August M. Oregon

Scholars and Students

Proposing the idea of a class for high school students that will help reduce College debt.

Dear President,

Americans owe nearly 1.3 trillion dollars in student debt. Among the 43 million students that are in debt, the class of 2016 have an average debt of over $37,000. Approximately 60% of all students graduate college with student debt, according to Student Loan Hero and to Debt.org. College is far too expensive, and in order to change these staggering statistics, I would like to advise a change in the process in which students can obtain scholarships and college funding.

In order to better educate students on how to obtain scholarships, and for them to be able to recognize their own abilities, it needs to be required for every student interested in going to college to take a class called Scholars and Skills, a class that teaches every student how to recognize how they contribute to society and how they can make it known. This class will help students learn to take advantage of opportunities and teach them how to earn money before, during, and after school. This in turn will help thousands of young adults help pay for their debts.

Every student has something that they can contribute to society. However, despite many of the college bound students in America, many simply aren’t aware of the money they can earn through scholarships and talents. As said by Debt.org, scholarships and grants are referred to as “gift aid” because you don't have to pay the organization back. These can be a huge help for many of those interested in college, and it can also be a huge financial help before you dig yourself a hole of debt.

Student debt in the U.S. is getting out of control, and because we can’t just lower the cost of college directly, we must come up with other solutions. Can you imagine how it feels to live the rest of your life paying off debt that you accumulated while trying to better yourself? That's just not morally right no matter how you look at it. People should not have to pay such dues for trying to better ourselves for our own country. Further educating students in high school on how to afford college is the best route at this very moment. We must teach students how to use their already polished skills to propel themselves through college, and the best way to do this, is for you to to help in the fight to make Scholars and Students a requirement for high school.