College should be free, and admissions should be based solely on academic and extracurricular achievement. Tuition simply corrupts the system and throws graduates into debt, amirite?

then colleges would shut down because they cant pay teachers and they wouldnt be able to keep up on maintenance. so...no.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

France doesn't seem to have a problem with that.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

their colleges might get government funding. colleges in the US wrok differently than other places. besides you can get scholarships for almost anything these days, so you can cut tuition down a lot.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You might be able to cut down some, but it's still a lot of money to pay. Especially if you are a good student who can get into a great college, but the tuition is just crazy.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Tuition is pretty crazy, ngl. My sister got accepted into Ithaca with a $10k a year scholarship, but she can't go because that only covers room and board. She still has to pay $30,000 for tuition alone. But that's why there are state and community schools. Tuition and board is less than $20,000 total, if I remember correctly. Even if you have a job that pays only $300 a week, that's $15,600 and covers most of the tuition. Plus, there are some scholarships available.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

But again, if you have the opportunity to go to a school that is far better than your state school, but you can't afford it, then you are throwing away an opportunity for a better education because of the money that you don't have.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

But that's life. Some state schools aren't even that bad. And your undergrad isn't as important if you're going to grad school. Also, if you REALLY wanted to go to a certain college, you'd make sure to do as much as you possibly can, and even take out loans. Most jobs don't even look at where you went to college.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Obviously, I understand that's how it actually is, hence why I am saying that it should be different. And taking out loans does exactly what I said it does, throw you into debt. How many people get jobs straight out of college that would enable them to live decently and pay off loans at the same time? And either way, I said nothing about how the college you attend affects what job you get, but some colleges certainly do provide better opportunities for education and advancement than others.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

But it's just completely illogical. We should have the government give out over $80k to each person? That will make America go bankrupt faster than you can say, "wow! We're helping people!"

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yeah, but it's harder to go to college in France....

by Anonymous 13 years ago

France also has 2 universities in the worldwide top 50, while the United States has 20 (according to the US News rankings).

by Anonymous 13 years ago

*According to the US News rankings*

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I knew you were going to say that, but it's still a completely reputable source. And even if discard any rankings, you can't say French colleges come close to the quality and quantity of American colleges.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I agree, but I was just pointing out that there might quite a bit of bias there. And either way, the US has 5 times the population of France, so it makes sense that France has less colleges/universities than the US. Using that, along with the likely bias of US news and world reports, it also makes sense that France only has 2 in the worldwide top 50.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

What does population have to do with college quality? This is an issue of quality, not quantity. Just because France might have one fifth as many universities, why does that mean they aren't as good? And on the issue of bias, let me just say the US News is one of the most reputable news organizations out there. But since you still think it's americentric, they also have lists of the top 50 universities broken down by continent. France has 3 out of the top 50 in Europe. That's even worse probably.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I'll try to explain this another way. The ratio of good quality colleges to people in the United States is nearly proportional to the ratio of good quality colleges to people in France. Because there are less people in France, there is less need for as many colleges. The less colleges there are, the less good quality colleges there will be. The proportion of good colleges to decent/bad colleges in France is nearly equal to the proportion of good colleges to decent/bad colleges in the United States. Thus, population makes a great difference.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Also, there are 45 countries in Europe, and France has a total of 87 universities, so the fact that France has 3 in the top 50 is not bad. Also, it is somewhat inaccurate to compare France's use of the free college system to what the free college system might look like in the United States, given that they are two completely different countries with different economies, ideals, etc.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

France has a socialist government, so their colleges are covered in taxes. Plus you have to go to whichever college you live closest to.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

France doesn't have a socialist government. It has a mixed economy.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Whoops, that's what I get for replying when I'm half asleep. Anyway the rest is true, it's not like people go to college literally for free.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Hello art school and your $120,000 debt! :) If they can't get rid of the tuition, at least lower it so that the average person can afford it. Yeah, my case is closer to the extreme, but paying 20K+ a year is ridiculous.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Helloooo communism

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You can't just throw around the term 'communism' in any case where the government might intervene in some aspect of our lives. Clearly you (and the four people who agreed with you) don't know what communism is.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Solution: poor parents+ good grades+cheap school=government gives you free money

by Anonymous 13 years ago

poor parents + kids = welfare = already taking from the government.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I said poor not hobos :P

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Poor families still get welfare.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

rich "parents" + good grades - financial support = government doesn't give you much to work with = two jobs and working full time, while taking 6 to 7 courses every semester = miserable college years

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Who's paying for it? The US is already trillions of dollars in debt. Plus, state schools are only $15,000-$20,000 a year, which isn't a lot compared to other schools.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

YAY PAYING EVEN MORE TAXES FOR EDUCATION

by Anonymous 13 years ago

My state pays for all your tuition for state schools if you have like a B average. We use the lottery but it's running out

by Anonymous 13 years ago

you cant take money out of the lottery and give it away. thats not how the lottery works.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

The Georgia lottery pays for Hope Scholarship

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Meh, it's a good idea in concept, but the US is in too much debt already to start spending even more money. :/ (Not that that's going to stop anytime soon...)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy...

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Lol poor you, you've never made a cake out of rainbows and sunshine.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

YOU DONT EVEN GO HERE!

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I just have a lot of feelings... *walks of stage sniffling*

by Anonymous 13 years ago

(lkun):... Just... Go home

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I don't understand how anyone can expect anything for free. Maybe you haven't had to work for much?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You *****should***** go and pick up a dictionary from your local Borders. I don't expect you to, but I believe that you *****should*****. Bitch.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

What? Why are you so bitter about my opinion? You know what...don't answer that. This is silly.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I felt insulted by your unnecessary judgements on my work experience/habits.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

And you were also missing the point of the post (hence the little hints in the previous comment). I don't expect college to be free, or anything else for that matter; I'm simply saying that it *should* be free because that would remove the money trap that comes along with a college education and the corruption as well. I realize that it probably wouldn't work if implemented in real life, but in theory, it would be great.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

One of the reasons America has such good colleges is because their so expensive. So no. If it were government funded, it wouldn't be as good.

by Anonymous 13 years ago