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.
