Back in 2019, many high school students were intrigued to learn of a proposal in the State of New Mexico to make all state colleges in New Mexico tuition-free. When I wrote about the plan for free college, it was unclear whether it would actually happen, and how long it would be until the state of New Mexico could implement such an ambitious venture. But three years later, as of 2022, the New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship Act has passed, giving all New Mexico residents access to free or affordable tuition at any public college or university in the state. Many people did not believe it could be done, or at least not for another few years, especially with the cost of higher education going up in recent years.

Policies like these are important considering that the combined student loan debt has reached a staggering $1.7 trillion, with students graduating with an average debt of $36,000 in 2022, up $6,000 since 2019. Colleges such as New York University, which were initially supposed to be affordable higher education options, can now be especially expensive for students, costing up to $77,000 per year in 2022. This makes NYU out of reach for the majority of students since the median household income in New York City is around $67,000. Even the average cost after aid, $38,000, will either be unaffordable to most, or force students to take out large loans. Even students attending public colleges like the University of California, Berkeley ($40,000), and Stony Brook University ($27,750) are forced to take loans. 

Many states have been implementing plans to assist low-income families, including New York with its Excelsior Scholarship that covers tuition, but not fees or dorm, in state colleges. But New Mexico plans to make college free for all state residents and adjacent Native American tribes and it should be considered an important step in the right direction that will hopefully spark change in the country as a whole.

However, some people believe that free college will create more problems than it solves. Mr. Dimoulas, a Forensic Science and Biology teacher at Bronx Science, said, “By making college tuition free, admissions will be much more difficult, given the increase in applications.” 

Another common criticism is that states will have to raise taxes to pay for this effort. New Mexico, which is directing $75 million for this effort in 2022, is using pandemic relief funds, but will likely have to scramble later to raise funds or cut something else from its budget. Additionally, some argue that if the government is the sole funder of public colleges, colleges will have tighter budgets and limited opportunities.

Some worry that people who could afford to pay for college will end up taking advantage of the benefit. However, we already have a system of free public education alongside private schools in our K-12 public schools system. Each family makes the choice it sees fit, and it hasn’t led to a decline in the number of wealthy families willing to pay for private schools. 

Despite these criticisms, most Bronx Science students believe that college education should be free, and that it is in fact the government’s responsibility to cover the costs. If we are expected to become successful adults and take on challenging occupations such as doctors or lawyers, then we should be given the resources to do so at an affordable cost, without the pressure of student loans looming over our studies. Every student with whom I spoke with agreed that college tuition and room and board is currently too expensive and that there needs to be some plan to fix it. It seems that also over the course of this year with the college application process and having to assess financial aid to see if we can actually afford the colleges we are accepted to, seniors at Bronx Science especially have a better understanding of the importance of free or low cost college programs.

Raitah Jinnat ’21 once said, “The system is simply not fair,” adding that she thought that tuition prices were becoming ridiculous when I first talked to her about the subject in her junior year at Bronx Science. Jinnat now attends Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College which is a CUNY program that covers all tuition costs for full time students. Jinnat remarked that, “Despite the pros and cons of Macaulay Honors College at Hunter, you can’t beat free college tuition.” 

Macaulay exists at all the CUNY campuses in every borough, giving hundreds of students the opportunity for a high quality and accessible free education. Another perk of Macaulay is that they generously also provide all students with a free Macbook Air and as well as cover the costs of  a free single dorm at the Hunter campus.

Long term funding for free college tuition programs is a valid concern, and any state that adopts a similar plan to New Mexico’s should first make sure that there is proper funding for state colleges to maintain the quality and variety of programs for years to come. Recently, many state schools have faced steep budget cuts that led to cuts in programs and increased tuition. State governments need to invest in public universities and not force them to do more with less. Currently New Mexico is actually ranked last in terms of education, as well as very low in relation to their economy.

This raises the question, will free college would really be beneficial to the state? Will this high risk venture pay off in the long run, leading people to strive for higher paying jobs, in turn boosting the economy? The New Mexico state government believes it will, and is fully ready to support the aspirations of all qualifying residents who want to pursue an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. Let’s hope that other states soon follow their lead and increase the amount of free public higher education because all students deserve to graduate from college debt free.

This raises the question, will free college would really be beneficial to the state? Will this high risk venture pay off in the long run, leading people to strive for higher paying jobs, in turn boosting the economy? The New Mexico state government believes it will, and is fully ready to support the aspirations of all qualifying residents who want to pursue an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.