By Marisa Papagelis, Kaitlyn Corcoran, Mirna Gouhar, Abby McGinn
 One of the many things that America takes pride in is it’s advanced educational system. In America, everyone has the right to a free public education; however, once it comes to college, that right seems to disappear. College is notorious for its costs and only those who can afford it are able to attend and get a higher level of education. Many other countries, such as Germany, Brazil, Finland, and Norway, offer free college, so why doesn’t America?

 According to the College Board, in the 2014-2015 school year, the average cost of college was $31,231 for private colleges, $9,139 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,958 for out-of state residents attending public universities. American’s education should not be limited by the overwhelmingly high cost of college.

 A step towards goal of creating a free education to everyone would start with making state colleges free to attend. College is a place to learn, and if someone cannot afford college, they will end up not receiving a good education. This could affect them later in life when it comes time to get a job. Companies lean towards those who have a college degree compared to those who don’t when hiring employees.

 If someone  who couldn’t afford college were to pay to for college by taking out loans, they would graduate college in debt. On average, 70% of students graduate college in debt. This debt would follow them around for the rest of their life and it would be hard to pay off.

Only 30% of students who enroll in college end up graduating. One of the main reasons why students drop out of college is because they simply don’t have the money to pay for their education. Students who want to learn, but cannot afford it, should not be penalized and have to drop out of college. In addition to this, by the time students drop out of college because of financial reasons, they have already wasted much of their time and money trying to start something that they cannot afford to finish.

Another reason why college tuition should be free is because it would lower the unemployment rate tremendously. If all 18-24 year olds in the United States attended college, the unemployment rate would be lowered by over two million people. Also, if more people get jobs, fewer people would need government assistance and the government could use that money towards other things.

When America passed a law to guarantee equality and education to everyone, it was a huge step in the development of our country. Now, it’s time to take an even bigger leap and create a free higher education for anyone who would like it.
Sources:

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-do-european-countries-afford-free-college-2015-6

http://www.collegeaftermath.com/life-adventures-after-college/5-countries-with-free-university-education/

http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/index.php?submeasure=63&year=2010&level=nation&mode=graph&state=0

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.SEC.NENR/countries?display=default

https://www.aclu.org/your-right-equality-education

http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-samuels/why-all-public-higher-edu_b_1099437.html