“A college education shows a man how little other people know.” That quote, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton is one that definitely hits hard. Do you agree with it? As shown by the quote, Haliburton was very pro-college and shows how good of an opportunity college is for those who have the chance to go. Whether someone should go to college or not if they can afford it, is a universal yes. Everyone agrees that if you can go to college, that you should go. There is one topic that has to do with college that people do not agree on. That is how it should be afforded because college is getting expensive and out of reach for some people. There are arguments that college should be free and that the taxpayer should pay for it. Despite wanting to help others out, this should hopefully never happen. I think there are many ways to make college affordable on top of how expensive it would be to the taxpayer to make college free. Nothing is free in this life. 

When doing my research, I decided to use my sources by asking friends and family about this topic, Jack Easterby, assistant General Manager of the New England Patriots, told me that “nothing is free in life. If you didn’t have to work for it or pay for it, someone else did.” This statement I think is very applicable to my topic and shows that even though college may be “free”, ultimately, it is not. For example, if Bernie Sanders, presidential candidate in 2016, wanted to take steps toward making college free, his plan would being at 70 billion dollars a years. This is an outrageous amount. How can one claim “free” college when this is the cost of the tax payer yearly? 

That being said, there is also a problem about the time that free college has come about. Net Tuition prices are rising. Tuition is the cost of college besides food, living, and books. In the year of 1987, the net tuition price for your average college student was $6,000. That is very cheap and a price that I think everyone can love and appreciate, but after only twenty-five years, the net tuition for college now is $13,000. That is a substantial jump of $7,000 in a quarter century. It is mind blowing that even the thought of free college is coming up when there are tuition rates constantly rising. To even begin the process of free college, the net tuition price needs to decrease and become much lower for it to begin. To build on this, a scarier fact in that the increased use of financial aid for people is making tuition rates 17%. That is a horrifying statistic to someone who does believe in “free” college. Granting financial aid is something that allows students to afford a school that they sometimes would not be able to afford. Sadly, increased use of financial aid is being giving and that is causing college to be more expensive. How can someone who believes in a free higher education truly think that it is possible if small grants of financial aid are making the cost of college go up. 

The first source I turned to is “Free Tuition is Not the Answer” by Catharine Hill is about how politicians are very critical of higher education and “there it is much more to college affordability than lower prices.” It sounds like a great idea but it wouldn’t affect those in middle-and low-income backgrounds. Hill explains how people need to focus on what they are asked to pay and not making it free for everyone. The proposals for free college ignore the fact that the states don’t want to support these institutions which in turn puts the burden on the families, increasing tuition and debt. Furthermore, if the money can’t be replaced than that 

means there will be fewer resources to teach the students. Overall, Hill is saying that we need to focus on creating a stronger need-based financial aid policy to solve this problem. She is a very authoritative figure. or of economics at Vassar College. She is more than qualified to write about this topic. I doubled checked her facts to make sure they were accurate. New York Times is also a well-known news source that is known for their credibility 

A counterargument is from author Tami Lubby. “Can Bernie Sanders deliver free college for all? Not so easily” by Tami Luhby is about how complicated trying to have free college for all people. It talks about how costly it is for states, who would take the biggest hit under Sanders plan. They would have to make the choice of either raising taxes or cut funding programs. In addition, Luhby explained how employers would like free tuition because they would be hiring more educated employees. Finally, she also explains how it can boost local economies. Lubby, as well, has a lot of authority on this topic. She uses links in the article to show his readers that he knows what he is talking about. For example, he uses the article, “Free college and healthcare for all—how would Bernie Sanders pay for it” to refer to Bernie Sanders plan for free tuition.  

Another source that belongs to this topic comes from Matt Bruenig. In this article, “The Case Against Free College”, the author, Matt Bruenig, presents many different problems that there may be if Free College was a thing. He also shows many different numbers that show why Free College should never happen. He presents arguments such as those who need free college typically get it from one institution or another. Bruenig, like the other two sources, has a lot of credibility in this area. In this article, Matt Bruenig presented many different numbers that one may question if they are accurate or not. After doing my research, I found that these numbers are extremely accurate and are quoted from major websites. Bruenig’s credentials are strong as he has been doing articles for Dissent Magazine for multiple years. He also cites counter-arguments which he helps diminish. 

All in all, college is a very expensive, but beneficial thing that this world offers. It a chance for people to gain knowledge on an advanced to be better prepared for the world. It is supposed to help people gain an edge in the job market and prepare people to know what they are doing in the business world. All this being said, college is a very expensive thing. I am very interested in this topic because the question “Should college be free?” is a very intriguing question that deserves an answer. Making something free is very nice and who doesn’t like free stuff? But a very important and expensive thing to run like college? I do not think anything should be free in life especially not college. Institutions of learning have become more affordable with many different scholarships. There are also more colleges than ever before so there are many opportunities to find a college at the right price. Often times I will see people complain about college not being free by those who may not even have the grades to get in to college. This speaks a lot to me because I think they should have just worked harder in high school. The cost of making it free is just too much to the taxpayer. I do not find the cost of this operation worth what it would produce.