Dear Next President, 

We need to promote pre-college opportunities that help to lower college prices and in the end, the amount of loans someone needs to take out.

In 1995 the average cost of public in-state schools was under 5,000 dollars and private a little under 15,000 dollars whereas in 2015 public in-state schools have increased by 5,000 dollars- raising it to 10,000 dollars and private has skyrocketed up to 40,000 dollars per usnews.com. Each year with an increasing price of tuition the strain of debt on students rises because people still want to go to school. These debts, acquired through student loans and the inability to pay them off could be lower.

One of the cheapest opportunities is dual enrollment- a program that allows students to take college classes while in high school. This method is ideal because the school pays for most of the class’s expenses, the student only paying for the books. Dual enrollment pushes the students academically- causing them to juggle both high school and college classes.

Another common method available to high school students is AP classes or advance placement. This opportunity allows the student to take the class at a faster pace and college standard.At the end of an AP class the student has the option to pay to take a test- colleges are typically looking or fives and fours as a score. Wayne State, which is only one example out of the many colleges that accept AP credits, shows on their website the long list of credits they take. A three on the AP Language test gets you the basic composition-the general understanding while fives or fours can get you an intermediate. AP classes show students what to expect coursework to be like as well as adapt them to the faster pace.

Both methods allow the student to get their college credits before entering college. These students, some credits already in hand, are put at an advantage because they have less to pay and do not have to take as many loans. As the president and a public figure people will look to you for their future. The promotion of AP classes and dual enrollment opportunities is a huge necessity. Collegeboard.org mentions that 40 percent of schools do not offer AP classes. The lack of schools that offer these opportunities can account for the large amount of students with loan debt. Getting more schools to open to the idea of AP classes would decrease the high debt students face years later.

Not only would these classes allow for cheaper college years but these opportunities also show how rigorous college can be. There is also the lack of preparation for students before going into college. Many people go into college thinking it's okay to figure out a career path later in life. This is a mistake because while they sit around in college looking for a sense of direction, their costs of classes go up and up each year. If schools schools put more organization into their college preparation there can be potential for a future where college costs less than it does not. As the next president of the United States of America, I ask you to take charge of these programs and bring them to the rest country.