Federal Aid Benefits

“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” This quote by Aristotle frames the increasingly daunting task of paying for higher education. Bright-eyed, trusting high school students intently listen to the advice of educators, parents, leaders and college financial aid offices assuring that the work load and ever increasing costs of a bachelor degree will be worth it. The fruit of attaining that piece of paper, at any cost, will lead to a more rewarding life. Higher lifetime earning potential, happiness, admiration, and wealth will follow each level of higher education that you achieve. It is true that higher education is a necessity to securing a comfortable life in America. A high school diploma will no longer anchor a salary

Federal aid began in 1944 when President Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, commonly known as the GI Bill. This provided grants for living expenses for military veterans returning from WWII who wanted to attend college. The first federal loans began in 1958 with the passage by Congress of the National Defense Education Act. This provided federally subsidized loans to students studying in areas critical to the national defense of the United States. Passage of the Higher Education Act in 1965 is what started the expansion of loans and grants by the government. Federal grants like the Pell Grant began in 1975. The loans and the grants were to help with the financial need of low income students who were unable to afford college (Heller 2). The Higher Education Act has been reauthorized seven times since 1965. The act now includes tax credits that help middle and upper-income families. In 1901, the average college tuition cost $141 per semester, a room was $2 a month and board was $1.25 a week. In 1974, the average college tuition was $128 a semester and room and board was about $900 a year. Tuition, as well as room and board, kept up with inflation. In 1980, the average college cost was $7685 for tuition, room and board. By the end of the 1990’s, the average cost was $10,518 for a year of college. Over the majority of the 20th century, attending college became more accessible to more Americans because it was affordable and future earnings exceeded the cost of the education (Bennett 17). The average cost of college in 2014 was over $19,000 for public in-state tuition, room and board. Since 1990, tuition cost at a public university has increased 150%, federal aid was increased 242% and student loans have increased 300% (Bennett 31). Students are looking to the government to help them out of this mess. The government got them into this