Cities Journal
Education

Two States Introducing Free College Education

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It is no secret that a college education is ridiculously expensive in the United States and that student loans are a huge burden to the American population with higher education degrees. In many countries of the world, education at community colleges is largely free, like for instance in Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico and Norway just to name a few. If not entirely free, those countries offer incredible grant systems that make education all but free.

Well, it seems that we are seeing free community college education becoming a thing in two states in America. Tennessee was the first state to offer free community college education, albeit to select students. This decision was made due to the fact that a University of Tennessee forecast predicted that by 2025, more than half of the job in the state will require people with post-secondary credentials. At the time the study was done, less than a third of people in the state held two-year degrees.

In early July, Oregon joined Tennessee and they will start offering free education at community colleges to Oregon students as well. The students who apply for free college will need to maintain a GPA of 2.5 upwards and apply within half a year from finishing high school.

Will the other states follow soon? It is hard to say. Perhaps it is best to wait and see.

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