In my final year at Simpson, I am left to reflect on the past few years and how I got to where I am today. It has not been an easy journey, as I’m sure some of my fellow classmates understand the expense and sacrifice it takes to get oneself through college. 

Throughout my time here, I have consistently worked a full-time job, sometimes two part-time jobs, while also taking off a few semesters here and there in order to catch up on payments and save for my future. As lucky as I am to have (almost) gotten through college – with the help of my family – not everyone is so lucky. 

What happens to these people? 

A survey done in the spring of 2022 by weforum.org said, “31% of students dropping out of college after this [spring] term say it’s to find a job,” not to mention that “the rising cost of living is the reason 29% of students say they’re not returning to college.”

College is meant to be a place where we focus on growing the best minds of the next generation; an impossible task to complete if the only minds we focus on are the ones who can afford to be seen. 

According to simpson.edu, the cost of education per year (before aid) is $40,666, with Iowa State University and the University of Iowa websites listing the cost of tuition, each around $10,000 per year. 

To lose one-third of our population due to expensive education and overall cost of life, is to lose one-third of what our futures could be like. 

Higher education is advertised as the best opportunity to make a stable life for ourselves, but what is the point of advertising something that cannot be sold to a large portion of our society? It’s like when you go to buy a $50 concert ticket, but it’s $256 after fees are applied.

College is expensive, it’s hard, and it’s not for everyone — but it could be. 

Higher education should be for anyone interested in pursuing it, but for now, it seems it’s really only for the lucky few; those who can afford the cost of education or get by on scholarship. 

I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about finances and how free education would work in America, but there are countries that are successful in their pursuit of providing free education for their citizens. I believe the US could accomplish this if it is taken seriously and executed well. You can’t tell me that we have the funds to bail out multimillion-dollar corporations, yet we can’t support our own people’s right to formal education. 

So, who is college really for? Who should it be for? And what’s the difference between the two? You tell me.