Under President Obama’s America’s College Promise Proposal, students who maintain a 2.5 GPA while attending community college at least part time towards a degree will have their tuition waived. The White House estimates this program could benefit nine million students. According to the spring 2015 survey by the Harvard Public Opinion Project, a majority of young Americans with high school diplomas are interested in this plan and would have taken advantage of it if it had been available to them.
Overall, 58 percent of young Americans who have graduated high school said they would have attended community college if President Obama’s proposed plan to waive tuition were available when they made postsecondary plans. Among students who graduated high school but did not go on to any college, university, or vocational school, 65 percent claimed they would have attended college if the free tuition program had been in place.
The program’s appeal varied by income level and race. Low- and middle-income young Americans were more than twice as likely to show interest in the free-tuition program as upper-income young Americans were, with over 60 percent of those from households making under $85,000 expressing interest. This compares to approximately 30 percent of young Americans from households making over $85,000 who would have taken advantage of the plan.
Young Hispanic Americans were most likely to show interest in free community college tuition, with 76 percent saying they would have attended community college if President Obama’s plan had been in place. Young black Americans follow with the second-highest rate of likely attendance, at 59 percent. For young white Americans, 51 percent say they would have attended community college if tuition had been free.
If the president’s goal is to increase the postsecondary educational opportunities available for Hispanic, black, and low-income youth, his proposed free-tuition plan looks like it would be a success in attracting these groups. These young Americans are the ones who most strongly expressed interest in free community college tuition. With the potential to draw new young Americans to higher education—especially two-thirds of the high school graduates with no college experience—President Obama’s free tuition plan may be a strong investment in the country’s future