As we approach the end of high school and shift our focus onto college and the massive fees that come along with it, we begin to stress and worry about how we are supposed to pay for higher education. This is why, especially in California, lawmakers have started to consider the idea of making public colleges free. While this might seem like an excellent proposal, there are both pros and cons to having tuition-free schools.

On the bright side, lower-income students would be able to attend and graduate college more easily. Quite often, due to the high costs of school, many of these students have to either drop out or reduce their class loads. So, having fee-free college would make things financially easier on those who cannot afford it. In addition, there would be much less student debt. Lately, the crushing student student loan debt has been highly publicized, as Americans currently owe a total of $1.3 trillion in student debt. Without the need to pay so much for education, this debt will be significantly reduced for the next generation. The main positive overall outcome that could result from this is that many more students will be able to take part in higher education, which will create a more informed society as a whole.

In contrast, some people have opposed this plan because of the inherent cons that are attached to just about every other financial issue. For one thing, even though college would be free for the students, the money to pay for it has to come from somewhere. This makes it a possibility that the required money would come from taxes, indicating that free college would result in a heftier demand for taxpayers. Also, some people argue that the necessity to deal with loans and other financial issues will give college students the experience imperative to succeeding financially after college. Lastly, because these policies will likely only apply to public schools, there will probably be an influx of students applying for and attending public schools and a dip in the number of students willing to go to private schools and pay the fees. This could potentially have a detrimental effect on the schools that depend on tuition for funding. If these schools lose too much funding, it would result in the closing of many successful educational programs.

In the end, whether free education is a good thing or a bad thing is up for debate. For now, there are many other very helpful programs to aid students struggling with college costs. While free college may still be out of our grasp, it may be something we could look forward to in the future.

Graphic courtesy of FREEPIK.COM