Should College/Universities be free to all students or should it cost those seeking

to obtain a higher education.

My topic proposal is going to be on should College/Universities be free to all students or

should it cost those seeking to obtain a higher education. This argumentative essay will
have many pros and cons about this topic. This topic brings controversy all the time as
to whether school should be free or not. An example would be how free school is
currently a big hot topic in the debates for presidential candidates. The question to the
candidate is which side are they on are they for or against, and what is their plan to
support their idea. There is also the side of people who do not have a higher education
working a minimum wage job, its all over the news how these people are fighting to get
the minimum wage increased.
The argument is why those without a higher education should make the same amount
or more than those that had to go to school. Why should they get paid more when
people who pay for school to better themselves to get higher pay will be paid the same
amount starting pay than someone who didnt attend college working at a fast food
restaurant? If they had been able to get a higher education perhaps they wouldve been
able to make more money without the hassle they are currently going through. I will
break this down with accurate research and citations to prove the direction that I go with
this proposal topic. I plan to persuade the reader of my paper to agree on the topic of
free education. It is important because education is needed and always advised and
pushed by teachers and supervisors to further our education. But if someone cannot
afford to pay for a higher education then how will they further not only themselves but

their career as well. Now a days without a higher form of education people can barely
afford to provide for their families. So with this essay I plan to argue the differences
between free and paid for education and how it effects those students trying to better
themselves. I am against having to pay for a tuition for a higher education in a 2 year
Community College or a four year University. Why I am against having to pay for
tuition? Because of the following reasons. Being able to get an education should not
have barriers that stand in the way. There is the tuition barrier when trying to pursue an
education. The college and universities want to charge the future or returning student so
much for tuition, book fees, parking permits, and if they choose to live on campus or off
campus the cost of living increases even more.
One example of what makes students that are paying tuition drop out of college is the
overwhelming costs of debt due to student loans. Students get so far in debt that they
drop out to find jobs so that can pay back some of the student loans. Students also work
fulltime to pay for college tuition that they end up burning out and have no other choice
but to drop out. These debts from student loans can carry far in a persons life and
severely ruin a persons career before it even begins. By being debt free during school
you will not have to focus on how you are going to pay back all the loans, but you will be
able to focus on your studies. Whenever you start looking for employment you will not
want to be in over your head with debt.
Debt collectors will not hesitate to call your place of employment looking for their money,
they like to cause trouble and before you know it your job is terminated and you are
stuck looking for new employment. Now a days when looking for a job, employers are
looking to see if you have a high school degree or any other higher education, and if

they see that you do not, more in likely the other job seekers with the higher educations
will 9 times out of 10 get the position that you applied for. An example of why student
debt has been on a rise is because thousands of student fraud cases. The reason
students are applying for numerous loans more than tuition cost is for room and board.
Studies show that students dont even attend the school and spend it all. A sentence in
this website that I was researching caught my attention was that, Then are incidences
of people who have lost their jobs who enroll for college so that they can apply for
student loans which they then use to pay for necessities such as rent and food.
Some attend college; some do not. It states that if tuition is free that this would
eliminate these student fraud cases. If the tuition fees are sent straight to the school
there would be no way of student loan abuse. (College Rank 2016).
One reason that the economy is against free higher education is that students will slack
off and waist the professors time. I attend a Community College and I dont believe that
to be true the professor will teach class regardless if students missed class or not. The
class still has students who are there to learn and get their education. The students who
miss class, show up late, and never complete their work is completely there fault and
they are wasting the money of their parents. Doing research I found the 2016
presidential candidates Higher Education Proposal. Hilary Clintons proposal is the The
New College Compact, Marco Rubios proposal is the Marcos Plan for Overhauling
and Modernizing Higher Education, and Bernie Sanders proposal is the College for All
Act. (2016, March 9). I found a quote on the website www.usnews.com that Sanders
framed the need for free public college by saying that, "In a global economy, when our
young people are competing with workers from around the world, we have got to have

the best educated work force possible. And, that means that we have got to make
college affordable." (Kevin, J. 2015, May 25). A general fact for higher education is that
President Obama, our current and 44th president, had said in Aug 2010, at the
University of Texas in Austin, The single most important thing we can do is to make
sure weve got a world-class education system for everybody. That is a prerequisite for
prosperity. It is an obligation that we have for the next generation. (College Rank 2016).
I researched the counties that already have free tuitions and found the six European
countries that already have free college tuition are Germany, Finland Sweden,
Denmark, France, and Norway. For example the country for Germany has free college
tuition but the countries tax payers pay a lot more to be able to afford free tuition.
Germany has a tax wedge of 49.3% in the year of 2014, and the United States tax wage
for education was at 31.5%. (Jackson, A. 2015, June 25). This showed me that if the
European counties can afford there to Colleges and Universities tuitions to be free then
the United States can increase their taxes to help the United States get the education
that is need to get the proper degrees that are needed for the jobs that graduates will
pursue.
In conclusion my argument is that I agree that higher education should be free. Free
education will help people who want to get a degree and progress is a job that need
advancement. I am in a community college and have students in my class that are
furthering there education because it is need to move up in position at their place of
employment. I have talked to professors that would like to go to school and not have
had to pay for their student loans. I am hoping that our next president will make right on
their promise to make college tuitions free to the lower class students that have issue

get the funds for a great education. In the end the taxes will go up but the future
students will have strong educations to help them become who they pursue to be. One
law that should be made in the United States if tuition was to be free, that all people
from different countries should have to apply and get an American citizenship to be
eligible for free college tuition. Many people are against free college tuition in the United
States, but when several different countries have free college tuition and it works that I
dont see why the US has it debate the issue. You cannot succeed without trying
something new.

References
Kevin, J. (2015, May 25). Why Bernie Sanders free public college plan is a bad idea.
Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/2015/05/27/whybernie-sanders-free-public-college-plan-is-a-bad-idea
Jackson, A. (2015, June 25). How do European countries afford free college. Retrieved
from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-do-european-countries-afford-free-college2015-6
College Rank (2016). How Americas Colleges Could Be Tuition Free. Retrieved from
http://www.collegerank.net/tuition-free-college/.
2016 Presidential candidates' higher education proposals Retrieved from (2016, March
9). Retrieved from https://www.nasfaa.org/2016_presidential_candidates#top