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College Costs and Financial Debt

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College Costs and Financial Debt

Not planning for college on time can leave you with student’s loans debt in the end. I the past few years, college have skyrocket, and the once affordable college education is now a tower of debt for the new recent graduate students. Most of us in order to complete or to continue college our education, will need some federal financial aid or federal student loans to close a small gap in the end. The average public college is around $20K per year, and a private university is double that amount. The average student get his gift aid (need-based aid plus merit aid), this combined with the self-help aid (work-study plus federal loans), total his financial aid packet. These federal loans are a portion of the self-help aid that most students need to close the small financial gap in the end.
A few years back the average student loan was around $17,000 (for a regular four-year education), now that amount have climbed to $27,000, this is due to the rising cost of education. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have suggested providing federal financial support to states that fund public colleges. This proposal will eliminate government profits from student loans, and punishing colleges with graduates who aren't able to manage their debt. A good example for this college debt is my story. In the spring of 1994, after three years of college, I was forced to delay my education, this was due to the high cost of college tuition. To help cover the cost of my education, I have to rely on federal loans, since the money my parents have put aside to help ease the burden of the high-cost of education wasn’t enough. This is how I ended joining the military. They offered the GI Bill and other financial opportunities that, at that time sounded better than the federal loans I have obtained.
Martin and Gillen have said that the primary purpose of government is to provide student financial aid to increase college access and to bring the out-of-pocket price of attendance within reach of more students. To better understand the logic of this process lets use a simple example, imagine that the cost per semester hour is fifty dollars, the government will give you twenty-five dollars (half) as a subsidy. Now the students that could not afford the college tuition before this government aid can now afford a college education. The problem that today students and consumers encounter are that colleges and universities have raised the cost of tuition, and the federal aid have stayed the same, creating a disadvantage mostly on middle and low-income families. These families have to rely on less attractive or marginal institutions due to their financial affordability, compared to the others that can afford a better institution of higher education of their choice. These students also have been obligated to obtain federal loans to subsidy their education, creating a future debt that will affect their future.
Also Gillen (2009) states, “that financial aid has three main objectives: to increase access (enroll more students), to increase affordability (make higher education cheaper for students and their families), and to promote equality of opportunity (make sure disadvantaged students can go to school)” (p.6). These three objectives will create a better opportunity for students, keeping in mind that the most significant reason the current financial aid programs are inefficient is that they often lead to greater expenses per student.
In the end, schools will not compete by demonstrating that they provide a better education compared to others. Is it to our surprise so that when we measure schools based on facts, which are expensive and will continue to rise, and the most important consequence is a decrease in college education expense. As costs have been ratcheted up, governments have been forced to cut back on which is increasingly leaving the financial hardship on students and their families. In other words, policy makers have created a convoluted financial aid system that accidentally leads to higher tuition. If ineffective financial practices get canceled or altered, then the system will be able to reach its goal of making college less of a financial burden for students and families in the future.

References
Martin, R. E., Gillen, A., & Center for College Affordability and Productivity, (2011). How college pricing undermines financial aid. Center for College Affordability and Productivity
Tyler Kingkade. (09/29/2013 4:09 pm EDT). Elizabeth warren calls for big changes to student loans. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/29/elizabeth-warren-student-loans_n_4013321.html.
Gillen, A., & Center for College Affordability and Productivity, (2009). Financial aid in theory and practice: why it is ineffective and what can be done about it. Center for College Affordability and Productivity
Halah Touryalai. (2/21/2014 @ 3:40PM). Investing. In $1 Trillion student loan problem keeps getting worse. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2014/02/21/1-trillion-student-loan-problem-keeps-getting-worse/.

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