by Emma Fischer | feature editor

Debt is something many students fear will happen to them as soon as they step into college. There are many ways around it–scholarships, joining the military, certain job benefits, grants and more, but there is also another way to get around this.

Follow Europe.

Sure, throughout history, many countries fighting for democracy have followed our example, but even Americans throughout history have looked at the Bank of France for guidance. Their universities’ cost of tuition is not even half of the United States.’ Maybe it’s time to turn things around. Maybe our own college system needs to be flipped. Maybe we need to look at another example.

Inflation is inevitable. It has been growing for years. The constant printing of money raises the price of everything, but makes it easier to pay off debt. As inflation rises, so does the cost of schooling, textbooks, dorms and classes. People will have to pay more for the same class they could have taken as a high school course.

Now, hear me out. The main reason why European colleges are so much cheaper is because of their higher taxes. With higher taxes, they have more services, and help people pay off debt. Should it be fair that someone who is barely scraping by stay poor because they can’t pay for college, or should they pay a higher income tax, go to school and get out of the situation they are in? With income tax, people with less income will pay less taxes, making the people who can pay that tax and pay for school now cover those who can’t. They can help one another, even though people are greedy and selfish a lot of the time.

European colleges also provide so many different opportunities than American colleges do. For starters, European colleges push for more comprehension and understanding of other languages–they push for fluency. The ability of communication is such a huge player in today’s society, especially now. Miscommunication often causes most problems. The opportunity to learn another language by being submerged in a culture puts you miles in front of your peers, especially if you go back to the US to work.

There are also foreign programs, where the schools know that you are a foreigner and help you adjust. They are understanding. The ability to travel to a whole other country is one of the best things you could possibly do. Think about it–European countries are smaller and closer to one another. You could travel to Switzerland for the weekend. If you’re a social media person, you’d have plenty of Instagram pictures.

Also, traveling to different parts of the world broadens the view of the person traveling. They are able to see new places, as well as understand new cultures and how things are run. People that have traveled are more likely to think outside the box. When in their future workforce, they could come up with new ideas that can get them recognized and promoted.

The workforce ladder is a lot easier to climb when you are able to find different ways to fight gravity, the box, of the normal thinkers. 

Colleges are also required to accept a certain number of people out of the country. It’s possible that some of these universities will have a higher acceptance rate than even some American colleges. 

Maybe before applying, look around the world. There is a school for everyone.