I attend a small liberal arts college. I have friends who attend large, public universities. While I was recently speaking with one of my friends who goes to the University of Georgia, I mentioned how I see so many students who support Sen. Bernie Sanders for President. He mentioned that he noticed the same trend at his school. When I ask what makes Sanders so appealing, the number one reason for millennials to support him seems to be his plan to have free tuition at public institutions of higher learning. It makes sense that people in college would support this, since they are paying thousands of dollars for their education. However, I believe this plan would devalue the college degree and experience.

When people my parents' ages went to college, it was seen as a privilege, because less people went to get degrees. Today, many more people are admitted into colleges across the country, and the competitiveness for entry-level positions after college is higher than it has ever been. Because it is so competitive, many students think they are entitled to go to college. A college degree seems necessary to be successful.

The problem with this is, by having free tuition, a bachelor’s degree becomes just an extension of high school. The college degree loses its notoriety. And when college becomes an extension of high school, everyone who hardly worked in high school, those who were apathetic in their studies, will go to college for the same price as someone who worked diligently in their academics. Then these people will be just as lazy in college as they were in high school, because they aren’t paying for it, or earning scholarships to work for it. Humans care more about things when there is risk involved. By removing the risk of losing money if they don’t study, everyone who would attend college would care less for their education.

Another reason we do not need universal free tuition is because so many people already go to college at no cost to them. In the United States, there are plentiful opportunities to go to college tuition-free. For example, in certain professions like teachers, you can have your student loans forgiven if you teach in lower-income areas. Anyone could benefit from the GI Bill after serving in the United States armed forces, and have their college paid for. Almost every four-year school offers full ride scholarships, and there are so many more partial scholarships these schools award that can add up to cover one’s tuition. Not only are there ample supplies of scholarships from the institutions of higher learning, but there are ample scholarships that are awarded by businesses, elementary schools, fire departments, social clubs and high schools. While many of these are not very large amounts in comparison to the price of college, they are so numerable that they can add up to help cover one’s college tuition.

No one is entitled to go to college, and our generation does not need college to be given to us. By having free tuition for all students, it devalues the college degree and makes it an extension of high school. Also, there are already plenty of ways for students to be able to easily afford going to college, so free tuition wouldn’t help as much as it would hurt.