An average of 3.3 million Americans graduate high school every year and approximately 66% of those who graduated go straight to a college. But what about the other 34%? Some go straight into a career, other go into the military, and others would like to go to college but unfortunately cannot pay the tuition cost.

  Even most Americans that go to college have trouble finding the money to pay for college. While some think that college tuitions should stay the same, many think the cost should be decreased. Many students have a “dream school/college” that they want to go to but cannot because they cannot pay for the cost. This is the dream of higher education that inspires both students and educators.

  But this dream becomes a nightmare when young people pile up in debt. This is unfortunate for students that really want to pursue their dreams and go to college or further education after high school. So many people end up changing their planned major for something they will be able to benefit by moneywise. Instead of following their dreams, people are following the money because they do not want to be in debt or they want to get out of debt as soon as possible. Many students receive financial aid, but that doesn’t always cover everything. Students are taking out thousands of dollars that they don’t have in loans, only to have to pay them off for the rest of their lives.

  By eliminating student debt, so many lives would be changed. Students would not be struggling to work full time in order to pay off their debt. Instead, they could just focus on their studies instead of how they are going to afford their studies. Tuition can also be lowered to reduce nerves and/or stress from those who are just graduated and starting college. While some stay nearby and even continue to live at their house during college, others move hours away or even from coast to coast.

  This can definitely be stressful as if this were me, I would be very stressed because I would have a limited budget andI would be moving far away from family and friends. Not in any way do I think that college should be free, but it should at least be lowered for students to go after their dreams and get the education that everyone deserves.

  Another reason for lowering the cost would be that students would be open to more college choices without worrying about paying for it. When choosing and applying to colleges, one of the things that students look at in a school is how much yearly tuition there is along with other school expenses.

  If tuition were lower, students would only have to worry about school necessities. They would have the option to choose a college based on their major that they have interests in, not a college that they can afford and possibly has their second or third choice for a major. Students could expand horizons and affordability wouldn’t be a major problem. A second reason lowering tuition is a good idea is that more people would attend college.

  People usually skip college due to high cost, but if tuition cost less, more people would probably be more open to the idea of going to college. Because of more college applicants, the rate of college graduates would increase. The National Center for Education reports, the six-year graduation rate in 2014 for males was 57 percent and 62 percent for females. While these numbers are high, imagine how much higher they’d be if more people didn’t skip college, attend and graduate, without the hassle of expensive yearly tuition.

  I must argue that while lowering college tuition is a good idea, it might affect colleges in terms of their number of students. College Raptor’s website states that if tuition were lessened or even taken away, it would devalue a college diploma. When students to college, they go not only to get an education, but to get the money’s worth that they spent to go to college. They want to make the most out of the experience they paid for.

  Graduating and getting that diploma might not seem as important if it wasn’t as expensive. This would hurt the colleges because fewer high school graduates would attend college. Even though lowering tuition would consist of possibly devaluing a college diploma, it doesn’t mean the degrading of a college. For example if Harvard were to make its college tuition-free, that doesn’t make it less of a school than Yale. Not in any way do I think that college should be free, but it should at least be lowered for students to go after their dreams and get the education that everyone deserves.

  To sum this all up, although lowering college tuition is a risky issue for colleges, it might be a risk that the United States should take for more Americans to be educated. It would solve many issues students deal with when deciding to attend college.