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In my opinion, college education should be free. The world is changing, and now, it is simply impossible to get anywhere without a degree. And for many, this is very hard or impossible because of the high costs of college. No matter how smart and successful these young people are, they will not be able to use their skills to contribute to our society because they cannot go to college and get a good job. With free college education, these obstacles don’t exist for them.

The potential to cure cancer may lie within a young person who was born into a poor family, but is passionate about medicine anyways. Shouldn’t we give them the opportunity to apply this passion?

In an article by Bernie Sanders, he mentions that college is tuition free in Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Mexico, and Germany. They manage just fine, so why we can’t we do it? According to an article by Chris Orsterndorf, it is even possible for the government to pay for college tuition from what it already spends on its aids budget (college grants, etc..), if they put it towards tuition. Otherwise, we could cut unnecessary spending in areas like the military, for example.

People on the other side of this debate may argue that even if we do let more people into college, it does not ensure their success. This is a vast overgeneralization. Though probably true in some cases, there would definitely be many successes. Poor people are taught from a very young age to value everything they have. If they were given the opportunity to go to college, they would feel grateful for the opportunity to pursue their dreams and therefore try their best.

College is basically the new high school. You used to be able to get a good job out of high school, but that is no longer a possibility. Education is the basis of our society, and because of this, having more students in college benefits everyone. Individuals are able to pursue the career they want while society as a whole benefits from the products, services, and ideas these students may offer them. It’s time we stopped pushing them into the shadows because they do not have the money to make it through college.