Student debt recently surpassed credit card debt, reaching almost $830 billion in early August. That same month, Pell Grants, one of the most important tools for students who could not otherwise afford college, was one of the targets for funding cuts during the debt ceiling debate. The rate of college attendance in the United States has dramatically increased in the past generation, but college is becoming more difficult to afford.
The average tuition at a four-year public university in 2007 was $6,586. By 2010 that number had reached $7,605, according to the College Board Trends in Pricing report. That was part of a 24% increase in tuition at public institutions over five years. This increase, according to the New York Times, has been brought on in part by the economic downturn, which has led states to decrease their funding to public universities. Of course, the economic downturn has also made it more difficult for students to afford the costs of higher education, which in turn has led to more borrowing, which leads to more debt.
In 1992, the average total debt for a bachelor’s degree recipient was just $9,320. By 2008, the average federal financial aid per student for a single year was $8,896. College has come to represent a serious financial burden on students and their families, but is seen as less of a choice now than ever before. A person with a bachelor’s degree has a median yearly income more than twice that of a person with only a high school diploma. College degrees have become the minimum requirements for jobs where they were not expected fifteen or twenty years ago, and many see a college education as the only way to ensure financial and job security.
Even with the immense pressure on American students to attend college and the economic burden that college represents growing yearly, the political climate has recently worsened for some federal programs that have typically enjoyed wide bipartisan support.
Pell Grants, which help about 27 percent of college students pay their way, according to US News and World Report, are under fire in Congress. The grants are scheduled to have a $20 billion shortfall in 2012, which has led to plans from both parties to reduce spending in the program. In August 2011, a deal passed the House that would have cut some Pell Grant funding for the 2011-2012 school year. President Obama has suggested ending the program under which students can use two Pell Grants in one year, one for fall and spring classes and a second for summer courses. More plans are sure to surface as the 2012 school year nears, but in any case it is certain that students who rely on Pell Grants to finance their education will have to scramble to make ends meet, perhaps taking out loans with private lenders who are even less forgiving than the Federal Government.
No matter the fate of the Pell Grant, however, the fact remains that the United States has not lived up to its constant calls for better education available to more people. United States citizens pay dearly for the right to better their socioeconomic standing.
The American system has produced some of the best colleges and universities in the world, but with some students taking out loans they have no hope of repaying while others pay tuition bills out of pocket, the meritocracy has hit a stumbling block. It is time for the United States to reevaluate the way it treats higher education, and find a way to create true equality of access to the country’s colleges and universities.
