Senior year is filled with stressful decisions regarding college and careers. We must write essays upon essays and fill out many applications, then anxiously wait to receive admissions decisions. However, one of the most stressful limiting factors of all has become price. It’s important that the costs of colleges stop increasing and become more accessible to all pursuing a higher education.

College prices have increased by 67% over the past 30 years, leading to an accumulation of over $1.4 trillion in student debt in the U.S. Prices are skyrocketing because there are so many less job opportunities for those without degrees as academic standards increase. As more people apply to college, the demand becomes so high that colleges can raise prices due to the necessity of an education to be successful. This unattainable cost burdens everyone with loans. A solution to this problem is extra government funding towards colleges, which would benefit the entire country as we become more educated and skilled entering the workforce.

As of 2019, 23 states have proposed legislation to ease the costs of college tuition, following after New York, the first state to make two and four year colleges free for middle class families. Opponents claim that reducing the cost of institutions decreases the motivation of students and academic value of the school, however countries, such as Finland and Norway, which offer free tuition, are ranked among the most educated countries in the world. Statistics just prove further that accessibility to education is more valuable than having the most expensive universities.

It is time for other states to follow the example set by New York and other countries by minimizing college pricing. The unnecessary burden of tuition on our generation must be stopped before prices get even more out of control.