Obama Proposes Free College
Two Years For Students Willing To Work For It
President Obama is talking about making prospective college students’ dreams a reality.
He’s proposing two free years of community college.
Joel Scheving is about to start his first semester of college at M state in Moorhead.
“It’s pretty sweet,” he said.
He’s been out of high school for two years. He could have made his college dream a reality sooner if finances weren’t a concern.
“I had to take time after high school to save up so I could afford my classes.”
In the future, this might not be a problem students have to face due to President Obama’s recent proposal.
“America’s College Promise will make two years of community college free to responsible students who are willing to work for it,” said Obama in a speech at Pellissippi State.
If this plan is implemented in all 50 states, students on average will save nearly $4,000 per year.
Faculty members like Carrie Brimhall say this could make a major impact since finances worry nearly every student she works with.
“We don’t have students walking in saying that they’re not thinking about money right now,” Brimhall said.
While most agree, there are still questions to be answered.
“Who’s going to get it? How is it going to be done?” asked Tami Mangahas, a mother of a new M-State student.
“There are obviously a lot of details that have to be worked out,” said an M-State student counselor Maronda Robertson.
What we do know is that students will have to maintain a 2.5 GPA and attend school at least half-time.
The federal government would cover 3/4 of the cost. The state would be expected to pick up the rest.
We don’t know if the states of Minnesota and North Dakota will choose to participate.
As for now, students like Scheving will pay for school of hopes of landing the dream job.
“In the future I would like to own my own business and be super successful,” said Scheving.
Tennessee approved a similar program last year that provides free community college to high school graduates.
