>>I do agree college should not be free. It devalues the education and puts those who are there to truly learn at a disadvantage. Who wants to be in classes alongside people who just there because its free, or for the ride?
Being free doesn't mean they drop all their standards. Even in paid schools today you can be expelled and/or kicked out of a class for terrible performance, attendance or inappropriate behavior. As long as you keep those standards, free college should be fine. Now if you're talking about crowded classes and/or not enough teachers, maybe we should prioritize schools & teachers more and sports less... but that's a whole other discussion. I strongly believe school should be free. I expect Germany to do well with their recent changes:
http://thinkprogress.org/education/2014/10/01/3574551/german... "At least for now, however, learning German might be the best financial choice an American high school student can make."