Free Higher Education in the U.S

What do Brazil, Finland, Sweden, France, Slovenia, Norway, and Germany have in common? All of these major world countries all have free tuition to public universities.  That is one of the topics that Democrat Bernie Sanders would like to accomplish and have in the United States. Across the country, thousands of college students are weighed down by a tremendous amount of student loans upon graduation. According to collegedata.com, the average college tuition for a student is anywhere from $10,000-$20,000 per year. That’s not including room and board and books. This large amount of money is a big issue in America, and a lot of citizens don’t go to college, simply because it is too expensive for them or their parents to afford. Even if the student does take out a student loan to pay for college, the student will have to carry the debt for years to come. Sander’s plan is to make all public universities in America tuition free and debt free.

Milton Hershey School is a private school in Hershey Pa, that offers free education to families in financial need. According to their website any student who wishes to pursue to higher education, the school will pay for their tuition so that their families don’t have to. As a result 90% of their high school seniors went on to college. According to the New York Times the national percentage of students who are attending college is only 65.9 percent.

Offering free tuition is not a radical idea. According to berniesanders.com, last year Germany switched to free tuition after they believed that charging students $1,300 per year was discouraging students from attending college. That’s $1,300 where in the U.S tuition can reach as high as $65,000. Isn’t it time that the wealthiest country in the world follows the trend and brings free tuition to all students?