Should College Be Free?

When I spotted a recent news report about free college, I thought, “Free?  How is that possible?”  After some sleuthing, I discovered why free college is trending across the United States. 

Free college is a major phenomenon.  Just as there are no-cost options for kindergarten through Grade 12, this intriguing proposal to expand free tuition coverage would carry a student through at least two years of college.  A growing number of states offer free tuition at community colleges, vocational schools, and even universities.  

Community colleges play an important role in this visionary plan due to their practical career path offerings.  Associate degrees have assisted millions of people in finding employment in medical, dental, technology, and other well-paying fields.  Two-year degree programs are a major cornerstone of the academic world, for nearly half of all graduates with a bachelor’s degree started their studies at a community college.

Why Is Free College a Hot Topic?  

In short: crushing student loan debt.

Besides the nose-to-the-grindstone part of sitting in class, taking notes, writing papers, and cramming for exams, a serious obstacle for many students is the humongous cost of the whole adventure.  

It’s one of the top expenses Millennials complain about (along with skyrocketing rents and health insurance premiums).  Student loan debt is holding back millions of young Americans from buying a house, getting married, and starting a family.

Imagine not having to take out those loans in the first place.  To begin working after graduation without that debt load would be hugely liberating – and diverting income into clothing, travel, housing, and weddings would give retailers a much-needed economic boost.

Where Does This Free Money Come From?

I found the answer to this question at Free College Now. The financing is from many sources, including state budgets, community donations, philanthropists, corporations, and investment funds.  

This extraordinary project is the result of planning by senior elected officials and policy makers – let’s hear it for the Boomers! – who chose to pay their own success forward by heeding the advice of late President John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”   

The bipartisan free college concept unites both liberals and conservatives with the common goal of strengthening America’s talent pool, thereby making it easier for companies to find qualified job applicants.  One example of this growing crisis: the U.S. is experiencing a shortage of teachers (about 112,000, in fact), which has prompted the hiring of trained professionals from other countries.

Why Offer Free College?

The path to a degree can be filled with financial obstacles, like moving out of one’s childhood home and learning how to support oneself. Over half of students struggle with college expenses, and thirty percent drop out by the end of their freshman year. 

By smoothing these road bumps, free college can dramatically improve graduation rates.  Not only can this innovative program help students achieve their immediate goal of attaining a degree, but it can also significantly improve their quality of life by increasing their lifetime earnings. 

A college degree is widely revered as the gateway to better pay.  In 2018, the median weekly pay for workers with a high school diploma: $730.

With an associate degree, the pay climbed to $862.

And with a bachelor’s degree: $1,198.

Is Everything Free? 

Erm…not quite.   Be sure to read the fine print.  Some free college programs only cover tuition.  

That leaves out fees, books, computers, transportation, food, and housing – necessities to be covered by other means.  Some applicants who qualify for a scholarship, a Pell grant, or other financial assistance may obtain help with these expenses. 

Standard frugal measures may also have to kick in: living with parents or roommates, working a part-time job, buying secondhand textbooks, and learning fifty ways to eat ramen noodles.

What About the 44 Million Americans With Student Loan Debt?

While free college programs benefit new undergraduates, these plans are not designed to lighten the debt load carried by former students.  The same options remain: pay monthly installments, negotiate/refinance/postpone payments, or apply for a student loan forgiveness program.

However, a light beckons in academia’s ivory towers.  The spread of free college plans has sparked debates in government circles about wiping out student loan debt, as in... Just.  Make.  It.  Go.  Away.  

When will this happen?  Who will pay off these loans?  How will this affect traditional college financing?  It is possible that we will learn the answers to these questions in the near future. 

What Does Free College Mean For 529 Plans?

For years, 529 plans have been praised as a fantastic way to grow savings for college expenses.  Although tax benefits vary from state to state, the general concept is that the funds can be withdrawn tax free to pay for tuition, books, dorm living, etc. 

However (more fine print), if the money is taken out for expenses unrelated to education, the withdrawal is subject to an extra 10% tax penalty.  The rationale is to forgo the immediate thrill of an Aspen skiing vacation for the delayed gratification of a Harvard degree.

Today only 2.5 percent of US families have a 529 plan.  Perhaps the steady drip of twenty-five dollars a month into a college savings plan makes a quarter-million-dollar degree seem unattainable.  Additionally, the devastating effects of the Great Recession have required many families to focus on immediate needs instead of long-term savings goals.

What Else Will Become Free?

Today, community colleges.  Tomorrow…Yale?  Vassar?  Amherst?  

Free college can lead to greater diversity on university campuses, with people from all socioeconomic groups learning not just from their professors and textbooks, but also from each other.  If finances no longer limited the pursuit of higher education, America would begin to return to its roots as a land of, by, and for the people.  

A Utopian idea, indeed.  

It occurred to me that, in Scandinavian countries, students often take off one year between  high school and college.  They use this free time to travel to other countries and to learn new cultures and languages.  This time of exploration, which often includes paid or volunteer work, helps them to decide on a college major and a career path.

Maybe a free gap year plan -- similar to exchange student programs, with travel and housing expenses covered -- will emerge as an outreach system between the U.S. and other countries.  Combined with free college, a program like this could create a corps of student ambassadors eager to learn about world issues.

Free college may become not only the solution for the rising cost of higher education, but also an effective way to recruit and develop a new generation of leaders.