In the article “Should Community College Be Free?” (BTW, Admin, 2022), it discusses the argument of whether community college should be free or not. In recent years, former President Barack Obama and then vice president, Joe Biden, proposed making community college free for American students. Today, almost 50% of states are experimenting with tuition-free institutions. However, these institutions require students to work or live in the same county as the campus. Those who support the idea of free community college point out the fact that making community college free will result in higher enrollment and graduation rates. Those opposed to this concept argue that community college is already affordable and that free tuition will not necessarily lead to higher graduation rates because students will lack the financial commitment to fully complete college.
I think that community college should NOT be free. I think it will result in college students becoming lazier and not motivated to complete their degree because they do not lose a single cent. Essentially, this will result in less disciplined students and will develop the mindset that they have nothing to lose. I think community college is reasonably affordable and not to mention the fact that community college students, qualify for the financial aid programs available to most incoming college freshmen and community colleges already offer financial aid and scholarship assistance.
Do you think community college should be free?
Dear Omar,
I am Intrigued by your post, “Should Community College be free?” because of the decision of whether or not community colleges should be free since many good and bad things can come from this. For example, something positive is that students won’t have to stress so much about paying all their college debts, but if they are free, they can become lazy.
One sentence you wrote that stood out to me was, “Those who support the idea of free community college point out the fact that making community college free will result in higher enrollment and graduation rates.” This is a good thing because it will make more people want to enroll in college if they have a poor income.
Thanks for your writing, I look forward to seeing what you write next because I think that it’s important to see other perspectives and ideas about an important topic. I would also like to see what other opinions you have on other ideas.
Clarissa
Clarissa,
I appreciate your comment!
I think that the sentence that stood out to you is true, however, I do think there is a risk to the graduation status of a lot of community college students. If they get in free, they will also receive free money from financial aid and I believe that this is basically a way of spoiling these students. If they get these privileges for free, then I think it will alter the mindset of a lot of college freshmen to the point where they will feel like there is no point to pursue a career if they already have a decent chunk of money. What I say to that is never settle, you can always have more money and if you are a college student, that starts with pursuing a career.
Thank you for your feedback
I do believe that community college should be free, but I can also understand why it is hard for it to be free.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/is-community-college-free
I found this article quite helpful when looking into this topic.