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Preston Hale

Professor Moore

Composition 1

7 October 2019

Should College Be Free?

The debate over whether or not college should be free was sparked from Bernie Sanders’

campaign in 2016 where he grabbed the attention of young adults across America when he

proposed “free” tuition to public colleges and universities. Everyone can agree that in today’s

society, college is almost essential to being able to live in the middle and middle-upper classes.

Many believe that not only is the demand for college degrees exceptionally high and continuing

to rise, but many university’s tuition is continuously rising as well. This can make it difficult for

someone to enroll in a community college or university who comes from a low income

household and has very little financial assistance. The debate over whether or not college should

be free has become a controversial topic in today’s society due to the increasing demand for

higher education following high school.

There are a few major points that people tend to hit when they are talking about whether

or not college should be free. In an article titled “Should College Be free?”, Deborah Kurfiss

stated that, “An educated population is necessary for thoughtful political participation” (Kurfiss

2). Some people believe that having a well educated populace would benefit society as a whole.

However in order for these students to reach such goals, they are fixated on the idea that free

college would eradicate student debt. “The mother of all problems in higher education today is

high tuition at public colleges and universities, which forces students into decades of debt and

makes for-profit schools seem like a plausible alternative”(Wiener 1). The ideology of starting
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life after graduating college without having to agonize over student debt is another motive as to

why such debates have risen. Some people believe that free college would level the playing field

for all people in America. Many think that if America had free college then it would give every

single person equal opportunity to get an education regardless of social status or family income.

“The extreme increase in college costs means that fewer and fewer low-income students can

attend college, and the wage gap grows larger. And those who do manage, graduate with

crushing student loan debt” (Kurfiss 8). If people graduate with crushing student debt, many

believe that it can hinder them from continuing on with their lives, like getting married, having

children, owning a home or car, or being able to accumulate wealth.

Although the thought of having free college sounds like a great concept, there are some

people who think otherwise. There are a few substantial points being made by people on the

opposing end who do not believe that school should be free. Michael Hemesath made an

interesting point in the article “‘Free’ College Doesn’t Add Up”, “A free tuition program is not,

of course, “free.” Federal and state taxpayers would pay for tuition”(Hemesath 3). Taxes would

increase significantly if the government were to implement a free college plan. Some believe the

idea that college can be “free” is quite deceiving, because even with “free” college someone still

has to pay for it. Instead of each individual person paying their own way through school, every

single person pays higher taxes which funds students tuition. A point made by Deborah Kurfiss

is that, “the cost of college tuition is increasing at a rate far surpassing inflation, and the more aid

that’s available to students the higher tuition rates go” (kurfiss 11). People worry that the ever

growing cost and enrollment will make publicly funded college tuition unfeasible. Some believe

that with the government now in control of colleges budgets, if the funding is spread too thin,

this may cause a decline in education quality (Kurfiss 13). Another point is that if the students
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are no longer having to pay for their own college, it would be devalued and the students would

take it for granted. College would just be an extension onto high school and many people believe

that a degree would be devalued because everybody would be able to get one. Deborah Kurfiss

stated in her article “Should College Be Free?” that, “This could result in more underemployed

workers who are not even able to make use of their educations” (Kurfiss 17).

The majority of people in America can concur that college in today’s society is almost

essential to enter the middle and middle-upper class. Some say that college should be free

because it would give everybody the opportunity to get an education beyond high school despite

their income, it creates an educated population which is necessary for thoughtful political

participation, and it eradicates student debt which can help students significantly after

graduating. On the other hand, some say that “free” college is not actually free when taxpayers

are funding students college education due to an increase in taxes, education quality may decline

if the government funding is spread too thin, and people who enroll in college would take it for

granted since it is free, and their degree would be devalued since everyone now has the

opportunity to go to college. Both sides of the debate make credible arguments against each other

which is why it will continue to be a controversial topic in America.

Works cited

Hemesath, Michael. “Free” College Tuition Doesn’t Add Up*. 2017. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D8DB3D63&site=eds-

live&scope=site.
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WIENER, JON. “Aiming Higher: Make College Tuition Free.” Nation, vol. 300, no. 14, Apr. 2015, pp. 224–

226. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=voh&AN=101720701&site=eds-

live&scope=site.

Kurfiss, Deborah. “Should College Be Free? We Answer The Burning Question.” Student Debt Relief |

Student Loan Forgiveness, 9 Oct. 2019, www.studentdebtrelief.us/news/should-college-be-free/.