Marissa Smith

College Comp 1
Argumentive Essay
05/24/2017

Educational Eutopia

For those that seek to enlarge their minds and not their debts look no

further than the applications of what a free college education could do. Going to

college may seem like an easy choice at first. However, the after graduation

massive student loan debt that can cause anyone to feel hindered or even cause

bright minds to rethink going to college. Every parent will have to consider can they

afford college for their children? The average cost of a four-year university in 2016-

2017 is roughly $24,934, this is roughly half the average U.S. household income. In

the face of such large amount of debt some people may choose to not attend

college, not due to academics but entirely because of financial reasons. Some may

not even have the option to choose to. Hindering or preventing the ability of all

individuals to seek further education based on income of their parents or the

student themselves is an issue in America. Furthering education can lead to

increased income compared to a non-college graduate over the course of their

lifetime as well as bettering the future of their other generations. Free college would

a good thing as it allows more people to further their education that normally

couldn't while also helping the country grow.

 Free college would allow access to education that previously was not

available to many groups of people. Seeking further education should not be based

on whether your wallet can afford it or not. For instance, studies show that one in

ten people from a low-income family will get a degree (Flannery). This means that 9

out of 10 people in low-income families will not get a degree and be unable to

further their education. It's estimated that roughly 44% of children in the US live in

low-income families (Sillers). This means that a large portion of children, people who

will one day have the option to choose college will be unable to seek it. Having free

college would open possible choices that were previously unavailable to a large

portion of the population. In Germany university enrollment saw an increase of 22%

as tuition disappeared (Hechinger). That is a large increase, if we say 1000 people

normally would be there a 22% increase means that 220 more people would be

seeking a college education, to look at it across the board, considering the

following. In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American

colleges and universities (NCES). At 20.5 million, America at a 22% increase could

expect up to 4.5 million additional students, this is a massive number of people that

originally couldn't attend or afford college.

An educated population has a greater ability to positively affect the

economy and better assist in social benefits for their respective countries. A greatly

increased number of college educated individuals could lead to a flourishing

economy. A study in Germany showed that university graduates earn 40% more

than those with only a vocational education (Hechinger). At a 40% higher earning

the educated population has a greater ability to affect the economy by having more

income to spend on nonessential goods, which in turn could create more jobs. A

larger income also allows for more taxes, taxes that can be used for such things as:
public education, food aid, Medicare, veteran affairs, research funding, courts, and

law enforcement just to name a few.

A concerned raised is that free college would just be helping the rich get

help that they certainly don't need. This argument suggests a more targeted reform

of subsidizing college that is for the poor and the middle class instead of for

everyone. Citing Brazil as an example, Brazil's "free" college only enrolls 1/4th of all

the college students in the country. However, this 1/4th is mostly occupied by

wealthy or middle class students instead of middle class and low income based

students. Millions of Brazilian students fight for spots at the top-tier federal

universities, but they are normally edged out by wealthy students whose families

have the money to send them to a private high school for better education and

preparation for the entry tests (Jackson). Around 3/4th of all college students are

forced to alternative schools, such as for-profit schools, thus defeating the purpose

of "free college".

While a targeted reform would certainly help against the rich abusing the

free tuition, how do we as a country decide where to draw the line? Consider for one

moment that the average American household makes roughly $54,305 (Fool). The

average American college tuition for four years is just around half that. If their child

went for free they could avoid a massive worry of how to help their child, taxes

could be lenient towards the middle class and low-income families while maintaining

a much higher tax for the wealthy. They wealthy are still able to send their children

to college for free but aren't taking advantage of it as they are paying even more to

help the other children go to school who normally couldn't afford it. The funding

would allow for larger colleges, or possibly more colleges to accommodate more
students. Brazil's main issue is that the wealthy lock down the possible spots in the

free tuition colleges and instead force others to go to for-profit colleges.

An argument is raised that free college would be expensive and

unrealistic to maintain for an extended period of time. The argument cites increased

taxes as well as a burden on tax-payers who either don't attend college or have a

child in college as a reason against free college. Also cited is the economical strain

it puts on both federal and state funds if free college was instituted. In Germany,

the shift to dependence on government funding, alongside increased enrollment has

meant a 10% decline in spending per student in the last few years (Hechinger). This

means that each student is receiving less of an education compared to before

tuition was free in Germany as they are unable to keep the quality of the education

at a level it needs to be.

A population of a country has a sort of obligation to seek to better itself.

This means though taxes may increase even though you may not be in college or

you don't have a child in college, it shouldn't matter. By giving free college

education, even if you aren't directly benefitting from it, the side benefits for your

country is something just as important. Taxes faced heavily towards the wealthy

class with a slight increase on the middle class could alleviate the costs for free

college tuition by a large margin. Raising a student's level of education actually has

a net benefit to the public as well. While the wealthy and middle class may be

paying higher taxes to assist in funding the free college tuition there would also be

an increase in net value to tax payers. If additional education costs around $15,000,

the net value for that person graduation for taxpayers would be roughly $74,000,

even at the lower end of the spectrum it would be $51,000 dollars (Rand). This

means that on average if free college tuition increases the enrollment rate in
America by 22%, which is 4.5 million students, you could see upwards of $229

billion in net value for taxpayers from those 4.5 million students in their lifetime.

My conclusion is that while as a country we may see some financial

difficulties in the very beginning of this transition, that the benefits are much

greater. Benefits such as it allows those who couldn't normally seek further

education to do so, while also having long lasting and long reaching benefits for the

country by doing so. While we may not see a direct benefit instantly I simply ask,

would you not want your descendants to be in a better educated and better funded

country that you helped get there?

Works Cited

Fool, Matthew Frankel The Motley. "Here's the Average American Household Income:
How Do You Compare?" USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 24 Nov.
2016. Web. 25 May 2017.

"How Free College Tuition in One Country Exposes Unexpected Pros and Cons." The
Hechinger Report. N.p., 18 Oct. 2016. Web. 25 May 2017.

"How Taxpayers Benefit When Students Attain Higher Levels of Education." RAND
Corporation. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2017.

Jackson, Abby. "Brazil Has Tuition-free College - but It Comes with a Catch." Business
Insider. Business Insider, 25 June 2015. Web. 25 May 2017.
"Mary Ellen Flannery Archives." NEA Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2017.

Sillers, Anna. "Report Finds 44 Percent of U.S. Children Live in Low-income Families."PBS.
Public Broadcasting Service, 06 Apr. 2015. Web. 25 May 2017.

"The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many Education Questions
(National Center for Education Statistics)." National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 25
May 2017.