focus from studies. To be able to afford college a student may need to work so many hours to pay the bills that it will take away the focus from studies. It is ironic that some students work to pay for school in order to stay out of debt, but because that student is working he/she is unable to devote enough time to his/her studies to be successful in college and ultimately get a better paying job. It is a vicious cycle. On 29th April of 2016 Joseph William quoted, “Education policymakers must seek to lessen the financial burden of higher education on these families,” a reporter says. “Unless we make college affordable for people of all financial means, opportunity through higher education will be a false promise.” Students who have worked hard throughout their whole life to become successful will be held back due to their financial status.

As we moved to the United States I learned that Medicare and Education are both expensive and if ever borrowed loan it will take a lifetime for all the money of hard work to repay. My parents do not know U.S system of college since they just migrated from a foreign country not long ago. I was curious to know the reason of our migration, so; I asked my father, “Why did we shifted to the U.S, even though we had good financial life in our native country?” And he replied, “It was so, you could have a better education.” I thought about the answer many times and came up with one answer: I agree that U.S education system is one of the best but, also one of the most expensive. In school, I have been asked what I wanted to be but, I never had an answer and my cousin always did. Her childhood dream to become a pediatrician was unfulfilled when her parents told her that her “dream” cost them too much. I always wonder that if her parents have been in the U.S for fifteen years who still can’t afford college and my parents only have been in the U.S for five years, what would happen to me? What if I am not worthy enough to receive a scholarship?

College expenses are like discrimination for the middle class family since only the rich can afford it. The subjects we study in college will help us get the appropriate job that will help United States financially.

All in all, if you, future president, would like the U.S to become a better place filled with many college graduates that could compete against other top countries, I suggest that college expenses should be based on the family monthly income and how much they will be able to afford education, overall. In the United States it is the president’s duty to serve its people equally no matter the status in society. With your help, as our next president, we could create America a place where the future generations will be able to afford an education that will make the United States a brighter place.

Sincerely,

Yugma, S