These days, many countries around the world provide free
university
education
for their
people
.
This
development may seem like a purely positive one, but it comes with disadvantages as well.
This
essay will discuss one important benefit of adopting a gratuitous
tuition
system
for higher
education
and a problem that
such
a
system
can sometimes cause.
A clear advantage of free
university
education
is that many
people
who could
otherwise
not attend
university
due to
financial restrictions can
enrollChange the spelling
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in a degree program and have a chance to improve their standard of living.
In other words
, a free
tuition
system
can level the playing field for prospective
students
from different backgrounds, especially in countries where
tuition
costs are extremely high. In my home country of
USACorrect article usage
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, many
people
of lower economic status choose not to get a degree precisely because the
tuition
is quite expensive. By the time
people
complete their degree programs, they often face mountains of debt which can take years to pay off. The burden of debt of
this
magnitude is enough to dissuade many
people
from going to
university
, so free
education
could have enormous benefits to lower-income members of society. If these
people
complete a
university
program, they can have increased opportunities for more stable jobs with competitive salaries.
Thus
, free
university
education
could help impoverished citizens, which would thereby help reduce educational and financial inequalities among citizens of various backgrounds.
While
free
university
tuition
has other
favorableChange the spelling
show examples
aspects, there are
also
some key drawbacks to consider. One important drawback is that free
university
education
could potentially lead to more competition for
university
entrance
because anyone, regardless of their financial situation, can apply.
This
results in a larger pool of applicants and creates a need for higher admissions standards. In Finland where
university
fees are free,
students
do not struggle
due to
education
costs but
instead
due to
highly competitive
university
entrance
exams. Because
university
entrance
is so selective in Finland,
students
may fail to be admitted on their first try, and they could be forced to apply two or even three times.
This
process could take years
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and may require
students
to get additional help from private tutors. Low-income prospective
students
could easily feel discouraged by
such
slim chances of
university
acceptance, and
the
system
gives rise to the same problem it aimed to solve in the first place. Essentially, overly competitive
university
entrance
could negate the advantages of free
education
.
In conclusion, making higher
education
free for everyone can help many lower-income citizens rise in society, but the resulting cost of free
education
is
then
reflected in increasingly fierce competition for
university
admissions, which works to the advantage of
students
with the means to afford the extra help.