General Discussion

The cost of college has increased to a level that a student is unable to borrow enough federal loans to cover the cost of college. It used to be that you could work full time during the summer and part time during the school year and cover the costs. (The cost of tuition at the state college I attended went from $1500/year to $1500/term by the time I graduated and now it’s $4500/term. Three terms per year, and note that is tuition alone.)

As my kids are still in college, I hang out on a parents page for college topics. It’s always sad when people my age realize that the costs have gone up dramatically since we attended college. Even if their kids are maybe eligible for merit, that pot of merit $ gets smaller each year. Kids borrow the maximum ($27,000 over the 4 years) and don’t even think about paying interest until after they graduate. Parents pull out Parents Plus loans or co-sign private loans for their kids to cover the gaps.

So kids are in debt, and that debt isn’t helping them. Paying off the federal loan amount up to $50k is a step in the right direction for this generation of students that have seen their college costs grow dramatically. Yeah, those that paid off their student loans don’t get the benefit. But if you’ve paid off your loans, you’re sitting in a pretty good position already. Poor kids can’t even get through the door because Pell grants only cover a little of the cost. There is so much that needs to be invested in higher education to make it fair for all income levels.

I see so many millennials just stuck with debt and not able to move forward with what we’d consider the normal course of American life.

One thing that isn’t being discussed is how public universities have seen declining dollars and now have to make up their costs by constantly raising tuition and fees. That means that kids have to borrow more. Offering low interest loans won’t control that (and I’m not certain that paying off loans will, but I’m hopeful that it will spark competition in terms of costs). Offering more loans just signals to colleges that they can raise their rates even more making the problem worse.

I’m quite opposed to military service in exchange for college funds; it means that economically disadvantaged citizens are fighting our wars. I see that as incredibly unfair. If you feel called to join the military then you should do so (general you, not you specifically).

I’m mostly fine with not forgiving loans until after graduation. Sometimes kids run out of funds before graduation and their folks aren’t able to borrow because they have crappy credit. So something has to be done to make sure kids can actually get to graduation, even if that means raising the maximum student loans amount. Which again will signal universities that they can raise rates.

Free college would be so much easier!