Here are the rest of the major presidential candidates' proposals on higher education and financial aid:
John Edwards (Democrat):
- "College for Everyone" initiative where one year of college (tuition, fees, and books) would be paid to over 2 million students who complete a college-prep curriculum in high school and stay out of trouble, as well as work part-time in college. What if 5 million students do this? What is the definition of "stay out of trouble"? Does part-time employment mean Federal Work Study? What about distance learning students?
- "College for Everyone" would encourage schools to keep tuition low, and send a strong message that all qualified students can afford college.
- The Stafford Loan program will be eliminated. All students would borrow through Direct Lending which would eliminate bank subsidies to gain $6 billion a year for the government.
- The FAFSA will be simplified by eliminating 2/3 of the questions. No mention was made of what questions would be eliminated.
Rudy Giuliani (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Mike Gravel (Democrat):
- Supports the re-ordering of the national budget to support education from pre-K through higher education.
Mike Huckabee (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Duncan Hunter (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Alan Keyes (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Dennis Kucinich (Democrat):
- Subsidize education to all Americans from pre-K through higher education.
- Pay for education by eliminating waste from the military budget, put the tax burden on those who can afford it, and the health insurance industry's profits and high salaries (what does this mean?).
John McCain (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Barack Obama (Democrat):
- Establish the "American Opportunity Tax Credit" available at the time of enrollment, which would cover 100% of the first $4,000 of education costs.
- Keep increasing Pell Grant to stay in line with rising education costs.
- Eliminate Stafford Loan and do Direct Lending only.
- Eliminate the FAFSA and have students apply for aid by checking a box on the federal income tax return (sound familiar?). By using the tax return for a financial aid application, prior-prior-year information would be used. In other words, for 2008-09 financial aid, the 2006 tax information would be used.
Ron Paul (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Bill Richardson (Democrat):
- For each year of community service, the federal government will forgive two years of tuition and fees at a public university.
- Simplify financial aid by eliminating the FAFSA and consolidating all federal aid programs. No comment on how this will be done.
- Expand the LEAP and GEAR UP programs. Problem is, not all schools participate in these programs.
- Give schools financial incentives to keep tuition costs within reason.
Mitt Romney (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Tom Tancredo (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Fred Thompson (Republican):
- No statements have been made concerning higher education and financial aid.
Obviously, the Democrats are more outspoken about higher education. But are any of these proposals reasonable? Quite honestly, being a financial aid advisor I can find fault with any one of them. I have already expressed my views in my "My Biggest Criticisms" blog. Low-income families may see a slight benefit from these proposals, but I don't see any relief for middle income families. Pell Grant increase proposals aren't enough to keep up with rising education costs, and while loan limits have increased, it's still not enough. And who wants to graduate with $25,000 in loan debt?
I used to think that parents should be able to save for their child's education, but being a parent of two college students now, I realize that isn't possible. My husband and I live a very limited lifestyle, so if I can't save for my kids knowing as a financial aid professional that I need to, how can families who don't have financial aid knowledge possibly save? I still say the FAFSA needs to be overhauled, and the Federal Methodology used to calculate financial aid needs to be adjusted. Do a Google search for any one of these candidates and you can read more about their promises. I'll say again, it's up to the American people to force a change.