One thing we can all agree on is college is expensive. With fee increases and already expensive tuition it can be difficult to afford the cost of higher education. Many people are able to receive scholarships and grants, but these monies are rarely enough to cover the cost of college. As a result, many college students turn to loans that end up putting them in debt for many years after graduation.
Something has got to give in the rising cost of higher education. Some of my friends who have recently graduated are having trouble covering the costs of living because of the loans they are trying to pay off.
The question to ask regarding the ever-rising costs for college students is why is the federal government not doing more to help our generation attain higher education? Admittedly the government does currently offer the Pell Grant Program, providing a maximum of $4,310 to college students based on family income and other factors. Still, according to the Census in 2003, only 26 percent of people age 25 and older have a bachelors degree. While I realize some choose not to attend college, I still believe that this number is lower than it should be — something needs to change.
The problem might be that the vast majority of Pell Grants go to people with a family income of less than $20,000 a year. This is because the funding for Pell Grants is limited and the families who hover around the poverty line need the grant more. However, there are still a lot of people who come from families that average $50,000 or more a year who can’t afford the fiscal sacrifice of college.
Despite the need for a change in federal policy, political pundits in congress are not discussing a reform. Congress’s current “answer” to the issue is a newly-passed piece of legislation that will raise the maximum Pell Grant amount by about$1,000 by 2012. The usefulness of this comes into question since the average amount given is already only around $2,300.
We, the college students of America, need to push for higher education assistance reform. Only a few of the 2008 candidates are discussing higher education assistance, namely Clinton, Giuliani, Obama and Edwards. Clinton has discussed providing a $3,500 tax credit for tuition as well as setting up a $5,000 college fund at every “baby boom.” Giuliana’s discussion has consisted only of challenging, reasonably, the fiscal logic behind Clinton’s plan. Obama has only emphasized the aforementioned Pell Grant bill that is currently well on its way to becoming law. To be fair, Obama did help write the earlier version. Edwards has proposed a program that will pay for a year of higher education as long as the student works a part-time job in addition to attending school full-time.
Looking over every potential solution that has been discussed by the 2008 candidates so far, I still don’t see anything that strikes me as a good idea. It’s up to you to decide the course that you want to see the cost of college take over the next decade. Become active and let the 2008 candidates know that a solution is needed, and to win our vote they need to offer one.
