Should Community College be Free? Con

College is something that was always expected.

No one really knows why.

It is something that is egged on to you fromelementary school and all the way through college.

College is one of the first stepping stones in becoming an adult.

There are deadlines for everything from homework to financial aid.

If you can’t become an adult in these small ways, why should free community college be your reward?

Education is something that you earn with hard work, patience and perseverance.

Some people, after graduating high school, choose to attend local community colleges instead of four year colleges because it is cheaper, more affordable, and closer to home.

Public education, preschool through high school, is already funded by the state and taxpayers’ money.

If community colleges were free, it would be funded about the same way and be easier to abuse the system.

By abusing the system, students would show up to class only when they feel like it because they are not paying for it, compared to buying their classes and having the money go to waste.

With little to no one showing up, professors would lose their job and classes would be dropped.

Leading to no community college.

At Fresno City College, tuition ranges from $1,410 to $2,000, according to the college’s website.

Some students qualify for the Board of Governors fee waiver that covers student class fees and some get financial aid.

When you do the calculations, classes are free and you spend about half of your financial aid check on books and necessities.

For those that don’t receive aid, it is expected of you to pay out of your own pocket or take tons of student loans.

Fresno State ranges from $5,000 to $6,000 in tuition excluding financial aid and scholarships.

For those that don’t receive financial aid, the tuition comparative to a 4 year is a $3,000 difference, give or take.  

Community colleges are indeed a great way to save money, and is already at a discount.

Preston Cooper, a research analyst of Forbes said,  “Of degree-seeking enrollees in two-year public colleges, just 12 percent go on to earn a bachelor’s degree… 23 percent manage to earn a certificate or associate’s degree…that leaves 65 percent who have still not earned a credential.”

With that little number, why should the government award everyone with free community college?

It is not guaranteed that everyone attending will get a degree.

Some people find out that college is not for them and go a different path.

Some can agree  that by the end of a semester, little to about half of the class stops showing or drops out.

Students show up everyday to get a failing grade because they are expected to be there because of their parents or insurance reasons.

From the moment you are accepted, college is something that you earn.