The Opportunity of Education

In America, the expenses of college is growing to be more out of reach for low income families or immigrants coming into America. Kids who are good students and have good grades, are being given slim opportunities on what colleges to choose from based on what they can afford. Education is linked to success more and more today, so with America being a land of opportunity, students should be given an equal opportunity to go to and afford a college education.

My mom is a single mother and as her oldest child, she is has been reading all about how to afford college and all about scholarships and FAFSA. A lot of families with single parents feel a struggle and pressure to afford college. My mom was the youngest of 5 siblings, who were all boys. They all went to college, except for my mom. Her parents paid for all of them to go to college, but when it came to my mom, they amount of money they had left would only allow her to go to a small community college. My mom thought that would be a waste of money for them because she knew there were other doors open for her and didn’t want to settle for less. Since I started middle school, she has made sure I will be prepared and eligible for all the opportunities I deserve after high school. Since she has never gone through college or the process of applying, everything is as new to her as it is to me, so it's a disadvantage to us compared to others who have gone through it and can guide their children through it. Even with my help of saving money, I still know it will always be a worry of making sure she can afford putting me through college without leaving me in debt.

The American Dream is believed by most to come with an education. But an education to what extent? Immigrants, or anyone who comes into America as a minority or lower class, are most likely not able to afford a four-year education. With advancing jobs and technologies in the workplace, employers require more skills and a college education to get that job. With the average college tuitions being $22,000 a year, and a private school being almost double that, it’s almost impossible or out of reach for anyone in the lower class to be able to come out of it without tens of thousands of dollars of debt.

For myself, and most other students who are more worried about paying for college than getting accepted, I think we all have this question in our mind: Why does it cost SO much? And why isn’t the government helping their young generation kids pursue an academic career that will one day lead into a successful working class? Our economy is weakening and forcing college institutions to limit how much money in scholarships and financial aid. This of course leads to students today taking on more debt than the generation before. Students who are planning on going to college seek high and low for any possible scholarship opportunities possible, when they shouldn’t need to. The government should be more aware of the amount of people leaving college with debt, and try to minimize this. An example of how they can help this issue is by lowering the amount of taxes they require from state universities, which will lower tuition rates.

Being in debt should not be the reward of your education. Having a successful life and job should. As generations pass, this trend of increasing debt and tuition will continue to grow. If students and their families decide that college isn’t worth the monetary consequence, each generation will become less educated. Although most people know how essential a college education is, students won't pursue it if the price is this out of reach.