By Meghan Thompson
College students in the U.S. share a common worry that often follows them through their years of post-secondary education: How am I going to pay for this? With the price tag of a degree continuing to grow, creative ways to fund college educations are needed now more than ever. Many students turn to their local community colleges to save on tuition for their first two years of college.
The issue has become politically salient as candidates for governor and other offices debate how best to make higher education accessible and affordable. One Democratic candidate for governor, former NAACP President Ben Jealous, has proposed making public colleges and universities tuition-free. The price tag is likely to be very costly.
Garrett County, in the far reaches of Western Maryland, has created a mechanism to provide its students with a free, two-year community college education. It was the first county in the state to institute a promise program for the graduates of its two high schools who enroll at Garrett College in McHenry, just minutes from Deep Creek Lake.
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