Across the nation, many families suffer from the financial burden that comes with affording and accessing college education. To help support families coming from low-income, underrepresented minority, and/or underserved backgrounds, various institutions offer free tuition programs that provide funds that either pay a portion or all the tuition costs. Such programs come in different forms, from state- or federal- funded Promise Programs and fee waivers to full-ride scholarships and donations sponsored by private foundations/organizations, all of which allow more families to be able to access further education. However, even with the positive impacts such programs have on post-graduation outcomes and the number of students working towards a college degree, many are still not able to access them, let alone are informed by their institutions of them. In other words, on many occasions, families are not able to reap the benefits of the free tuition programs offered by their intended higher education institution due to the lack of accessibility to the resources needed to be able to navigate through the finances of college, and especially due to the lack of information regarding the existence of such programs. 

Through this petition, I hope to shed light on the accessibility aspect of higher education, emphasizing the importance of having access to the different resources one’s institution provides, which may not always be well-known. As a first-generation immigrant college student, from a low-income background, I have had first-hand experience battling the finances behind being able to afford to go to college, a burden that prevented me from taking advantage of various opportunities early on in my application process, which I would have been able to decide upon if I weren’t waiting on trying to figure out the financial aspect of college. I personally wasn’t aware of any free tuition programs offered at my institution coming into my freshman year, which made me miss out on some applications and the necessary procedures on how to determine whether I was qualified for a program or how I could qualify. Due to this, my decision-making process regarding whether I could attend this institution was delayed, and I wasn’t able to make a fully informed and confident decision regarding the finances of attending. My experience, as well as many others’ are quite common, and a first step to changing this is to have access to information regarding such free tuition programs. 

By informing my audience through this petition of the existence of free tuition programs and what they are, I hope that families who are affected by the financial burden of college are able to learn and can look into them in the context of their intended institution. The fight for higher education stems from being able to access resources that can help families navigate through one of the major aspects of college: money. Resources regarding free tuition programs, especially, allow families to not only have access to information on the different ways they can afford higher education but also can lead to higher college accessibility rates and opportunities.

Advocate for more access to resources to such programs. Help families to access them and higher education in of itself. Join the fight, sign the petition.