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Cody Walker
Professor Leah Huizer
UWRIT 1102
18 October 2016
The Cost of Free
A college degree is quickly becoming a requirement in many careers
that pay a livable wage. Employers find more than just specialized education
in prospective employees. Achieving a degree also displays qualities such as
the dedication through committing roughly four years to a specific task, the
ability to succeed in high stress environments and degree holders also
demonstrated their skills by completing complex project within tight
deadlines All these skills make a college degree extremely valuable. A
college education shouldnt be free because the value of the degree would
diminish and the cost of running educational institutions would be
detrimental to the United States economy. Overall offering free college to
everyone would be costlier to our society as a whole instead of being
beneficial.
Some people such as Bill Gates for example have been unbelievably
successful at making money without a college degree. While being a
billionaire without a college is possible it isnt very likely. The pew research
center identified that college graduates between the ages of 25-32 make an

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average of $17,500 more than those with only high school education.
$17,500 is close to the price of new compact sedan. This amount of money
could be the difference between living in poverty to living comfortably. The
financial security that an additional $17,500 adds would also reduce stress
levels. Financial insecurity can play a role in many cases of depression and
anxiety.
Educational institutions require enormous amounts of money in
order to create an education friendly environment. Some would argue that
educational institutions dont need have so many facilities to accommodate a
college student every need. The Harvard Graduate School of Education found
that student happiness has a direct positive correlation with a students
GPA. Harvard also stated that Happiness is predicted by students
satisfaction with school culture and relationships with teachers and peers.
This school culture and social life is created
by universities providing recreational
activities and facilities to students. These
facilities are usually filled with vendors that
will generate an additional income for the
universities, essentially paying for the
facilities overtime. The cost of running an
educational institution goes far beyond recreational activities and facilities.
In many universities such as the University of Virginia the main
expense is the faculty. The University of Virginia posted on their website that

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For the Academic Division, 60.5% of the total operating budget will be spent
on personal services, which includes the compensation including fringe
benefits of faculty, staff, wage employees, and graduate teaching and
research assistants. This is a crucial expense that would most likely have a
negative impact on the quality of education if this was decreased. The
breakdown of these two aspects leads to the question, how much money do
Americans spend on college? The National Center for Education Statistics
reported that In academic year 201314, postsecondary institutions in the
United States spent approximately $517 billion (in current dollars). Total
expenses were nearly $324 billion at public institutions, $173 billion at
private nonprofit institutions, and $21 billion at private for-profit institutions.
This is an insane amount of money. This would only increase if college was
free for students. More students would attend college, therefore more
faculty and amenities would be required to keep the same quality of
education. Who would pay for the hundreds of billions of dollars that would
be required to keep the educational institutions running? This burden would
ultimately be placed on the United States government. The United States
government already has a full plate approaching nearly 20 trillion dollars in
debt. The added expense of free college would only assist in crippling the
economy. The additional debt would then have to be covered by taxpayers
only decreasing the amount of take home pay, even for those who can barely
make it with what they earn already. The cost of college does create an
obstacle limiting who can actually attend.

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The national Education Association argues If college is essential for

building a career and being a full participant in our democracy as high school
once was, shouldn't it be free, paid for by public dollars, and treated as a
right of all members of our country? Besides the fact that public dollars are
currently around -20 trillion this question proves the value behind the
degree. College is much different than high school in many ways. Attending
high school is mandatory, a students parents can face legal actions if the
student does not attend. Attending a University requires determination and
self-motivation without any legal punitive actions. Not everyone is cut out for
the meticulous coursework and scheduling involved with attending a
university and free college would allow those not cut out for the university
lifestyle to waste financial resources. College is a choice that is available for
nearly everyone to attend but it is not an entitlement. A college
demonstrates value in many different ways besides cost.
People argue that a college degree isnt worth the price but the values
of a degree can be much more beneficial to a person that just proving that a
person is educated. A high school diploma or equivalent is a prerequisite for
many entry level minimum wage jobs but a college degree provides
education for specialized careers that can lead to a more comfortable living.
Rasmussen College conducted a study that shows students can gain a more
open perspective on education as a whole and be more apt to learn new
things in the workplace and report more happiness in their career. College
graduates also lean important like skills that make them an asset to potential

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employers even if the degree doesnt directly apply to the career field. The
problem solving and time management skills that are required to be
successful in college directly apply to being successful in the workforce. The
University of Notre Dame found that college graduates experience a
healthier life as well as lower
infant mortality rates.
College students also
experience unique social
situations which will make
them more diverse and
adaptable throughout the
rest of their life. With all the values of a college degree it makes one think
about the question the Civitas Institute asked If college education has value
why give it away? The Civitas Institute also brought up a solid argument by
asking Will or nation be better if we keep generating college graduates who
have difficulty finding gainful employment? As I had mentioned earlier our
nation will face many negative side effects if college was free for students.
The sad truth of society today is that in order to operate fluently
society needs to fill jobs that require little education or work experience.
Society fills these jobs with the less fortunate who either are able to make it
through college academically or financially. While this is unfair to those
individuals our society would not function properly without them. If college
was made free this group of individuals would likely try their hand at college

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and if they did and didnt make it through their time in college would still
have to be paid for by someone and
because of the flood of degree holders,
they may end up working the same dead
end jobs.
In conclusion the value of a college
degree can be quantified in many different
ways and because of these many values a
degree holds the college experience
should not be free. Free college would
create a burden on the economy and lead to

Works Cited
Education: The Rising Cost of Not Going to College | Pew ... Pew Social
Trends, Pew Research Center, 11 Feb. 2014,
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/02/11/the-rising-cost-of-notgoing-to-college/.

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Fast Facts - National Center for Education Statistics. NCES, 2016,

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=75.
ones, Victoria. Because Im Happy | Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Harvard Graduate School, Harvard Graduate School, 26 Mar. 2015,
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/15/03/because-im-happy.
Luebke, Bob. Why Free College Tuition Is a Bad Idea - Civitas Institute.
Nccivitas, Civitas Institute, 4 Feb. 2016,
https://www.nccivitas.org/2016/16909/.
Page, Max, and Dan Clawson. NEA - It's Time to Push for Free College. NEA,
NEA, http://www.nea.org/home/62740.htm.
Pfeffer, Jennifer. More Than a Degree: The Hidden Benefits of a College ...
Rasmussen College, Rasmussen College,
http://www.rasmussen.edu/student-life/blogs/college-life/hiddenbenefits-of-college-education/.
Questions and Answers, Financing the University 101, U.Va. University of
Virgina, University of Virgina,
http://www.virginia.edu/finance101/answers.html
Usgovernmentdebt.us - Debt Clock. Usgovernmentdebt,
Usgovernmentdebt, 2016, http://www.usgovernmentdebt.us/.
Wozniak, Abigail. College Graduates Healthier Than Non-Grads, Study
Shows ... College of Arts and Letters, College of Arts and Letters, 23

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July 2013, https://al.nd.edu/news/latest-news/41345-college-graduateshealthier-than-non-grads-study-shows/.