Should Governmental Financial Aid Be Merit Based?

Many middle to lower class families cannot afford to send their kids to school and with Ivy League schools like Harvard and Princeton giving out generous financial packages to their student, who mostly come from wealthy background. The poorer students are on the losing end because they are not given the opportunity for aid. As Terry Hartle, the senior vice president of the American Council of Education, says, "Smart poor kids go to college at the same rate as stupid rich kids." What this is saying is that the wealthy families have vastly more opportunity to succeed in the college system even though they have equal or lesser smarts. Well respected schools such as NYU are now admitting students based on the financial fit not by merit.

Should college be free? A current universal problem poses this question. In today’s world, full of public education standards that hold students maybe too high and in a generation bogged down by student debt, this issue qualifies as a problem more than many are maybe even willing to admit. While the prospect of free college proposes excellent ideals such as a stronger and smarter generation, no student loan problems, and a higher educated society, the truth may actually lie in the reality that making college free would do more hindrance than good and is not the answer to these problems. Free college would increase economic problems, according to Andrew P. Kelly, who says it would only shifts the cost to someone else. As well, it would also hinder our education system. Michael J. Petrilli writes that making college free would “probably shift billions of dollars a year from programs that help talented poor kids access higher education and improve our schools”. Although the concept of free higher education is becoming appealing to the general population, it ultimately would create more problems than it solved and do virtually nothing of huge significance to increase the level of intelligence in modern society.

Just about everyone agrees that college should be more affordable. A century ago high school was becoming a necessity, not a luxury; today the same is happening to college. If college is essential for building a career and being a full participant in our democracy as high school once was, shouldn 't it be free, paid for by public dollars, and treated as a right of all members of our country? The average college graduate comes out of college with at least $60,000 in debt and if they went to an Ivy League should that shots up to upward of $100,000 all this debt before they even get their first real job (“Fast Facts”). This is the burden that students have to worry about and then they only have six months to find a job that can cover they loan payments, which can be as much as a couple thousand dollars a month and most working people can’t afford that. These days it is highly emphasized that the responsibility to educate the poor lies on the shoulders of the government. It should be, considering the significant hike in the tuition fees worldwide. In such circumstances, many intelligent and hardworking students miss out on studying in a university due to lack of funds. This not only demoralizes the student, but also has a negative impact on the society as it loses out on its future professionals.

College tuition has skyrocketed over the past decades making the pathway to college less accessible to low-income families. According to the

For decades, people have been trying to find a case that advertises a plea against attending college, but studies show the wide gap in income that really leaves some families at a disadvantage; being uneducated. Our government pushes students to pursue and education after high school, enough to provide money for those low income families known as financial aid. In order to be eligible for finical aid, you must meet a certain criteria that classifies you in a certain cast system. The government provides this so that anybody that wants to pursue college will be granted this

Fair funding is a state finance system that ensures equal educational opportunity by providing a sufficient level of funding distributed to districts within the state to account for additional needs generated by student poverty (Baker et al., 2015). To begin with, the governor works with state agency to develop the budget. This budget will tell the state how much will be spent on education, how it will be distributed throughout the districts, and what the money will need to be spent on such as programs and services. At the moment some schools throughout the country spend nearly three times ore per student than others. As seen New York and Idaho.

Education should not be denied because of financial reasons. Children shouldn’t be denied an education because of their “wealth status”; they should be guaranteed an equal, fair education.

Colleges are noticing a drop in students’ interest in a higher education, because it forces them to fall into poverty. Obtaining a higher education is a dream of many working class citizens, but the price to go to a choice college is not available economically. The majority of students use some type of student loan, they have become the norm for attending college (Johnston, Roten 24). College is becoming unaffordable to many lower class students. With tuition prices this high, students are backing out of school and looking for jobs that only require a high school diploma. Student loans should help people, but it is only hurting them because they feel like they can never repay it. Especially since student debt continues to rise. “Student loan debt rose by 328 percent from $241 million in 2003 to $1.08 trillion in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York” (Johnston, Roten 25).

When discussing further education for a high school graduate, attending a university is very costly. The use of federal loans became dependent on most American families that try to provide such an education to their child. Before World War II, academically advanced students from families that were unable to finance college could apply for competitive scholarships; Scholarships mutated into “financial aid” when the GI Bill of Rights financed college for the discharged veterans (Toby, 2010). Since then, student loan debt has surpassed $1 trillion, which is larger than debt accumulated from both credit cards and auto purchases (Student Loan Debt No Longer Just Problem for Borrowers, 2012). With the increasing amount of loans and the uprising cost of college, students fall farther into student debt every year. Whether it is at fault of the university, the poor economy, or the aid programs in general, students should not be required to pay back their federal student loans before finding a steady job in their field of study.

I disagree with the way a lot of things are run at home. It blows my mind that college is so expensive in the U.S., it makes me think that I don't want to raise a family there." says Hannah Remo, an American studying in The Netherlands. "Whether you're the child of a doctor, lawyer or garbage man, you'll have the same opportunity and the same education here." says Hannah when asked her favorite thing about her new home. Need-based financial aid is not the obvious answer. We all need it. Need for money to pay for higher education implies a need for higher education. We cannot measure a student’s need for higher education based on how they entered the world and grew up. That limits possibilities. A student pursuing a higher level of knowledge should not have to sacrifice everything else to achieve it. A student should not be financially punished for a desire to work for the world and benefit

Statistics exhibit that majority of people are unable to pay for their further education. Pew Social and Demographic Trends state, “A majority of Americans (57%) say the higher education system in the United States fails to provide students with a good value for the money they and their families spend.” Tuition rates for colleges hyperbolizes its values comparatively to the money families spend. It also proclaims, “An even larger majority- 75%- says college is too expensive for most Americans to afford.” College snatch away the money of American families at a value too high and too much for the average family to spend. Not only does college seize the money many family don’t have to begin with, but it forces families to go into debt. Working extreme hours and trying to pay for college wearies the family’s way of living. According to Pew Social and Demographic Trends, “A record share of students are leaving college with a substantial debt burden… about half say that paying off that debt made it harder to pay other bills… about a quarter say it has had an impact on their career choices.” Debts triggers a person to change their profession and causes hardships to their life in the future. High tuition rates and debts stir students away from college and jobs that they truly want. College acquire families money at an

The problem, of course, is that the cost of college tuition has skyrocketed. Students and their families are getting buried deeper and deeper in debt trying to pay for college. Public universities, once havens of affordable, quality college education, have been hit the hardest. Almost every state in America has cut, and/or is cutting funding for higher education (Ortiz 1). It’s a problem that has quickly become a national crisis. The cost of college is very high compared to how the economy has been and how wages and financial aid have not risen with the cost of tuition. This makes it harder for students to graduate and brings a lot of stress to their lives. Without the funding that is needed many students drop out or take a longer time finishing

The U.S. government has created a new strategy to make colleges more affordable for low income students. Federal student aid’s primary goal is to help as many students attend college as possible. Financial aid and Pell Grants help low income students who meet certain academic criteria cover the costs of tuition. Low income students are getting a chance to attend college and increase graduation rates from four-year institutions to help close the poverty gap. Colleges and universities should make low income high school students aware of programs that will help them enroll and afford their education. Schools teach low income students that college is a key to their financial independence and a better life. High schools teach Seniors that in order to improve your social standing, employment options and salary expectations, a college education is often necessary. Financial aid is central to the successful enrollment and retention of low-income students. The majority of these students (90 percent) getting financial assistance from government. By maximizing Pell grant award amounts for low-income students, reforming the student loan program, and eliminating bank subsidies, colleges and universities can be affordable.

If one applies for financial aid than that is wonderful because its free money, but one would have to qualify and one of the qualifications is low income. For those people who are not low income but still aren’t in a state in which they have wealth turn to loans. People apply for loans to help pay for their tuition, books, dorm, etc. and end up having to pay $30,000.00 in student loans after they graduate from college. If the tuition proceeds to increase than people will continue to borrow more and more money in which they’ll be paying off for the rest of their life. People are going into debt because their monthly student loan payment is too much and they are not making enough to pay it off. LA Times did an article which featured a man who have a wife and two children and owe $158,000.00 in student loans. The Man doesn’t have a nice enough job to pay off his loans and provide for his family. In the same article LA Times claimed that the amount of student loans expanded 76% or rather 1.2 trillion since 2009. According to the institute for college access and success site there was a two present growth rate from 2012 to 2013 from the graduates who were in debt after going to public and nonprofit colleges. Also 7 out 10 graduates from public and nonprofit colleges in 2013 ended up being in debt because of student loans. According to the presented site above New Hampshire’s average debt is $32,795 and state wide ranks #1 with a portion debt of 76%. If the

Going to school and trying to afford it can be a financially draining experience, and I know that from experience. Our government has made many relevant changes thus far to better support students, but much more can still be done. With rising tuition costs and not enough government aid, more and more students are forced to take out loans in order to pay for continuing education. These loans later become a huge financial burden, some totaling near $30,000. If the dream of a college education is dependent upon access and affordability, how are young people supposed to continue their education and plan a future, when the cost of tuition is through the roof? Because higher education supports our economy, the government should be expected