Posted on 02/10/2005 2:42:58 AM PST by billorites
"WE MUST open the doors of college to all Americans," declared the president in his State of the Union Message. "To do that, I propose . . . the largest increase in Pell Grant scholarships in 20 years."
Do you remember hearing George W. Bush say that last week?
Actually, you don't. Those words are from President Clinton's State of the Union address in 1997. But if you tuned in to Bush's speech on Feb. 2, you heard him say something quite similar: "We will make it easier for Americans to afford a college education by increasing the size of Pell Grants." The new budget he unveiled this week would gradually raise the maximum annual grant to $4,550, an increase of $500.
Beginning with the GI Bill in 1944, federal tuition aid has metastasized into a dizzying array of subsidies
edit.....
The cat has been out of the bag for a long time. In a 1987 New York Times column titled "Our greedy colleges," Ronald Reagan's education secretary, William Bennett, rebuked colleges and universities for repeatedly jacking up tuition far beyond any reasonable adjustment for inflation. "Increases in financial aid in recent years have enabled colleges and universities blithely to raise their tuitions," Bennett charged, "confident that federal loan subsidies would help cushion the increase."
Isn't it time to stop pouring fuel on this fire? Instead of renewing the Higher Education Act, Congress should phase it out, thereby forcing colleges and universities to compete on price. That would leave financial aid to the private sector, which can target it far more effectively -- and where it should have been left all along.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
....Every public dollar spent on education is money down a rat hole.....
or in myview"money wasted on educators."
The education problem is really an educator problem.
"My belief is that college is for people who have used their 12 years in High School to acquire good grades . . ."
If they spent twelve years in high school, chances are good they didn't acquire good grades.
I received my masters in library science last year. There was a girl in my class that had accrued over $100k in student loans, thanks to attending an expensive private college, getting a useless masters, and THEN deciding to get another masters in library science. I will be really impressed if she ever pays off the debt.
Eight years of AP classes.
For cheapoes who don't care from what school they graduate there is CLEP, DANTES/DSST, etc.
I'm sorry but I do NOT consider myself to be riff-raff. I am getting a full ride from the federal government and the private university I attend. They understand that that is the only way I can break the cycle of poverty. Yeah, I could go get a minimum wage job somewhere and struggle all my life or I could take advantage of the opportunity given to me and make something of my life. Five thousand a year covers tuition but it sure doesn't cover housing and other expenses. I know because I applied to many smaller schools to avoid as much of a handout. I couldn't personally get anything besides the federal student scholarship because of my age and it didn't cover housing, etc. Am I supposed to be punished because my parents messed up their financial lives (through no fault of their own)? I'm an honors student (GPA well over a 3.5) at a top university working three part time jobs, and volunteering at my church. If I didn't have the financial aid, none of this would be possible. I'm sorry that your kids aren't getting as much financial aid but don't blame us who actually need it. We're just trying to get ahead (and by the way, when I do succeed, I fully plan on donating to both merit and need based scholarship funds)
Between my son and daughter-in-law they have almost $85,000 in student loans. They have been paying double on them every month..and not even complaining. They waited 5 years to have their first baby so they would have a hefty portion paid back before they started a family. But you know what? That's life!
You are so right! Money made available will be absorbed. Just like work will expand to fill the time allocated to do it. Check out Grove City College, Pennsylvania (The Mouse that roared). It keeps its tuition and other costs down also because it will accept NOT one dime of federal money. One of the very best education (liberal Arts) in the country. Also a VERY traditional education in the Western Tradition!
Ding, ding, ding - correctamundo. Basic economics says that if you subsidize something, the price invariably goes up (see Medicare, Medicaid). Problem is most colleges don't believe in basic economics - it's mostly a money-sucking gravy train for liberals who have no other real-world skills that a private employer would want.
How to make college affordable:
1. Spend two years at a Community College taking the lower level classes and general education requirements.
2. Transfer to a smaller state college for your batchelor's degree.
3. Find a good grad school with a 1-year masters (if you need one). Chances are you can get your employer to pay for this one.
Unless you plan to run IBM, nobody cares where you got your degree. You can have a batchelors degree from a decent college in about 3.5 years for under $15K. If you want a Master's degree, it will cost another $7-8K. The payoff will be 1-3 years.
College is only this expensive because we have bought into the BS line that you have to go to a name brand college. When was the last time anyone asked you which college you went to??????
Well, then consider DANTES to be your purgatory. ;-)
Good to see you are doing well.
While the elite colleges pit students against each other for scholarships and loans, they sit on BILLIONS of dollars in endowments, year after year:
http://www.nacubo.org/documents/research/FY04NESInstitutionsbyTotalAssetsforPress.pdf
Note: Add 3 zeroes after each dollar amount. For example, Harvard has $22 BILLION in endowments, not 22 million.
These colleges should cut tuition for all students.
Thank you so much for replying. I knew when I posted that some would misinterpret and your reply gives me an excellent example to clarify with
You were born into a difficult situation and you are doing your best to overcome it. You have obviously done your homework as you are an honors student. You are working your way through school as much as you can.
You, sir, are truly not riff-raff. You are a fine example of what America is all about. EVERYONE can achieve their dream here if they work for it. I salute you
Now lets examine some of the people I would call riff-raff. C students or worse. Came into college barely able to read with weak math skills and a twisted understanding of history (and no real regret about their poor academic foundation). Studying ethnic studies or womyns studies or some such empty liberal feel good waste of time course of study. Spends more time partying than studying. Doesn't really value the education they are getting because they are not paying for it. No goals to succeed at anything after college.
Slackers and sluggards who found a way to slack off for four more years at my expense
I went to school with some very poor people who made good. They overcame their lack of finances and anti-education environment to succeed at life. They were not riff-raff.
I also went to school with some people (BTW riff-raff has no color) from financially poor backgrounds who served as nothing more than distractions and troublemakers in my classes. They were riff-raff.
(BTW. I came from a single parent home from the eighth grade on. Dirt poor. Worked hard, studied hard, paid my own way with loans and scholarships and paid everything back. I wasn't riff-raff either. I couldn't afford to be)
(see post 34)
"The weathly families pay full tuition and through the taxes wrested from them pay the balance for the poorer families. (Can you say rob from the rich to give to the poor?"
I surmise from your post that you will of course refuse any government grants or low interest loans that are offered to you toward your children's education when the time comes? You wouldn't want to rob anyone, now would you.
Or are you a thief, a skank, a welfare cheat-- one of those lowlife types who feed off the wealthy by stealing from them every chance you get?(\sarc)
Let me be sure I understand you correctly: What you are saying is that (and it was indeed you who characterized Pell grants and subsidized loans as "robbing from the rich")taking grant money and low-interest subsidized education loans is the moral equivalent of holding a gun to someone's head and robbing them? Or breaking into their house at night and stealing their jewelry? And it follows therefore that you would prefer a society where there are no grants or low-interest loans for anyone, so the only kids at college would be wealthy kids, or kids who can scrape up $25,000 a year at their part time job?
John, I'm sure you're very nice, but I'm glad you're not in charge of American higher education.
There needs to be change made in higher education for sure, but calling people crooks because they cannot easily afford inflated tuition is no help at all.
See your original post.
Why? More and more, all that is taught there is sedition.
In a word. Yes. Education, especially taxation for the purpose of education, is not found anywhere in the Constitution. Therefore taxing anyone to pay for anyone else's education is theft
And it follows therefore that you would prefer a society where there are no grants or low-interest loans for anyone, so the only kids at college would be wealthy kids, or kids who can scrape up $25,000 a year at their part time job?
NO it does not follow. The error you make is that the real cost of education is far far cheaper than that. at most 5K per yer (I'd guess). Subtract out all the federal subsidies and the cost will drop
I'm not sure you read 34. Or I don't quite get what your implying.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.