The plan to make college tuition free would break the barrier of financial problems and allow anyone to obtain a higher education, however, would tuition be completely free? If the student isn’t paying for their education, someone else would need to. The words “free tuition” is not actually free because “anytime the government offers something for ‘free,’ taxpayers ultimately pay for it,” (Eichen, 2015, para.4). Students who are serious about attending post-secondary should be paying for their own education. Working hard and finding ways to pay for college allow students to realize that education should not be taken for granted. If free tuition exist, anyone can go to college, even those who don’t wish to attend but since it is free they have nothing to lose but their time. “With no personal funds invested in education, students become significantly more likely to drop out after a few semesters,” (Eichen, 2015, para.6). Free higher education doesn’t only benefit low and middle income students but it will benefit students in the upper class. This means that working class families would need to financially support college degrees for wealthy families as part of their taxes. As Luebke has stated, “[free tuition] would not only reduce the costs of education for many who already qualify for a free or lower-cost education, it would also provide free education for students whose families have the means to pay for part or all of a college education,” (2016, para.17). Free cannot always fix a problem because it might be free for one group but another group has to pay the price. Instead of making tuition free, there should be other ways to help students get into post-secondary.
Eichen, A. (2015, November 30). The real cost of free college tuition. Washington University Political Review. Retrieved February 19, 2017 from http://www.wupr.org/2015/11/30/the-real-cost-of-free-college-tuition-2/
Luebke, B. (2016, February 4). Why free college tuition is a bad idea. Civitas Institute. Retrieved February 19, 2017 from https://www.nccivitas.org/2016/16909/
