Free College or Less Debt?

“I don’t think massive student debt is what every American should be dealing with” -Shelby Len ’19

I think [college] should be free because everybody deserves a chance at education and its a barrier for a lot of people -Edwin Donovan 17

Image courtesy Flickr//images_of_money

“I think [college] should be free because everybody deserves a chance at education and it’s a barrier for a lot of people” -Edwin Donovan ’17

Jessie Wang, Staff Writer

As the November election comes around the corner, so does college application season. Seniors have been thinking about this for a long time, and many factors are influencing their choice of schools. Most frustrating of all is the final factor limiting the possibilities: the cost. College, inarguably, isĀ incredibly expensive. As we fish for scholarships, let’s consider the platforms that each candidate has taken on college tuition and student debt.

To combat the mounting problem of tuition inflation from the left side, Hillary Clinton plans to make college free at public universities for families that make less than $85,000 a year. By 2021, she plans to extend that to families making less than $125,000. In Clinton’s plan, community college will also be free, and states will have to do their part in making higher education affordable. In recent years, many states have been cutting their budgets for higher education.

Trump also plans to urge colleges and universities to lower tuition, and he plans to cut funding and remove tax exemptions for those that don’t comply; however, the details of his plan are less than concrete.

Clinton plans to make student debt a bit more bearable through the creation of a three-month moratorium on student loans to help those who are in debt. Her plan also includes helping borrowers refinance their loans at a lower interest rate and expanding loan-forgiveness programs. Though Trump has no official plan regarding student debt, he believes that states shouldn’t be making profits off of student loans and has expressed an interest in helping borrowers find jobs to pay off these loans.

It’s important to realize that one of these candidates will be in office while we are in college, and many of us will be directly affected by their policies. Let’s remember that we’re past all the jokes this November- we need real action for our futures.