3 Reasons Obama's #FreeCommunityCollege Plan Gives Hope To The *New* American Dream

I'm @andrewjpg: a first generation college graduate and communications coordinator for a non-profit in Memphis which helps more Memphians prepare for post-secondary credentials. In fact, I graduated from Northwest Mississippi Community College and am proud of it. Thanks to Obama's pre-SOTU announcement, the 'Free Community College' plan, in part modeled after TN Promise, gives new hope to millennials and adults wanting to enroll in college.

1.) College graduates are less likely to live in poverty

teachforamerica.org / Via pewsocialtrends.org

While the incidence of poverty has risen among all young adults in recent years, only 6 percent of college graduates live in poverty.

1 in 4 U.S. adults with only a high school diploma or less live in poverty.

Can you imagine an America where every family can afford to feed their family?

Students from high-poverty high schools are less likely to immediately enroll in college – and to remain enrolled after one year – than students from more well-off high schools, according to data released by the National Student Clearinghouse.

2.) More than 31 million U.S. adults started college but didn't finish

graduatememphis.org / Via nscresearchcenter.org

Only 2 in 5 Americans have a degree beyond a high school diploma. Recently, we've seen a large expansion of recruitment efforts from colleges and policy makers to help adult learners finish their educations, rather than focus exclusively on high school students.

With President Obama's proposal, the first two years of community college would be available for both traditional and non-traditional (adult) students.

Here's how a local organization in Memphis, Graduate Memphis, plans to assist the over 200,000 Memphians that started college but did not finish: graduatememphis.org

3.) College graduates earn almost 3x more over their lifetime than those without post-secondary credentials

brookings.edu / Via lorainccc.edu

Every bit of education you get after high school increases the chances you'll earn good pay. Most bachelor degree graduates earn around twice as much money ($2.4 million) during their working years than people who stop their education at high school.

Obama Proposes Free Community College For All

The White House / Via Facebook: WhiteHouse

Big news: President Obama just proposed making two years of community college free for anyone who's willing to work for it. ‪#‎FreeCommunityCollege‬