Jasper Reid is a second-year student at Orange County Community College, working towards an associate degree in human services. Without student loans and the school’s low cost, Reid says college wouldn’t have been an option.

So when Reid heard about President Joe Biden’s new American Families Plan to offer two years of free community college to all students, including DREAMers, they wished the plan had come sooner.

"I definitely was wishing that I wasn’t in my second year in community college," Reid said. "It would have made it a lot easier to go to college and made it a lot less stressful."

Dr. Kristine Young, the president of SUNY Orange, also welcomes the plan to make community colleges like hers free.

"Tuition is seen as a barrier to enter higher education," Young said. "Community colleges enjoy the support of the state of New York and their sponsor – in our case, the county of Orange. Our tuition point is low, but it still puts it out of reach of a lot of students."

According to the White House, the average cost of a two-year degree in New York is $5,600 per year, which is too expensive for many. The White House says it's part of the reason that only 66 percent of students in New York are able to complete a post-secondary degree within six years.

"The entire enterprise of higher education carries the stigma of being out of reach," said Dr. Young. "So if the communication instead is community college is available to all and that is heard by families and students, and everyone feels like ‘my first step into higher education, the tuition, is taken care of and I can concentrate on other aspects of my life,’ my word, to let people realize their potential and have access to higher education; this is brilliant."

Reid plans to apply to SUNY New Paltz after graduation and eventually become a child psychologist. They hope with Biden’s plan, more students can see college as a reality and not just a dream.

"I really think something like this helps even the playing field and make it more accessible," said Reid.