We’ve all seen the headlines. Tuition fees are rising and increasing numbers of students are unable to pay their tuition fees and will be burdened by student debt for the rest of their lives.

As a result of this, students increasingly do not want to go to university in the knowledge that going to university could potentially make their entire lives debt-laden.

Education is a basic human right. Taking into account that knowledge, it is unfair, in my opinion, that only the financially affluent get to have the chance at a university education. A part of the American Dream was to make education available to everyone, so that those who want to be educated can be so, without the financial impediments that will face them later in life as a result for this.

In recent years, this dream has fallen flat on its face, with tuition fees soaring to higher levels than ever before. Now, it is not simply a matter of “the best get the best”, as the word “financially” has been prepositioned before the second word. This demeans meritocracy as no longer can the most intellectually capable students go to university on the basis of merit.

You are, in effect, reaping the rewards of your parents’ hard work. And, from this, it seems like we are moving away from the idealistic, utopian, meritocratic society that we all so very much desire.