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Ellery Signor
Free Now, Expensive Later 1
From the 2016 presidential election to daily dinner table conversations, free college

tuition has been a highly debated topic as of late. Several government officials have discussed

their opinions on free college tuition. For example, President Barack Obama proposed tuition

free community college. Bernie Sanders, 2016 presidential candidate, discussed his proposition

of free four-year public college during the primaries. Conversely, Senator Lamar Alexander

argued that college should not be free because it already is for the students who need it

(Goldrick-Rab). As previously shown, there are several proponents as well as opponents of free

college tuition. Free college tuition would be, in fact, expensive because the money to pay

tuition amounts must come from somewhere, and the value of a degree will decrease to both

students and their future employers alike.

What are called 'public schools' in many of America's wealthy communities aren't really 'public'

at all. In effect, they're private schools, whose tuition is hidden away in the purchase price of

upscale homes there, and in the corresponding property taxes. ~ Robert Reich (Tuition)

To expand on the first point, taxpayers will foot the college tuition bill, even if they are

not directly benefitting from it. This is similar to Americas current free public education

system in which homeowners pay school taxes. (This is demonstrated in the quote that precedes

this paragraph.) In this day and age, nothing is truly free, because there is always a price to

pay, which is often left to taxpayers to foot. In Germany, a country that has a policy of free

college tuition, the relationship between increased tuition-free enrollment and cost to taxpayers

1 Antithesis- This is a figure of balance in which contrasting ideas are placed next to
each other.
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was demonstrated because as enrollment rose by 22 percent, cost to taxpayers rose by 37 percent2

(Marcus). Additionally, a student attending public college institutions pay for room and board,

textbooks, and other amenities plus tuition. If college tuition was hypothetically free, students

would still be paying thousands of dollars to attend school. For example, in the article How Free

College Tuition in One Country Exposes Unexpected Pros and Cons, Claudia Niessler works

twenty hours a week to pay her living expenses, in spite of Germanys policy of free tuition

(Marcus). While free tuition certainly eased Claudias plight, it did not entirely solve it. This is

the main problem with free tuition, because students who are economically disadvantaged will

still struggle through school, and other students who are not economically disadvantaged will

receive benefits they do not need. The second situation leaves college intuitions hard-pressed

because as more students are able to attend college, there will be a larger demand for supplies

and staff, however colleges will not have the funds to pay without tuition payments. This means

the quality of education will be lower but gleaned by more. This would be like receiving a crash

course in open-heart surgery and then performing it without any practice3. A German economist

agrees with the statement, saying, In Germany, universities do have much less resources than at

least the higher-level universities in the U.S. Presidents will always tell you they do not have

enough money. If the universities were able to impose tuition fees that would surely in general

affect the quality (Marcus). Is free college tuition truly worth more than having under-educated

workers? In Germany, the answer is yes, but its education system is weaker after implementing

free tuition, as described in the economists quote. For example, lecture halls are filled with a

greater number of students and universities do not have money for research or teaching. The

2 Exemplum- This is exemplum because it is using an example to make a point.

3 Catachresis- This is an extreme, outlandish comparison between open heart

surgery and an unskilled work force.
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President of one German University said, If the university could collect fees, we could invest

much more and we could do much more (Marcus). This demonstrates how free college tuition

would be nocuous to both the quality of education and the economy.

On the other hand, proponents of free college tuition argue that free college tuition leads

to a more educated population (Josephon). Ultimately, though, this is false. For instance, as

previously indicated, the quality of education for all college attendees is lower as universities are

overpopulated and their budgets are stretched too thin to compensate for the lack of tuition fees

as demonstrated in German universities.

Undoubtedly, students who receive an entirely free education will not fully appreciate a

degree in comparison to a student who works to get through school. Now this is not to say

students who receive a free education are not appreciative of it, but the students who have to

work to pay are less willing to goof off in college, party, and/or skip class. For example, if a

program is free, students do not see the fiscal value in the program. A program in which an

attendee pays to participate will most likely result in the student taking the course more seriously

from both internal pressures and external pressures, such as parental and financial pressures.

Another side to this issue is if more people are becoming educated, college degrees will

mean significantly less to employers. This means that getting a job or pursuing a career would

get increasingly more difficult and competitive, as there will be more individuals who have the

same qualifications. This would lead to 'credential creep' as coined in the article "The Pros and

Cons of Free College" (Josephson). Credential creep would lead to an inevitable cycle of

students having to become more and more educated to remain prominent in a competitive job

environment.
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In reference to financial pressures, another support of free college tuition is that lower

socio-economic classes of people would be able to attend college. However, there are already

several governmental programs to ease lower class students' financial burdens, such as Free

Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA), scholarships, grants, and work study programs.

For example, FASFA can allow students, with a low estimated family contribution, to attend

college tuition-free (What). Work study programs allow students to work on campus to pay for

textbooks and other supplies. At any given moment in the United States, there are thousands of

scholarships available at both the national and local level. Most scholarships are easily accessible

and achievable to students who are willing to apply. Typically, students fill out an application,

which usually involves an essay. This means the money awarded to students is somewhat earned.

For this reason, students should have some responsibility in paying for their education, whether

that be through filling out an application or soliciting grants. Having at least some responsibility

in receiving a scholarship makes the scholarship more meaningful, and it proves to the person or

institution providing the monetary means that the student is serious about his or her education.

In conclusion, college tuition should not be free because taxpayers will pay for tuition

that may not benefit themselves, which is similar to homeowner taxes subsidizing public

education, and the value of a college-educated individual will decline in an increasingly

competitive job market. As depicted by other countries situations that implement free college

tuition, such as Germany, it has been proven that free college tuition is not a viable option for

American universities. Presently, the downsides of free college tuition most certainly outweigh

the benefits. For instance, the quality of education would suffer tremendously and it would be

detrimental to the American economy and society.

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Works Cited

Goldrick-Rab, Sara, and Andrew P. Kelly. Should Community College Be Free? Education next

talks with Sara Goldrick-Rab and Andrew P. Kelly. Education Next, vol. 16, no. 1, 2016,

p. 54+ Opposing Viewpoints in Context.

Josephson, Amelia. "The Pros and Cons of Free College." Smart Asset. N.p., 15 Sept. 2016. Web.

Marcus, Jon. "How Free College Tuition in One Country Exposes Unexpected Pros and Cons."

The Hechinger Report. N.p., 18 Oct. 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

"Tuition Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

"What Is the Maximum FAFSA Will Give." College Confidential. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.