Why College Matters

The price of attending college has risen dramatically over the past few decades, so much that it causes many second thoughts and doubts from young adults who preferred to attend. These doubts are mostly centered around the amount of student debt loan they might be burdened with. Americans now have 1.3 trillion in student debt, this is a crisis that many people have been said will be solved with free community and state college. State and community college should be free, regardless of the statistics of community college, due to the fact that highschool is no longer enough to lead americans to a great career path, the fact that college is a gateway to financial stability and a happier life in general.

Admittedly, free college does have it’s pros and cons. “The Obama program is targeted at community college students, where only twenty-one percent of students earn an associates degree within 3 years…” This translates as the problem is more than money, it is also completion. Around fifty-five percent of students graduate six years after starting. The reality of these statistics is that they are made to look worse than they are. A report done by the Patriot Ledger explains that some of the community college “dropouts” more than likely includes students who transfer to a four year university before earning their associates degree. Even though they did not finish their education in the community college they did move on to larger goals for their education and transferred to a four year institution. In reality one-fourth of students of all college attendants who go begin at a community college go on to a four year college and of those, 60 percent graduate with their bachelors degree.

A highschool diploma is no longer able to provide americans with the skills they need to get into a good paying career. “An important pathway to the middle class runs through higher education but rising costs are making it harder and harder for ordinary americans to get the education they want and need.” This is an important factor in deciding if free community college is needed. Many americans want to further their education but lack the funds to do so. This is becoming an epidemic as it is leading to a shortage of skilled and educated workers. The amount of jobs that will soon need a college degree is sixty percent while the amount of working age adults who have a degree is now forty percent. In the 1960s & 1950s graduating from a highschool and moving into decent paying job was a realistic possibility. Unfortuniatly this is no longer the case for many americans. A college degree is much need as a gateway to success and a high paying career but the high price makes it almost impossible for some people to even consider it as a possibility without falling into a large debt of student loans.

College is the most common gateway to a successful career in this generation. The average worker with a bachelor’s degree will earn approx. $1 million more than a worker without a post secondary education.Workers with a college degree are also less likely to face unemployment and earning a college degree might vene make you happier. Ninety-four percent of adults who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher report being happy or very happy with life compared to eighty-nine percent of adults with no college education. College needs to be more accessible in order to boost the productivity of our nation as a whole.

The need for college is only going to grow as employers look for more educated and skilled workers to work in their businesses. This ever growing need for educated workers will lead to a shortage of workers unless we can do something about America’s growing educational crisis. This is why America needs to make community and state college free. State and community college should be free, regardless of the statistics of community college. Highschool is no longer enough to lead americans to a great career path. College is a much needed gateway to financial stability. Free college would help thousands of americans receive an education that they otherwise would have been robbed of. It is the most practical solution to America’s education crisis.

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