Making higher education more affordable

Education is the cornerstone of society. Yet, in our society, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain higher education. A college education, both private and public, is so expensive that it becomes an elusive dream for many in our society.

Many bright students have opted out of pursuing higher education because it is not affordable. According to the New York Times, students who borrow money to attend a public college finish with a median debt of $16,000. Some of the private schools are trying to remedy this situation by offering grants in lieu of interest bearing loans. But not everyone can attend these institutions. At the rate we are financing public education, we are punishing the very people we are trying to help. To pay these loans, many college graduates either remain at home with their families or take the first available position they are offered. And there are also those who cannot find employment and end up in default of their student loans.

Now what are we to do? We can continue to ignore the problem, or the state of Massachusetts can start investing once again into the average citizen and provide free higher education to their students. I strongly agree with Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to provide two years of community college free. Even better: provide two years funding towards any public education for all those who graduate high school in the state of Massachusetts.

Written by an anonymous Woman to Woman program participant

Comments

[Kelsey McCoy]

I couldn't agree with you more that the financial barriers to education are huge. It's imporant for Massachusetts to provide effective finanical aid programs that can be accessed by students who have other expenses and committments in addition to school. The Educational Grant Rewards program is a first of its kind program that allows grant recipients to use a portion of their grant money for living expenses. These are often the things that traditional finanical aid won't cover like, childcare, books, and trasportation. For more infomrmation about this program visit http://www.osfa.mass.edu/default.asp?page=educationalRewardsGrant