Almost everyone that is reading this right now has probably dealt an immense amount of stress caused by school. I mean we get assigned so much work and right when you think you are just about caught up; you get assigned even more work. It can also be tough trying to balance school with your personal life. This can really affect not only the physical health of students, but also mental health.  

Stress, especially in college students is at an all-time high. According to a research study done by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 50% of students suffer from anxiety caused by school, 50% reported that their mental health is below average or poor and 44% of college students have depressive symptoms, including suicidal thoughts.  

Some might argue that college should be stressful, because then you’ll be prepared for the real world. That’s true, some stress is good for you, but too much of anything is unhealthy, especially too much stress. School is not supposed to be completely stress free; however, student shouldn’t be stressed all the time. What can schools do to help their students? 

Well, they could offer mental health resources. Many colleges have mental health offices, where you can get more information as well as help for those with mental illnesses. Here at Penn State, we have Counseling and Psychological services (CAPS). They offer group counseling, individual counseling and will also help make sure you are not overloaded with work to the point where you are starting to struggle in school. We even get five free CAPS sessions.  

However, it’s sometimes difficult to make an appointment because of the high demand and shortage of employees. Also, after the five free sessions, you have to start paying, which some sadly cannot afford. But at least Penn State offers some mental health aid. 

Schools with less funding tend to have worse mental health resources. Public high schools especially have this problem, where an entire school of 400 students might have to rely on just one counselor. So, what can be done to provide better mental health services to students? 

Well, the government could increase in funding for schools, which in turn can go into mental health resources. However, that is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Another way to help is to educate people. Schools could teach their students to detect the common signs of mental illness, so it can be detected before it becomes a major problem.  

Another solution is to also teach students how to cope with stress early. Many are not used to the sudden increase in workload when they entire college. That coupled with the sudden change in environment and increase in responsibility can lead to disaster. So, if students are eased into it, then it will be easier for them to cope with.  

All in all, mental illness is a hot topic that will continue to be revisited. Hopefully getting help will be easier in the near future.  

I think that we can almost all agree that college is extremely expensive. The average in state tuition is a little less than $10,000 per year and the average out of state tuition is a little less than $26,000. This does not even include supplies, housing, food and other expenses. All these other expenses can quickly add up, and as Penn State students, many of us know first-hand how expensive college is. The average cost of attendance for an in state student at Penn State is $35,758 per year, and the average cost for an out of state student at Penn State is $50,240 per year.  

With college being this expensive, many cannot afford it without taking a loan. On average, college graduates owe around $30,000 when they graduate from a four year college. With many also going to get their masters, Ph D or other forms of higher education, the cost and debt continue to increase. College has only been getting more expensive, with it increasing in price seven times more than wages. 

With wages still staying the same and college prices continuing to increase, many are left with a difficult choice. Some might decide not to go to college, but with so many jobs requiring a college degree as a prerequisite, some are forced to go to college even if they cannot afford it.  

Why is college so expensive? Well, this is due to the high demand in recent years. Universities know that people will go to college even if they cannot afford, so they charge more to make more profit. In the United States especially, college is extremely expensive because the government does not invest as much money in the education system compared to other European nations, where college is free for some citizens.  

Due to the immense cost of college, there are many that are pushing to make college free in the United States, like it is in other countries. So, should college be free? 

Well the common arguments that college should be free is so that it will not be a burden on the people. People who could not initially afford college could then afford it, and the money that they will earn in the future will help increase the United States GDP. It will also increase the quality of life in the United States. 

The common argument for those who do not think college should be free is that it would be expensive too expensive to make free. Making college free would increase the United States debt, and it would make college degree lose their value because more people would have a degree. They also argue that the United States spend enough money of college education through grants, scholarships and funding.  

All in all, college is a very hot topic right now, and it looks as though it will still take much time for there to be a solution. What do you guys think?