Dear Next President,

I am currently a junior in high school, and college is right around the corner. Along with the great experiences and education that come with college, so does its price tag. In recent years, the cost of a college education has increased dramatically. This could pose a problem for students across the country. When you take office, can you please address this growing problem?

In recent years, getting a college education has become vital to those who want to have a higher income. According to the United States Census Bureau and collegeatlas.org, people who have a college degree will make an average of over one million dollars more than a person who only has a high school education. This is a significant amount of money, and a lot of people want to gain a higher education for this purpose. Along with the aspect of making more money, many students also go to college in order to gain many new experiences as well as gaining connections that may make it easier to get a job later in life. Although a college education is not needed in order to make money, and even though it does not guarantee a more successful life, it certainly does increase your chances of making more money, and it gives you opportunities you may not otherwise be afforded. Many people with only a high school diploma have to start at unskilled, entry level jobs, whereas people with a college degree can often start at higher paying positions, and have more opportunity to progress to better positions at a company in the future.

Based on all of the advantages of a college education, many students want to go to college. However, according to John Schoen of CNBC, the cost of college education has about doubled since the nineties. This increase has led to a lot of students struggling to afford their education. The students want all of the benefits that a college education offer, but they also need to be able to afford the cost. The increasing cost would especially affect people with lower incomes since they may already be struggling to pay for their college tuition. The increasing cost of tuition, could then also lead to the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. With the rich being able to afford a college education and then being able to make even more money, versus the poor who wouldn’t be able to afford college and as a result would earn less money. This is a growing problem, and could lead to a massive gap between the rich and the poor.

I understand the government already does provide free education to those who serve in the military however I believe that people shouldn’t have to serve for several years in order to get a higher education. Students do not necessarily need to have a free education, but would like the rising prices to stop, and to help make it more affordable so that people do not have to go into the military to get a college education if they are not wealthy. In addition, not all people are suited for military life, so even though serving in the military offers students a chance to lower their college costs, this may not be an option for all students.

With my college years coming soon, please consider looking at this growing problem, so that students across the country will not have to worry about how they will afford their higher education.