The Cost of ‘Free’

By Abbie Ahn

Hypothetically, if there was a family with two kids in college, who earned the average national income of $74,000, their combined college tuition would be around $72,000, which essentially equals that family’s annual income. This offers a dilemma; do you send your kids to college? Or do you prioritize your basic needs such as mortgage payments and food? To reduce situations like these, it has been suggested by those such as Senator Bernie Sanders that college tuition should be eliminated to make higher education universally accessible. However, some say that eliminating tuition is not an option, because a free education will negatively impact the amount of funding and therefore quality of the college system. Instead, many are proponents of a lowered college system that will create more opportunities for families that are unable to support four years of college for their children. 

Currently, the majority of universities and colleges use tuition as a fund to improve their classes and campus infrastructure. A lack of tuition would therefore mean a lack of funding, meaning that smaller private universities, unlike big schools with larger endowment funds, such as Harvard and Yale, will struggle. Small liberal arts colleges that do not receive any state funding will end up having less or even no money to fund their teaching staff, housing, dining, and research facilities ("College Tuition”, par. 3). Similarly, according to the New York Times, if colleges become free, governments may suspend some of their funding to state schools, saying that colleges do not need good teachers or amenities, which are all extra expenses coming from the state (Goldberg, et al. par. 11). Bloomberg News also stated in 2019 that free college can also lead to overcrowding, causing schools to be unable to serve students adequately for lack of funds. This may lead to subpar accommodations and fewer resources for students, as colleges become unable to find enough money, without income in the form of tuition. Student tuition makes up the main bulk of funding for smaller colleges and, while tuition can’t remain as high as it is now, eliminating it altogether is not an option. 

Ultimately, making colleges free will cause many of them to close for financial reasons, leading to a smaller pool of admissions overall, reducing access to higher education. Currently, many small colleges are either closing or merging with other small colleges in order to stay afloat. For example, Michael Frandsen, the president of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, says that in an, “...industry with falling demand and overcapacity... we would be foolish to expect anything other than consolidation and shakeout” (Querolo, par. 2). While tuition cannot remain as high as it is now, it is also impossible to sustain a stable college system with zero funding. Thomas Sowell, a political philosopher, wrote in the East Bay Times that “[u]nder any economic system, those costs are either going to be paid or there are not going to be any colleges” (Sowell 852). With the current inflation, it would be totally unrealistic to sustain a college in a tuition-free system. Instead, the current government could look towards a new model of financial aid that includes the redirection of public financial aid resources to control costs to students and increase the quality of college, overall decreasing achievement gaps and increasing the graduation rate (Goldrick-Rab and Kendall 843). A lower cost college system would serve both the colleges and students beneficially: colleges are funded, while students can pay much less than they are currently paying. 

However, opponents may argue that a free education system can generate more opportunities for people from poorer families to get a college degree. Hence, this can lead to higher paying jobs in the future, which would ultimately close the earning gap. Even though free tuition would significantly reduce the financial burden of college, additional fees such as housing, food, and book fees are still costly. For example, at the University of Washington, according to their housing and food services website, students must pay an average of $1,920 a month for living expenses, which can total $15,500 per year. Instead, if college costs are lowered, not only will it encourage more students to attend college, but it will also keep smaller colleges economically afloat. For example, after cutting its tuition from $63,500 to $36,000, Colby-Sawyer University in New Hampshire saw an immediate surge in applications, an increase of over 75% in one year, according to college officials (Hartocollis, par. 25). A reduced college tuition would also result in less debt than the current national average, which according to Forbes Magazine, is around $148,000. This will allow students to pay off their debt quicker and invest in their futures sooner. Overall, the benefits of a reduced college system heavily outweigh those of a free college system. 

In conclusion, advocating for the reduction of college tuition emerges as the best option. The proposed free college system would only exacerbate socioeconomic disparities, while compromising the quality and availability of educational institutions. All in all, college tuition should not and cannot remain as high as it is now, but it is also impossible for our college system to become free. The most optimal path forward lies within efforts to lower the cost of college, ensuring affordability and accessibility, while still upholding and maintaining the same quality and integrity of our higher education system. Only by working towards a more equitable and sustainable future can we improve the educational system for ourselves and our future generations.  

Works Cited 

Anya Kamenetz. "Is Free College Really Free?" The Language of Composition, by Renee Shea and others, 3rd ed., Bedford, Freeman & Worth, 2018, pp. #-852-#856. 

"College Tuition and Student Loans." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Farmington Hills, MI, Gale, 2023. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link-gale-com.ezproxy.kcls.org/apps/doc/PC3010999071/OVIC?u=kcls_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=a4696d62. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024. 

Goldberg, Michelle, et al. "Should College Be Free?" The New York Times, 5 Dec. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/opinion/the-argument-buttigieg-free-college.html?smid=url-share. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024. 

Hahn, Alicia. "2024 Student Loan Debt Statistics: Average Student Loan Debt." Edited by Jordan Tarver. Forbes Magazine, 16 July 2023, www.forbes.com/advisor/student-loans/average-student-loan-debt-statistics/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2024. 

Hartocollis, Anemona. "A Sign That Tuition Is Too High: Some Colleges Are Slashing It in Half." The New York Times, 14 Dec. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/us/college-universities-college-tuition-reset.html. Accessed 12 Jan. 2024. 

Querolo, Nic, et al. "The Economics of Small US Colleges Are Faltering." Bloomberg, 14 Dec. 2023, www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-us-higher-education-analysis/. Accessed 8 Jan. 2024. 

Sara Goldrick-Rab and Nancy Kendall. "Make the First Two Years of College Free." The Language of Composition, by Renee Shea and others, 3rd ed., Bedford, Freeman & Worth, 2018, pp. #841-#843. 

Thomas Sowell. "No Way That Going to College Can, or Should Be, Free" The Language of Composition, by Renee Shea and others, 3rd ed., Bedford, Freeman & Worth, 2018, pp. #852. 

University of Washington Housing and Food Services. hfs.uw.edu/About/Keep-costs-low. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.