Chance: College is still worth it – here’s how to make it affordable
Letter to the editor
There’s a growing narrative today that college may no longer be necessary—but I disagree. Research tells a different story: increased college and credential attainment remains critical to Florida’s economic future and offers profound benefits for individuals and society alike.
Resources like the Helios Education Foundation’s Florida’s Future Billions report, the Florida Chamber’s Workforce Needs Study, and the Florida College Access Network’s Degree Attainment Profiles all reinforce the continued importance of higher education, whether it’s a four-year degree or a high-value credential from a technical college.
But higher education doesn’t just start after high school—it starts with belief. Every child deserves to grow up knowing the adults in their lives believe in their potential. One of the clearest ways to show that belief is by planning and saving for their future.
That’s why I’m such a strong advocate for Florida Prepaid College Plans.
These plans offer families a flexible, affordable way to prepare for college—covering everything from university tuition to technical programs. The peace of mind they provide is invaluable, and the impact on a child’s confidence and future trajectory is real.
I speak from experience. Encouraged by family members who had invested in Florida Prepaid when it launched in 1987, my husband and I purchased a plan for my stepson in the late ’80s. We later bought plans for each of our three children when they were infants in the early ’90s, choosing the 4-Year University Plans to lock in future tuition costs. On the advice of a financial planner, we also opened Florida 529 Savings Plans to help cover books, housing, and other expenses.
The results speak for themselves. Our children pursued higher education at Santa Fe College, the University of Florida, Flagler College, and Florida State University. Their Prepaid Plans helped us confidently support those choices.
My advice to families is simple: start saving early and consistently. Consider adding a Prepaid Dormitory Plan to guard against rising housing costs. A Florida 529 Savings Plan can round out your college funding strategy. And perhaps most importantly—talk about college. Set the expectation. Let your child know they’re worth the investment.
Having a Florida Prepaid College Plan sends a powerful message: we believe in your future.
Open Enrollment is open through April 30, with the most affordable prices in more than a decade. Visit myfloridaprepaid.com to learn more and take the first step toward investing in your child’s future.
Mary Chance is CEO of the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations. She lives in Gainesville.
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
State and city colleges ought to be free and financed by the government, state federal.
Kids get a free education. Young adults should be no different.
But if you want to go to a ivy league school like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, then you got to pay.
Want to go to college?
Pay for it yourself, not the taxpayer for worthless degrees in:
Minor in Actuary Science
French and Francophone Studies Minor
Theories and Politics of Sexuality Minor
Linguistics Major
These are offered at UF! I’m sure the salaries for these important degrees are plenty to live on here in AC!
There are many opportunities for a “free education” as an Apprentice for HVAC, plumber, carpenter, electrician, automotive technician and others that don’t require shelling out thousands of dollars to a institution of “higher education.” Go visit a company making their business in these fields.
“Universities” are called such because they aren’t trade schools but places to study and house information about all facets of human science and culture and the big beautiful world we inhabit. Beyond many employers not caring what your major is if you demonstrated the intelligence and discipline to graduate while others want “generalists” of the type likely to be drawn from the liberal arts, we don’t know where knowledge leads, what new paths are opened by it’s pursuit in the various fields and among it’s graduates. It’s an investment in the future and demonstrably of value to those countries – and states – that pursue it and something we can all be proud of as tax payers.
Agree Hoyt and that is how many European nations do it. As you note, that is the concept behind public education, and achievement we can all be proud of, if at times improvements are called for.
Public education managed by who? The DNC? The GOP?
Public Education, as in the Public Education managed by our current School Board of Alachua County and District Leadership? They can’t even remember to plan for Summer School!
In Europe, students need to study and work hard to attain their equivalent of a High School diploma, then meet rigorous requirements to be accepted to a University. In the United States, a diploma has become the equivalent of a “participation trophy” for the under-performing students!
Public education is managed by those who citizens elect, some from each of the major parties or no party at all. Given problems that are nationwide, those problems may be endemic to our current culture and not easily cured by those who have our kids 7 hours a day.
So blame the teachers? Hardly!
Try blaming those “elected officials” and those they hire, whose duty it is to provide a safe environment for serious students to attend class; void of the distractions caused by some who are clearly not in school to learn.
Unfortunately, in AC, those elected have been, and will continue to be, activists for their own interests, and the diplomas handed out to the students of their constituents will be a slap in the face of those students (and their parents) who have genuinely earned their diploma.
With some stipulations, I could agree with this. If the government is going to pay for your education, it should be for a position of need with the major to support it. That person should also have a mandatory work requirement in that position of need for an agreed amount of time. Drop out of college, you pay back the amount spent. Change your major, you pay back the amount spent. I think this would alleviate the problem of worthless degrees with no job prospects. Want to major in gender studies, university studies, or philosophy? Pay for it yourself.
Nope! Nothing is free! I’m not your slave and I’m not paying for your “freebies” or anyone else’s!
The degenerates in dc have stolen 37Trillion, enslaving future generations so you entitled thugs continue your status quo…time for the “freebies” to dry up!
“We later bought plans for each of our three children when they were infants in the early ’90s, choosing the 4-Year University Plans to lock in future tuition costs”
The cost of tuition began to rise exponentially in the early 2000s. If your premiums remained fixed, then you really stuck it to the man.