Tuition fees for both private and national colleges have been constantly on the rise. A study done by U.S News estimates that on average, the tuition fees at private National Universities have risen by 144 percent. Out-of-state tuition fees at Public Universities have shown an increase of 165 percent while out-of-state tuition rose by a whopping 212 percent over the last 20 years. Furthermore, acceptance rates in some of the most prestigious universities in America also tell a grim story. In 2017, a team led by the Harvard economist Raj Chetty discovered that students coming from families who earn more than $630,000 a year, or those in the top 1%, are 77 times more likely to be accepted into an Ivy League school than students coming from families who make less than $30,000 a year. Moreover, it was found that 38 colleges in America, including five in the Ivy League, welcome more students from the top 1% of the income scale than from the bottom 60%, families that make less than $65,000 a year. Such trends in tuition fees and capitalistic models followed by private universities draw a clear link between wealth and attending colleges with students from low-income backgrounds constantly receiving reminders that they are the ones who do not belong.

In the light of all these facts, we must do something. Think about the number of bright minds that are not given a right as basic as education that matches their capabilities just because they or there parents do not make enough to afford education. Think about the families who end up taking debts from banks that they can never fulfill and they end up losing even their homes. What if the cure of cancer is in the mind of one of these students who can not afford higher education? This situation must change. We must make a change. Join us by signing this petition. Let us together help others who are in need.