Jade, Dyches, Olarte 1

A Glimpse into Free Community

College Education
Conceived by: Taylor Jade, Callie Dyches, and Ashren Olarte
Instructor: Alena Balmforth
Intro into Writing: English 1010
23 November 2015

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 2

Dear Instructor Balmforth,
We, the students, have chosen free community college education because it greatly
intrigues and involves us as struggling community college students.
This essay will cover the increasing costs of tuition and textbooks, why federal financial
aid isnt a viable answer, the results of having to work while in school, how high tuition cost has
affected families, and a small slice of the countries who are already implementing free college in
some form for their own and international citizens. Tuition costs have inflated 500% since 1985.
Textbooks add unique and unnecessary surprises to the bill college students have to foot. Federal
financial aid has qualifiers that deny coverage to some deserving students, and leave the interestfree options to those in cheaper undergraduate education, contributing to mounting student debt.
Working and maintaining a job while in school deters your focus from excelling in either option,
and takes away from the career networking of a college experience. Rising tuition rates have
aided the decrease in the formation of families, and the recent recession has left college
graduates without a job and in a collective $1.3 trillion debt. Germany, Argentina, Greece, and
Denmark are only a few of the ever-increasing cheaper college options for American students
options that will leave students applying for degrees and citizenship in other countries, or worse,
leaving becoming educated to someone else.
We believe that free community college education is a necessary investment in Americas
future and possible to implement in ways that will help all American citizens.
We hope you enjoy our collaborated efforts!
Thank you,
________________________
________________________
________________________
Taylor Jade
Callie Dyches
Ashren Olarte

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 3

There are countless topics in our world today which are up for debate: what is moral or
immoral, ethical or unethical, acceptable or unacceptable, and legal or illegal. All of these topics
are without a doubt extraordinarily important to all American people. There is rarely a gray area
when it comes to taking sides with these topics. Individuals want to be informed about what is
going on in the world and how it will affect them and their families, whether it be their finances,
their jobs and careers, or the key aspect which leads to their career, a college education. Any
individual who has ever attended college, especially on their own dime, has seen firsthand the
outrageous costs involved in higher education. Cost of education is one of the hottest topics
currently up for debate in the United States. Many other countries have already implemented free
education programs and have been successful in doing so. The question which remains is this:
Should community college education be free in the United States?
College degrees are difficult to obtain, but it is even harder to obtain a degree that
guarantees a career in your field of study. Only 52% of high school seniors believe their schools
properly prepared them to enter the working world, which is down significantly from 69.4% in
2013 (Hamilton). This is a catastrophically low amount considering the extreme cost of tuition
which comes along with the expectation to be ready for the workforce after obtaining a degree in
an individuals chosen field of study. There is also too much emphasis these days on picking a
practical field of study, which is why business is the most popular undergraduate major.
Employers need people who are broadly educated and have practical skills. Too many colleges
are failing to provide that guidance and those opportunities to students, while saddling them with
debt they will not be able to pay off in the unemployment line (Cox). These issues could cause an
individual to wonder: Why even bother going to college? It is difficult for some students to find
purpose in attending college without guarantee that they will acquire the necessary education

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 4

needed for the workforce. Then there is the most important factor, the fact that tuition comes at
an obscene price and often takes a lifetime to repay. For example, on average, students can
expect to spend a national estimate of approximately $22,000 per year on an undergraduate postsecondary education. If the student is in school for four years to complete a basic degree, the
total cost will be around $88,000 (Best Value Schools).
Another financial stumbling block to students is the price of college textbooks. As the
cost of textbooks increases each year, it becomes harder for students to purchase them. Research
shows "[B]etween 1990 and 2009, textbook prices rose at four times the rate of inflation"
(Mobertz). Students will often have to find alternative options to buying their textbooks. The
decision to rent textbooks is becoming quite common, since the majority of the time it is cheaper
than spending $200 or more for a brand new copy. "Between 2009 and 2010 alone there was a
500% increase in the number of textbook rentals" (Mobertz). Many bookstores online and instore offer students the opportunity to rent textbooks instead of buying them. Some colleges have
even offered this option as well. Although renting could save students money overall on the cost
for their textbooks, it is a hassle to have to keep track of the condition of the borrowed books.
They have to make sure they keep the book in as good of a condition as they received it and
make sure they return the rented books on time. Renting may not be for every student though;
others choose to buy their textbooks. ValoreBooks advises buying textbooks if it is a book that
can be used for more than one semester. They definitely suggest buying a textbook if it is one for
your major, because they are critical reference books. And then there is the option of selling
textbooks at the end of the semester, or whenever the class ends. DashBurst published an article
weighing the options of buying and reselling versus renting textbooks. Their research hints that
overall buying and later selling textbooks costs 29% less than renting textbooks. However,

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 5

"Vendors tend to sell textbooks back into the market at 75% of the book's new retail price"
(Mobertz). Because books are not rented out or sold at their same price, and because books are
not guaranteed to be used for classes more than once, students lose money they depend on for
financial security. Textbook costs drain what would otherwise be living money, and add to
financial hardship on top of inflating tuition costs and the normal stress of pursuing a college
degree.
Federal financial aid is another problem in the circuit of student fees. For a student to
become eligible for financial aid outside of scholarships, they need to fill out the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid. The process is a cryptic and time-consuming form, with
very specific terms of dependency. To be considered independent of their parents financial
information, they must be twenty-three, married, working on a Masters degree or higher, in
active duty military, be a veteran, be an emancipated minor, have children or dependents
requiring half or more of their paycheck, have been declared an unaccompanied/self-supporting
homeless youth, or, when the student was older than thirteen, was orphaned, in foster care, or a
ward of the court (fafsa.ed.gov). If they are not on this list, they are a dependent of their parents,
regardless of where they live or if they claim themselves on their taxes, and they must have their
parents tax and social security information. As a dependent, students can qualify for subsidized
loans, grants, or be included in work study programs. However, if they are independent, or are a
dependent, but do not have access to their parents tax information, the most they can receive is
an unsubsidized Stafford Loan. With a direct subsidized loan, all interest gained in the school
period, six month grace period, and deferment periods is paid by the government, but the
unnecessary pressure is on the student to pay it back, with interest, when those times are up
(studentaid.ed.gov). Without a subsidized loan, students accrue interest immediately, and if it is

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 6

not paid, the total owed will start ticking up, every minute while in school. With a PLUS loan,
applicants must not have an adverse credit history to be accepted, and then with a current fixed
interest rate of 6.84%, the student is still paying back added extra money they would not have
owed were they able to afford college outright (studentaid.ed.gov). Grants, like the Pell Grant or
FSEOG, do not have to be paid back at all, but are typically given only to undergraduate, or
Bachelors degree, students (studentaid.ed.gov). And work study awards only grant enough hours
to get the student through school, not through living costs. Even with all these options, American
students are collectively carrying $1.3 trillion in student loans (Sanders). These highly-limited
financial aid options only aid creditors in racking up money from students and contribute to
the rising debt of Americas college graduates.
After high school, college is encouraged and a lot of times expected of high school
graduates: College is seen as something to enhance peoples futures. With the cost of college
today, it can be quite difficult to attend, so many students usually get a job while going to
college. Research has demonstrated that those students who work twenty hours a week show a
consistency in their overall grades (regions.com). However, one should know the cons of their
options before deciding to maintain a job while attending college. The overall big issue is that
balancing work and higher education will lead to lots of stress (Varner). It is most likely that if
full-time students are working, they are working part-time jobs most likely not in their field of
study. Even so, students will be able to gain transferable skills that can be helpful for their future
career, such as time management. One of the articles used has the author claiming that of his
whole college experience, he did not meet one person who did not have a job while they went to
school (Varner). More than likely, if the money being earned did not go towards their tuition and
fees for school, and if they made enough to pay their living expenses, they would have very little

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 7

money on the side for personal use. An article regions.com published stated that "learning is a
full-time job," and although there are benefits from working while going to school, it may
occupy much of the student's time and can cause the student to "miss out" on the opportunity to
participate in school activities (regions.com). The overall idea of working while going to school
is probably a realistic scenario for most college students, but it may not be enough for every
student to pay their bills and succeed without crippling debt. Success also depends on
persevering through high levels of stress, and each student handles stress at different levels.
Attending college is enough stress for any student, and working on top of that is definitely an
excess burden to handle.
After decades of expanding college enrollments, numbers have started to dwindle.
Though high school graduates still make less than college graduates for the most part, millions of
recent college graduates in debt are unemployed in the aftermath of the worst American
recession on record, leaving the families of these graduates and current students wondering: Why
does tuition keep rising and will it continue? Tuition debt has pushed these families to their
breaking point as far as finances. As a result, students are forced to borrow even more loans for
college. $100 billion per year is borrowed through a cottage industry for private and publically
funded loan programs. This continual rising of the student loan burden has been linked to
reduced household formation and lower birth rates, altering not just the economy, but the entire
structure of American families (centerforcollegeaffordability.org). The total of overall
outstanding student debt is that same whopping $1.3 trillion (Sanders). The price of a college
degree has considerably risen, while the costs of providing higher education have maintained a
more stable rate, leaving room to debate where the money is going and why it is needed in the
first place. As a result of the recession in 2007, educational funding took one of the biggest cuts.

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 8

Though the economy has begun to recover, individual states are still under intense pressure from
the growth of mandatory spending programs (Schoen). Higher educational funding took the
biggest hit in the United States when compared to much of the other recession-affected parts of
the developed world. Out of the thirty-four countries which were observed, public spending on
education rose on average 7% from 2008 to 2011.
Even though public education spending increased world-wide, some countries have
already implemented free college education. Germany extends their offer to international
students as well as their own citizens, and is often the first country looked at when considering
models of efficient free college education. The downside is that they have a 49.3% income tax
rate, second highest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation. However, this rate has
dropped from 52.9% in 2000, and continued to drop during the reinstitution of free college
education ending in 2014 (oecd.org). This shows no direct correlation to the free cost of higher
education on the citizens taxes. Other countries offering free education include Argentina,
Greece, and Denmark, all with different approaches to their countrys economic problem.
Argentina offers undergraduate, or Bachelors, degrees for free to those with a study visa or who
are permanent residents. Their graduate schools have a lower tuition than most internationally.
However, classes are only in Spanish, and the other costs involved are not resolved through a
scholarship and grant program. The most dangerous part of going to school in Argentina is the
crime rate. They were ranked 3 out of 42 for manslaughter, and 5 out of 49 for murder, making
Argentina a treacherous option for Americans pursuing free higher education.
(thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk). Greece constitutionally offers free education, including
textbooks, to its citizens and European Union students. For those who are outside of these
categories, tuition cost averages around 1,500 EUR (1,633 USD), including textbooks

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 9

(internationalstudentinsurance.com). A high level of English is spoken, making this option
slightly more preferable than new-language alternatives, but if you are not in the EU, education
comes with only a cheaper price tag than American universities. Denmark is the most liberal with
its free education, giving access to citizens, European Union students and students from
Switzerland, exchange program students, and permanent resident students (studyindenmark.dk).
Scholarships are available, unlike with the previous countries. Denmark is most unique in
granting its citizens a stipend to go to college. The stipend, S.U., a form of State Educational
Support, covers about $900 USD from the time they turn eighteen and for the next six years, as
long as they dont live with their parents. Controversy surrounding the issue involves students
pursuing what they want to go into, and not science or engineering fields that would
economically support the future of Denmark. However, students graduate feeling more fulfilled,
with more people graduating than most other OECD countries, and with virtually no student debt
(Noack). Other countries dont offer free tuition, yet still have a phenomenally lower tuition and
outright cost than college in America. In an affordability percentage comparison of fifteen
different countries, including average income and college tuition, six of them came out with
under a 6% income to tuition ratio. In this same article, America ranked 51.34%. Without an
affordable college education becoming accessible to American students, they will find
themselves pursuing their degrees and citizenship in other countriesor worse, leaving the
learning to someone else.
Deciding whether to allow free college education in the United States is a growing issue,
and has been for years. Though other countries are gradually implementing differing policies
with varying degrees of success, many people are still against the idea. Some have argued that it
would raise our taxes, and others say that investing in Americas future is worth the potential

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 10

increase. Tertiary education is not as cheap as it used to be, with U. S. college costs having risen
500% since 1985 (Noack). With the after-recession economy, it is very likely that majority of the
careers people will pursue will need some college educationit is projected that by the year
2020, 65% of jobs will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school
(Carnevale). If this proves to be the case, America will need free college education for its
economy to survive. College students and potential students are struggling: College tuition
continues to grow absurdly more expensive, and the costs of textbooks are increasing as well.
Students can only hope they will qualify for federal financial aid, whether it be from
scholarships, grants, or loans. If they do not qualify for that financial aid, or if they do and it isnt
enough, those students will have to work while attending college. And while they work, where
will they live and sleep? All these factors add to the struggle and stress of pursuing necessary
higher education. As other nations have shown success in having free college education, America
should start investing in its future as well.

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 11

Works Cited
Carnevale, Anthony, Nicole Smith, and Jeff Strohl. Recovery: Job Growth and Education
Requirements Through 2020. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
Fafsa.ed.gov. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
Hamilton, Walter. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Kurtzleben, Danielle. "Just How Fast Has College Tuition Grown?" Usnews.com. N.p., 23 Oct.
2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.
Mobertz, Lauren. "Renting vs. Buying Textbooks: Which Will Cost You Less Money?"
DASHBURST. Dashburst.com, 25 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
Noack, Rick. "Why Danish students are paid to go to college." Washington Post. The Washington
Post, 4 Feb.Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Oecd.org. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
Sanders, Bernie. Make college free for all. Washington Post. The Washington Post, 22 Oct.
2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Schoen, John W. "The Real Reasons A College Degree Costs So Much." CNBC. N.p., 16 June
2015. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.
Selingo, Jeffrey J. "Why Are so Many College Students failing to Gain Job Skills before
Graduation?" Washington Post. The Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.
"Should Students Get Jobs During College?" Regions. Regions, 1 Nov. 2015. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
"Should You Buy or Rent Your Textbooks?" VALOREBOOKSblog. ValoreBooks, 25 Aug. 2015.
Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
Studentaid.ed.gov. Web. 7 Nov. 2015.

Jade, Dyches, Olarte 12

Taylor, Adam. Heres What College Education Costs Students Around The World. Business
Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 8 Jun. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
Trulia. "Cost of Off-Campus Housing In College." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 10
Sept. 2015. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.
Varner, Marcus. "The Pros and Cons of Working As a College Student." Classes & Careers.
Classes & Careers, 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
<http://centerforcollegeaffordability.org/research/studies/harmful-effects-of-federalstudent-aid/>
Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
<http://www.internationalstudentinsurance.com/greece-student-insurance/why-study-ingreece.php>
Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://studyindenmark.dk/study-options/tuition-fees-scholarships/tuitionfees-and-scholarships>
Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/international/central-andsouth-america/argentina/>