Dear Future President of the United States of America,

My name is Anna and I am currently in 9th grade at Greenwich High School in the state of Connecticut. With college a little under four years away, school has become quite stressful. I would like to discuss something that at this time is very important to me and that I feel you as the President of our country could help to improve. The issue at hand is the outrageously high cost of college tuition.

Today’s young generation experiences more stress, higher expectations of them, and less free time than ever before. They worry about getting good grades in school as well as doing well on the SAT’s and other standardized tests. In addition to this, young adults are burdened with the high cost of college tuition. As a result, many high school graduates are unable to further their education and this is unfair. Where I live, a fair amount of students do not face the financial issues that the rest of America and parts of the world face. I am extremely blessed and lucky to not have to deal with these issues. Although these financial issues affect me only indirectly, college tuition is an issue that is important to me because I don’t only care about my education, but I care about all young adults who strive to become college educated. I believe education is something everyone in the world deserves the right to have, and money is not something that should be an issue when discussing the possibilities for young adults to get a higher education. The majority of Americans do have to deal with financial crises and many are not given the opportunity to get a good education because of their economical standings. This is an unfair disadvantage to these people. Education for everyone throughout America needs to be attainable to all young people, and as the next president of the United States, I hope you realize this and work toward making it possible for all colleges to provide a free education to all high school graduates.

College tuition has skyrocketed over the last four decades, making it difficult for many Americans to attend higher educational institutions. The New York Times says, “In 1974, attending a four-year private college cost around $2,000 a year: affordable, with some scrimping, to even median earners. As for public university, it was a bargain at $510 a year.” This statistic represents that roughly 40 years ago college tuition cost at most about $2,000. In today’s world this amount of money is basically nothing compared to college tuitions today. The New York Times then goes on to say, “Tuition at a private university is now roughly three times as expensive as it was in 1974, costing an average of $31,000 a year; public tuition, at $9,000, has risen by nearly four times. This is a painful bill for all but the very richest.” These statistics are the very high prices of college tuitions in today’s world. Although over time everything tends to get more expensive, college is one thing that drastically has gotten more expensive over time which is quite unnecessary. According to The College Board, the average 2014-2015 tuition increase was 3.7 percent at private colleges, and 2.9 percent at public universities. The ten-year historical rate of increase is approximately 5 percent. With college tuition like this rising each year who knows what college tuition could be decades from now? These statistics support my concerns on this issue. Our country needs you, Mr.or Madam President, to avoid an increase in college tuition and to instead decrease it!

All young people have the right to attend public schools at no cost in America. This should hold true for those attending college as well. If every high school graduate had the opportunity to become college educated, it would automatically better our country as a whole. Because college graduates have the advantage of being employed in the workforce more readily than those don’t hold higher degrees, poverty rates would drop in America. An educated young adult would encounter more open than closed doors.

In conclusion, we are the children and future leaders of our country and we need the opportunity to attain a college degree without incurring tremendous debt and loans. As a result, the people of this great United States of America will thrive in the workforce and continue to be a part of the strong nation we live in.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Anna K.