New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently announced a new program that will provide a free college education from a state-run university or community college for any student whose family's yearly income is below $125,000. The concept of a free college education became particularly popular in this past year with Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary Hillary Clinton's campaign promises of making higher education free for students.

Sure, free tuition sounds nice. Who doesn't love free stuff? And, yes, a college education is now basically an essential for a professional career. There are many students who are stopped from pursuing a college degree because of the price tag with which it comes. I completely agree that the system is broken, but a promise of "free" tuition is not the solution. Aside from the idea that free tuition seems unfair to those who take advantage of opportunities to pay for college through hard work and determination, there are many others solutions that would work better, some of which are already in place and are just not being used to the extent that they should be.

Firstly, in the state of New York, state tuition for a four year university is $6,470. You can't find that in the spare change in the cup holder of your car, but it's certainly not an outrageous amount of money; and this money can be found in a number of ways. Scholarships are a fantastic option for this scenario. Scholarships are offered nation wide, state wide, county wide, high school wide, or even by the university itself. I applied for a ridiculous amount of scholarships during my senior year of high school and for my countless personal statements, I earned a total of $41,000, more than enough money to cover four years of NYS tuition. The true beauty of scholarship money is that scholarships are intended for specific purposes. Some of the money I received immediately comes off of my bill each semester, but other awards were simply given to me in the form of a check. That money can be used for tuition, like the Cuomo plan, but it can also be used for a laptop, books, a meal plan, a bus ticket to campus, or a pizza on a Friday night. But if filling out applications and writing essays aren't your thing, try a part-time job. To earn a sum of $6,470 dollars in a minimum wage job that is worked approximately 30 hours a week, the time spent working would be less than a year; 168 days to be be exact. For all four years of college tuition, that adds up to 672 days, less than 2 years.

This information might seem confusing. How can college be so expensive if state tuition is $6,470? $6,470 isn't just found on the street, but it doesn't seem that bad, so why all of the panic over the cost of college? Because college isn't just tuition. In NYS 4-year schools, there is of course the $6,470 tuition, but also a $1,590 student fee, $12,590 for room and board, and approximately $1,340 for books and supplies. That reasonable tuition suddenly becomes $21,990. This amount, of course, does not include transportation, any food not on a meal plan, non-educational supplies (like bed sheets or shower shoes), and any other personal expenses that may come up for a college student. That extra $15,520 per year is conveniently not mentioned as a part of tuition, or a part of Governor Cuomo's free tuition plan, despite the fact that it is just as essential as tuition.

The idea of free tuition seems nice. This new program by New York State will be sold as an opportunity for low-income students to achieve higher education, something that could not possibly happen without this bill being passed. Not only is this not the only opportunity for low-income students to get tuition money, but this program is not life saving by any means. Not to mention the fact that it would only cover state schools, not private institutions. A better expenditure of taxpayer money could be an increase in grants to public high schools intended for scholarships, which would be given for any collegiate purpose, not just tuition; or to the state colleges to bestow on incoming students in need and deserving of scholarship money. There is a need for a program to fix this critical issue in our education system, but this "free" ticket to college is simply not it.

On a more personal note, I feel I must include that I have been incredibly lucky when it comes to my college bills. As I mentioned earlier, I received a number of scholarships for my education, and I am blessed to have parents who meticulously planned for my future and are willing to foot the remainder of the bill for my private college education. I have not yet had the personal experience of truly not being able to afford college expenses, yet I am already planning for the future when I will. Even when my education was guaranteed, I spent countless hours of hard work doing all that I could to lower the expense of my education, something that should be the first step for anyone intending to attend any kind of college. I understand that my situation is fortuitous and rare. A solution needs to be put into action for those who simply cannot afford college tuition, but "free" tuition is not the answer to this complex issue.