Free College Degree for US

[sanantone]

I think the assumption made by the general public is that cost is a barrier to entry or completion; total myth. It might be a barrier to entry for some people who can't afford the private out of state liberal arts college of their dreams because their grades don't qualify for scholarship, so they borrow the max and still don't have enough, so they drop out with nothing but a big fat loan and no degree... but I think for 99% of the eligible population, money isn't even a blip on anyone's radar. People don't blink at borrowing money- and it's guaranteed by our govt that you can! You can get through college without any debt if you want, I won't ramble for hours listing the ways, we all know them.

I think the elephant in the room is that CC completion rates are around 10% and no one talks about it. (uni rates are higher) That's not about money. I worked in higher ed for my whole adult life, there are about a thousand things that are barriers to completion, but sometimes it's just flat out a case of character. Not showing up, not turning in papers, rather be partying, etc. Sure, it might be too hard for some students, but if you're in a CC you have open enrollment that has created a system set up to deal with EVERY LEVEL of academic readiness, and if you're in a private uni, you qualified based on their criteria- so you can do the work.

It's possible that people just don't wanna.

It's estimated that CC graduation rates would be as high as 40% if you counted those who transferred and finished at 4-year colleges without finishing their associate's degrees. It is kind of odd that I would be counted as a community college failure even though I've completed a bachelor's and master's degree.