Dear Future President, 

You are the future leader of our country, but my fellow classmates and I are the future. Most of us have big plans and bright futures that include a secondary education after high school. For many jobs, having a college education is necessary. It is the best way to deepen our education and prepare for our occupation that we will choose to do. The problem is that many of us either can not afford it or are afraid of the debts that will come from attending a university. According to U.S. News, the average student debt loans are about $30,000 per student. That is way to high in my opinion. 

The debt not only affects the students, but it also affects the economy. Once the student graduates from college, they focus on repaying that $30,000 in debt instead of buying and spending money. This affects the economy negatively because the 44.2 million Americans with student debt (according to Student Loan Hero) are not spending very much money. Spending money is what makes the economy work, and with that many people scraping to pay their debts, those students are not spending as much money. 

In past generations, college was viewed as a luxury and was not essential, but in the past years it is vital to have that next level of education. According to Pew Research Center, a college graduate makes significantly more than someone who has not gone to college. Also, according to the same source, unemployment and poverty rates for college graduates are much less than that of students who have not attended college. These statistics would make you think that more high school graduates are attending college, but that is not the case. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the percent of high school graduates going to college has been decreasing in the last four years and has fallen almost 5%. What could be a reason for students not going to college, if it is proven that college graduates are, for the most part, more successful than those who do not have a college education? The answer has to be cost. It is an issue now, and will only become bigger in the future. If more people could afford college, our population as a whole would be smarter and more educated, which would only help our country. 

Sincerely,

Lauren Hamann