The College Affordability-Democracy Nexus

As college costs rise and alternatives are promoted, I examine why higher education still matters—for students, families, and democracy.

January 11, 2026

In this first newsletter of 2026, we are picking up where we left off in our last issue: the question so many families are asking right now — is college still worth it?

As I shared previously, for most people who would enjoy college and are prepared for its academic rigor, the answer remains yes. The data consistently shows that, over a lifetime, college-educated individuals earn more income than those without a college degree.

That said, college is not for everyone. Some people may not enjoy it. Others may want to pursue different paths first — such as traveling, joining the military while they clarify their career direction, or entering a skilled trade where a four-year degree is unnecessary. There are excellent two-year college options and legitimate apprenticeship programs for certain professions.

So why, then, has the question of whether college is “worth it” become so widespread?

One major reason is cost. For many families, college has become prohibitively expensive. Students who want to attend are often forced to take on enormous loans simply to enroll. This is largely because the rise in college costs has far outpaced household incomes.

A second reason is the growing number of schemes — particularly promoted by some big tech companies — that claim to offer an alternative to college through apprenticeships or internships. News stories have highlighted programs where students gave up college entirely, including at least one student who reportedly turned down a full-ride scholarship at an Ivy League institution.

Some of these programs even boast that they make college unnecessary by offering seminars and short-term training. In reality, what they are offering is not an equivalent education but what I would call college-lite. These initiatives appear less interested in education and more interested in producing compliant workers — individuals trained to execute tasks, not independent thinkers equipped to question, analyze, and lead.

That brings me to another critical advantage of a college education. College helps produce critical thinkers — people who can engage responsibly with the world, participate thoughtfully in civic life, and contribute to a healthy democratic society.

A largely college-educated public is far less susceptible to the demagoguery of political entrepreneurs who sow division and misinformation to advance their own power. This matters. Deeply.

For me, this is why the issue of college access is so important. To sustain the American democratic experiment, we need a broadly educated public. And for that to happen, college must be affordable. Right now, for most families, it is not.

This is where CFF College Fully Funded® comes in. We are doing our part to help serious, committed students — whose families cannot afford to pay for college out of pocket — secure admission to colleges with full funding, so they can avoid crushing student debt.

Enrollment for our summer session is now open and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. If your family fits this description and you have a high school junior who will be applying to college this fall, let’s start a conversation.

And if this does not apply to your family, but you know one it does apply to, please share this with them. Access to education should not depend on being able to cough up hundreds of thousands of dollars or taking on the equivalent in debt.

To college fully funded,

Dr. Faith Okpotor Founder and CFF Head Coach National Center for Higher Education Access Award-winning academic and tenured professor

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