The American dream, to forge your own path and future. However, this dream is flawed. The path for many young Americans is to set out for college after high school, often it is only through a college degree that many jobs consider you to be eligible for application. Unfortunately, this is a path wrought with expenses. Expense after expense that makes it seem unreachable for so many trying to get their college degree. Even long after a person has graduated, they could be paying off student loans often past their 50s. Are the benefits of going to college worth the lifelong price many tend to pay? Looking at it from a purely pragmatic way, college allows you to forge your own future, even though many spend that future paying off the costs of going to college. The problem is this process should be much cheaper if not free for all American citizens.
Of course, not all schools were made the same, some Universities and Colleges are significantly more expensive depending on the location and prestige. You pay considerably more, and have a higher bar of entry going to Havard than you do CSUB, and the question must be asked, why go to Havard when a cheaper school can give you exactly what you need to the same effect? The college path is important, but it doesn’t always have to be so costly. The Biden-Harris administration has proposed to allocate over 800 billion U.S.D to the department of defense, and U.S military spending as a whole. We have the highest Military spending in the world. Imagine what just a percent of that could do for Americans across the country being crushed under the pressure of student loan debt.
It is well known that scholarships from academics and sports can pay off the cost of college making the load easier on students paying off debt, and for some it eliminates the possibility of debt completely. However, this is only necessary because of how broken the system already is. When going to college you don’t just pay one expense and you’re free to go. Many still pay for amenities like housing, food, and textbooks which continuously bump up the prices. It’s not uncommon for a college professor to write their own book, make it mandatory for the lesson, and make students pay to buy it from them. The ease of access to college should honestly be improved.
There are so many costs that people cannot afford to pay or do not want to pay, and it drives many away from the possibility of college. The negative effect this could have on the United States may be staggering. College admission should be promoted not walled off by the concept of having to pay your student loans until you’re 60. Young Americans graduating from high school and moving on into the next era of their lives shouldn’t be weighed down by the fear of costs as paychecks. In this crucial period, they must be encouraged, not discouraged to explore every opportunity to seize their future. Schooling shouldn’t be so expensive, especially when it is so integral to society in life.
