The Hidden Costs of Free Education: Why College Should not Be Free

What would life be like if everyone was given the opportunity to attend college for free? In “Free College Is a Terrible Idea”, the article states that inequality would worsen, graduation rates would remain low or decrease even lower, public resources would be used inefficiently, and colleges would become more selective (Rosenberg 2019). All of these side effects are negatively associated with free college. Free collegiate education would harm society because degrees would be devalued, finding a job will be almost unattainable, and there would be a drastic in-crease in taxes. Free college, when all high school graduates are offered free tuition by at least one university, is a highly debated issue in today’s society. Vicki E. Alger in the Independent article establishes that the price of college might not be money, but it will still cost people higher taxes and degraded degrees.

Alger argues that the degree will be diluted because the education is not paid for. Similarly to free medical care in other countries, Massachusetts Nurse article addresses that those civilians have to wait for months to be treated and end up getting horrible care. In contrast, the medical care that we pay for in the United States provides patients immediate treatment and trust in the doctors they have chosen, proving there is value when you pay for something. Likewise, the students attending college will not value their education as much as they would if they were paying for it. Again in “Free College Is a Terrible Idea”, Rosenberg notes that over half of the percent of students who attend a free university would not receive their degree. His statement concludes that students who are given their education for free are highly believed to not have the motivation to finish. If a student is required to pay for their own education, then they will have the determination to complete their degree. If the student is giving up every single dollar from their salaries to pay for their education, finishing their degree would be priceless to them. Ultimately, since everyone will go to college to receive their free degree, there will be immense, national competition to find a job later in life. With both a diluted degree and extreme com-petition, free college would have been a waste of time.

Companies will still always choose to hire the advanced, higher educated interviewee. Even though everyone will receive an elevated education, the people who went to the more prestigious universities will be hired first. Would you rather higher a business graduate from the University of Texas or the Midland College? The obvious answer is the University of Texas graduate, because the University of Texas is a celebrated university, it is known for setting higher standards, and only the smartest people in the nation can succeed in finishing a degree there. Taxes will severely rise if free tuition is instituted. The biggest factor that people forget about when debating free college is that someone will still have to pay for it. Professors, security guards, building maintenance, new construction, keeping the campus appealing, and more all have to be paid for by someone. In “Assessing the True Costs of Free College”, Tim Goral claims that a free college tuition will be paid by either public or private capital (2018). This proves that someone or some capital will still have to pay for the trillions of dollars given away for free college. Many people go to college not expecting it to cost them thousands and thousands of dollars, forcing them to drop out without receiving their diploma. They would have wasted a lot of precious time and money on nothing.

Although lower income people would be able to get a college degree, they would have to live or move near their university causing them to still have to pay for housing, food, transportation, and more. Free college is when the government or charity organizations fund college instead of people having to pay for it themselves. I challenge you to pay for your college tuition yourself. You will find more worth in your degree and be proud of your success. Free college may seem good for you since it would mend inequities from the past and it would be free to follow your dreams, but the consequences far outweigh the positives. Your degree would deflate, finding a job would be almost impossible, and your taxes would drastically increase all due to the fact that you received free college tuition.

References

1. Goral, Tim. “Assessing the True Costs of Free College.” University Business, vol. 21, no. 8, Aug. 2018, p. 16.
2. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=131049353&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Potter, Will. “Alabama Voters to Decide on Scholarship Plan Tied to Tax Increase.” Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 50, no. 2, 5 Sept. 2003, p. A29.
3. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brb&AN=507852021&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Rosenberg, Brian. “Free Public College Is a Terrible Idea.” Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 66, no. 3, 20 Sept. 2019, p. N.PAG.
4. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofm&AN=139229308&site=ehost-live&scope=site. “Independent Institute in the News.” Independent, vol. 26, no. 2, Summer 2016, p. 4.
5. EBSCO-host, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=114699274&site=ehost-live&scope=site. “WHO Issues Report Critical of Free Market Health Care.” Massachusetts Nurse, vol. 69, no. 9, Oct. 1999, p. 9.
6. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=107085862&site=ehost-live&scope=site.