Students at San Juan Hills High School and nationwide struggle with the affordability of a college education, and often believe that “free” college is the solution to the inability to afford it and to avoid a colossal debt in student loans.

As tempting and exciting as it sounds to have a free college education, it is not realistic to consider the United States being constitutionally obligated to provide a college education to all its citizens. Not only would providing free college significantly detriment the nation’s economy, but it would also decrease the quality of education that students would receive.

Many people fail to realize that Bernie Sanders’ plan for free college education is strictly a theory. Sanders has never mentioned how he is planning to obtain the money to pay for 20.2 million students to get a college education.

Sanders wants to base his socialist democratic theologies on a system in Denmark. In Denmark, students receive a free college education. While this may appear like a successful plan, the underlying truth is that Denmark citizens pay ridiculous amounts of taxes–37% is the minimum tax for the lower class and 59% for workers who make $300,000 or more.

We also have to realize that Denmark supports 300,000 students whereas the United States has to support 20.2 million students. Free college would cost $70 billion per year, which is more than twice what the government spends on Pell grants, which is the money the government provides for students who need it to pay for college.

By allowing a free college education, the college diploma will be significantly devalued, similar to how the high school diploma is devalued. It seems that everyone receives a high school diploma making it underappreciated, and the college diploma will suffer the same fate. More people are concerned with the cost of college rather than the quality of education. The current cost of college can be seen as an incentive for students to work hard in order to achieve the American dream.

The quality of teachers will also decrease notably. An influx of students in college will require more teachers to be hired. Similar to our current primary and secondary education system, good teachers are in short supply and because it is free, it is bankrupting our state budgets and students are getting a mediocre to poor education.

According to The College Board, 57% of students receive some form of financial aid in the form of grants–which is money from the government that does not need to be repaid. For those students who do not qualify, work opportunities at college are available. The Huffington Post states that 4 out of 5 students in college have a part-time job, which is the responsible way to pay for a college education. These work opportunities can lead to future employment post graduation.  

John F. Kennedy once said “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Americans should not be dependant on government programs to finance their lives. The American Dream is built on hard work and perseverance.