So, I went through a few ideas for this blog topic, and settled on climate change.

Well, then I settled on ageism in America.

FINALLY, I settled on where I am, college policies in America versus the rest of the world.

“Is it really that different?” Well, excuse my language, but HELL YES. It’s ridiculously different.

For one thing, the college tuition system is only life crushing commitment to debt in America. I have a lot of problems, but that is most definitely my biggest one. The worst part is that one of the most debated topics on the campaign trail at the moment in the U.S. is ‘free college.’

I don’t think college needs to be free, by any means. It’s expensive to run a college, I know that. But, putting 18 year olds $90,000 or more in debt before their life has even started is just completely life ruining and dream crushing.

I don’t want to talk badly about Penn State, but it was one of the least expensive schools I applied to. Now, my in state tuition and housing costs come to around $24,000 a year. Anyone out of Pennsylvania is around $40,000. So, for an average, 4 years of tuition at $32,000 (between 24 and 40) for 40,000 students (this doesn’t even account for branch campus tuition), Penn State makes $5,120,000,000 every four years on average from University Park alone. This definitely isn’t exact math but it makes my point. Five BILLION, 120 MILLION dollars. This doesn’t include textbooks, sports ticket sales both student and otherwise, any type of licensed clothing sales, parking spots, both student and football or sports parking, or any other external costs. With these, I would estimate that Penn State as a brand and school has to be making about 6 billion or more within a 4 year span. We get really great amenities and it’s beautiful, but $5,120,000,000 for this campus is not right.

A lot of people want free tuition, but I don’t need free. I just want affordable. That’s all. In France, they pay around $700 USD for textbooks, education, and housing. I think that would be a valid amount. Even if tuition was $2000 a year, that’s still 320 million for University Park alone. Loans would still be necessary for some, but the fact is that this could be payed off a whole lot easier than the $96,000 I will have in loans as of now. My life will never exist from here on out without the burden of crushing debt in the back of my mind weighing me down.

It’s simply not right that we do this to teenagers, simply for them to make a livable wage and be able to get a job that pays well, or even decent. We are bankrupting kids before they even have a real income, and it makes starting life a whole lot easier for the rich in America, just like many other amenities the rich get for hoarding wealth.

College needs to be affordable, and we need to give these future generations a chance to begin their life without the fear of dying before they pay off their loans, and really start living.