College tuition is at one of the highest rates America has seen. The average American family, according to College Data, spends about 102,480 or more depending on the major of their student in college tuition fees. After college, if the student is able to obtain a job, the individual will most likely have student loans leading to debt. College education in the United States is directly linked to homelessness rates increasing alongside the increases in wage gaps. Public education in the United States has systematically not supplied individuals with equal secondary education opportunities due to socio-economic status.

Economic status in America is one of the factors that separates opportunity in the current status quo. The Business Insider argues, ” the median household income grew by only 14% since 1987, the price of a college education sky-rocked by 103% in the same time period.” College in the United States has escalated at an alarming rate. The average national household income is 59,039 a year making college unaffordable for the average American family. This has led to the debt crisis America is currently facing. Due to student loans, Time claims, today more than 44 million Americans have outstanding student loan debt, which has become one of the biggest consumer debt categories. All told, student debt in the U.S. now totals more than $1.5 trillion.

Homelessness rates continue to rise as education is unaffordable; a survey conducted by USA Today claims that nearly 86,000 students found that homelessness affected 18% of respondents attending two-year colleges and 14% of those attending four-year institutions. The number who said they had experienced housing insecurity, such as difficulty paying rent, was much higher, at  60%, among those attending two-year schools, and at 48% for those enrolled in four-year institutions. College students are sleeping in libraries, on couches, and in the unknown because some are unable to afford a place to sleep.

Many students are unable to continue their education because of the unaffordable tuition rates. Education is critical and creates opportunities as Nelson Mandela emphasizes “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Higher Education is momentous for the personal, social and economic development of the nation. As a society, if we continue to allow inequity within our schooling systems we allow individuals with lower funds to suffer, which is inhumane.

Students should have access to education no matter the funds their parents have. 

If we proceed to not change these systematic circumstances we will forever stay in the same place and leave the wage gap between the rich and poor even bigger. As a nation, America must advocate for equal opportunity for everyone. All students deserve life, liberty, and justice at the very minimum no matter how much wealth individuals possess. Attending University in peace should not be a privilege but a given.