What if students were able to graduate college with almost no student loans? I have an idea.
Each year the students of the senior class must choose what they would like to do with their life after high school.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2021 43% of high school students in the United States enrolled in a 4-year high school out of high school and 19% of students enrolled in a 2-year college.
Regardless of which post-high school education option students choose, most leave them with substantial amounts of student debt. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities States states that the average amount of student debt of someone who attends a U.S. University is $25,921.
This is an insane amount to try and pay in full, especially for a student who just graduated and is looking for a steady job with steady pay. In fact, The Education Data Initiative says it takes the average student 20 years to pay off their student loans.
While making schooling free in the United States would be amazing, I don’t believe that it would be feasible. Taxes will increase, people will get angry, and the government officials who want free schooling will not get elected or reelected.
In the United States most people do not want to help pay for those who can’t afford things for themselves.
With that being said, there are organizations that help students who may not be able to afford schooling continue their education with scholarships.
For those who wouldn’t qualify to earn scholarships from these programs, the government could provide a larger selection of free money to students who have a 3.5 GPA or above. By doing this we are not only able to give assistance to those who need it but also to those who would likely use it the best.
Instead of raising taxes by an outrageous amount, we could raise them only slightly to help pay for more scholarship options. I would make the maximum family income $30,000 so that we are not paying completely for tuition but are still assisting students who deserve it and need help.
Not only would giving financial assistance allow for students to receive the full college experience, they will be able to make more money. According to Indeed, somebody who graduated from a 4-year university makes $24,139 more than someone who did not earn a college degree.
From a money standpoint, if someone could make that much more just by earning and education, our nation would have better educated citizens, a highly educated workforce, and a decreasing poverty rate.
Overall, I think that the choice is almost obvious: make money easier to obtain, and instead of offering completely free college, offer more assistance through scholarships and government grants.
