Free college tuition sounds like a miracle to a student looking to attend college, but five years of forced stationing in a single town in exchange sounds like a prison statement.
Many students attend college to learn about themselves and the world they will soon be working in, yet this idea forces students to settle in a world they never finished exploring. The other option, however, is to pay tuition after hoping to qualify for financial aid and receive scholarships that never truly negate the cost of college.
Tuition is not the most expensive part of college — students also have to pay for food and room and board, as well as textbooks and access codes that can cost up to $1,200 a year.
The cost is so high that I nightly debate with myself whether or not it was worth buying the access code to my latest calculus class — is 10% of my grade worth $90? How badly would my grades and GPA suffer if I decided to save $90 a class or $450 a semester? Is a letter grade worth it? I am already paying to take the class, to live near the class, to eat near the class — and now I have to pay extra to do the homework for the class?
How is that right and fair, when I will need the degree to pursue my future career?
Erin Carney
Amherst