Free college has been a hot topic during the recent presidential debates. Clinton and Sanders have already promised it to everyone should they be elected. I've heard rumors about both public universities and community colleges becoming free. The idea is obviously extremely appealing for college students, but as much as I want it to work, it just doesn’t seem feasible.

Looking at Germany, a country who offers free education for its students, even international ones, the failure is evident. Without the extra funding teachers aren’t being trained properly and expanding university services to meet the demand of incoming students isn’t happening. They are unable to provide new classrooms to accommodate their students, and unable to provide housing for all of them as well.

“University enrollment increased, but government funding for universities did not. As of 2008, Germans spent only 4.7% of their gross domestic product on higher education, compared with the international average of 5.9%. “ – Business Insider

Looking at community colleges doesn’t seem promising either. They are often a first step for those looking to save money, or aren’t quite ready to attend a university yet. However, only 20% of students who attend a two-year public community college graduate, and only 60% return the following year. Just 15% earn a Bachelor’s degree within six years. Instead of being a solid first step, they often end up being a dead end. Investing money into schools with such high dropout rates just isn’t practical.

Eliminating the expense of receiving an education destroys the incentive for students to ever graduate. Interestingly, fewer German youth finish college than American youth do, despite not having to pay tuition.The quality of education will go down because the quality of teachers will go down, which in turn means the quality of your degree will go down. Schools will loose their rigor and prestige.

By all means I believe that the cost of college needs to come down. The current average cost is outrageous and many students will spend decades paying off their loans. I absolutely think our higher education system should be reformed as well, but I don’t think free tuition is the answer to this problem.