I once enjoyed getting the mail. During my senior year of high school, I waited for the thick packets of acceptance to college or the slim letters of rejection. That summer, I waited for glossy promotional materials with pictures of smiling students in beautiful California. My excitement at receiving more mail from my college of choice faded quickly when I opened my first official bill. I remember handing the frightening statement to Dad. He made a quiet sound in the back of his throat, passed a hand over his forehead, and walked upstairs to work on the family finances.
My story is not a unique one, and it is far from the worst. Two-thirds of college seniors graduate in debt, owing an average of $23,000. Barack Obama, in his presidential campaign, capitalized on this needy demographic with promises of financial aid reform. I cheered myself hoarse at his Key Arena rally in Seattle. The thousands of other students there shared my enthusiasm and loudly welcomed his guarantees of help climbing out of debt caused by student loans.
President Obama has signed into law one of the most significant pieces of federal financial aid legislation since the Higher Education Act of 1965. The recent health care bill includes a provision to reform federal funding for higher education on two fronts. The first measure expands the amount of federal resources devoted to the Pell Grant Program. Undergraduate students who meet the Department of Education’s Pell Grant program criteria can receive federal assistance in paying for college. The new legislation increases the maximum award from $4,731 dollars to $5,550 per student. The second measure limits the strain and pressure caused by loan repayment. Beginning in 2014, all payments to student loan programs will have a cap of 10 percent of the former student’s current income, a five percent decrease from current law.
Some have declared this legislation a victory for families struggling to pay tuition costs. President Obama has asserted that these measures will allow more students to attend college. I am not sure this new funding will be enough. The Pell Grant once covered nearly three quarters of a public university’s tuition. The University of Washington now charges $21,000 per year for residential tuition with room and board. The “improved” Pell Grant only covers a quarter of these costs.
That the president and others consider this legislation a victory only demonstrates how underfunded education is in this country. In 2007, the federal government spent approximately $102 billion on education. Total government expenditures amounted to $2.7 trillion. The United States consistently scores low among other developed countries for the amount of resources devoted to education. According to the 2008 Education Index, we rank just behind Slovenia and one step above Kazakhstan.
My toughest decision in the college application process was determining where I would be happiest. I was lucky enough to have the resources to make that choice and parents who were willing to support me in my decision.
Other students must make the far more difficult choice of whether they can afford to go to college at all. Despite being well-intentioned, this new legislation is hardly sufficient. If President Obama and Congress want to make a difference for students in need, they still have a long way to go.
Sara Stern is a 2008 graduate of Mercer Island High School. She attends college in California.
