Dear Future President,

Education is a very important thing that impacts many people. In order to do well in our society today education is a requirement. However, there is one problem to this statement. It is very hard to afford higher education. This is an issue that has a greater impact on our society as a whole. In order for our society to make important advancements we need to have affordable education available for the majority of the people. This issue needs to be addressed right away, as it is something that cannot fix itself.

The cost of higher education needs to be lowered. For the most part, the cost of going to college is about the same for each year of college, no matter what your major is. Some shocking statistics were presented by Anna Bernasek, “Since 1969, the average cost of college has almost doubled compared with the median family income. That cost includes tuition, fees, and room and board for full-time students at degree-granting institutions--for both public and private colleges and universities. Back then, the average cost came to $9,502 after adjusting for inflation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By 2012, the average was $19,339. With a typical family earning $51,017--the U.S. median income--college tuition for just one child will absorb almost 40 percent of their income. That surpasses housing as the single biggest household expense.” (Bernasek 1) According to the College Board, the average cost of college in the previous school year was $9,410 at public colleges for state residents, $32,405 for private colleges, and $23,893 at public colleges for out-of-state residents. That being said, one major will have jobs in their field that will make more money than another major when they finish college and go on with their career. If they both have the same amount of student loans, but one student makes more money than the other after college, it will be harder for one to pay off their loans than the other. The reason that this is so problematic is that there is no rank of costs based on the salary of the jobs available to the students after they graduate college. While there are the extremes, such as doctors and lawyers at the very top, generally, this statement is true. This is an important issue that needs to be addressed right away, and who better to address it than the future president?

As a student who plans on going to college after I finish high school, I personally see the effects the cost of college can have. School is no longer about learning, it is about getting good grades to have a chance of getting into the college that I would like to attend. In order to be able to afford going to that college, however, scholarships are a necessity. If I am not given the scholarships, then I will likely be living with the effects of student loans. This issue is extremely important because there are so many people like myself who deal with the same struggles everyday.

I am writing this letter to you today to ask that you are the one to break the cycle. To fix an issue that has been going on for too long. It is time that something is done about the cost of higher education, as this issue will only get worse with time. The only way to prevent the costs from going up, is to fix the issue altogether. Such a vast amount of people are impacted by this, that it is time to put an end to it, and what better time to start than now.

Sincerely,

Kate S

Kielser, Charles A. "What's behind soaring college costs?" USA Today, July 1994, p. 66+. Student Edition, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=STOM&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA15594526&it=r&asid=f5280bc40bc5ea3761bd6d1025a1c51b.

Sowell, Thomas. "Why college tuition costs so much." Consumers' Research Magazine, Sept. 1992, p. 16+. Student Edition, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=STOM&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA12627551&it=r&asid=5e1e6a92cd6679d37be5df140460ed5f.

Bernasek, Anna. "It's a Plane. It's a Yacht. No, It's Your Tuition Bill." Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2014, p. 1. Student Edition, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=STOM&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA363886073&it=r&asid=450919e663e4fb4d1e964a50919755cf.