Essay: Making College Financially Accessible

Words: 495
Pages: 2

Making College Financially Accessible Obtaining a higher education at the college/university level is a dream that many share, however not everyone has the opportunity to do so given their financial standing. Many find it difficult to pass the entrance exams for colleges/universities and they find it even more difficult when they are unable to pay the high tuition fees, as is the case in Brazil. Although some efforts have been made to help alleviate the cost of tuition, many institutions like the private sector have taken advantage of the government funding but have had positive effects as well. Such travesties should not deter the right to get a higher education and should be made available to everyone because it is a right that everyone should have access to. The Brazilian government has taken measures in order to help alleviate costs for student who wish to obtain a higher education through government programs. According to an article by Jon Marcus from The Atlantic, “The government has begun programs to address these problems, including PROUNI ("University for All"), which provides scholarships for low-income students, and …show more content…
The private colleges in Brazil hold a large portion of the total number of students. According to an article in the New York Times written by Don Horch, “About 5.3 million of Brazil’s seven million college students were in private institutions in 2013”. This demonstrates that most of the money is controlled by the private sector. However this may also demonstrate that the initiative by the government has had an effect in terms overall growth in the amount of students getting a college education. Horch points out in his article that the number of students attending colleges/universities has increased substantially over the span of 10 years and that the government plans to increase those numbers within the coming