Promise or free tuition programs cropping up in some states are also worth examining, Perna said. New York, Maryland and other states have proposed new and expanded programs to pay college costs for eligible students. The movement toward these programs suggests an opportunity to think about how different sources of financial aid come together to ensure that all students have the financial resources that are needed to pay the cost of going to college.
Pell Grants, designed to help lower-income students, haven’t kept pace with the growth of tuition, and so over time, their purchasing power has declined, notes Perna.
An expanded income-based repayment system should be the standard for students, said Webber, with low payments or none at all for those making little money. It should be a little kinder to people at the lower end of the distribution but for people who are making more, it should be maybe not as generous as they are being right now. Continue reading “If students default on their loans, there is no bad effect for the school”
