College Tuition Costs are Crushing Families

With college tuition costing over a quarter of a million dollars, parents are desperate to find funds. Originally, federal Parent PLUS programs were designed for middle-class parents to bridge the gap between selling assets and paying off loans. In other words, these parents just needed time to liquidate money they already had.  But today, many parents are borrowing money that they’ll never be able to pay down.

A new report finds that more than 60% of borrowers in 2015-2016 exceeded their expected family contribution (EFC).  This same report finds that Republican proposals to cap parent lending at $12,500 annually wouldn’t address over-borrowing from lower income families trying to give their children a college education. While it might seem smart to stop families from borrowing money they will never be able to repay, not allowing families to give their children access to higher education will only perpetuate their poverty.

How can colleges around the world offer free tuition to all of their students, when our public and private colleges are charging exorbitant tuition? This isn’t sustainable. We need to rethink higher education.  Maybe we’re heading towards a college experience that might be comprised of an affordable mix of online classes, credit by examination, and on-site courses.

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