WASHINGTON -- President Obama wants to make two years of community college free for responsible students, those on track to graduation with good grades. The two years of free colleges would be “as universal as high school” according to White House officials.

In Minnesota, in 2013 there were 130,048 undergraduates at community and technical colleges enrolled. Of those, 14,675 were high school students (ineligible for financial aid) and 17,041 were non-Minnesota residents.  In that same year, 63 percent sought financial aid and about 35 percent were Pell Grant eligible. The average tuition is $5,370 a year.