Federal Student Loans
Overhauling the Financial Aid System
Even before the recession, the rising cost of college was threatening to put higher education out of reach for most Americans. According to a report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 while median family income rose 147 percent. Thus, the share of family income required to pay for college, even with financial aid, has been growing. In the last decade, borrowing has more than doubled, with many students taking on debt approximating the size of home mortgages.The U.S. Department of Education administers a vast and complex…
