06-25-2019, 03:14 PM
There has been a lot of discussion about presidential candidates implementing "free college for all" and student debt elimination. I have been discussing this with some peers. Since this is an education forum it seems like the perfect place to ask for thoughts on the topic.
Here are some of my concerns:
1) FAFSA, is it staying or going?
This was the bane of my existence since both sets of my divorced parents refused to fill it out. Getting through college took me way longer than it should have because I had to pay out of pocket up until the very last bit, and I ended up in adult entertainment which also lead to a lot of issues. If we are saying free college for all I will only be in support of candidates that get rid of the FAFSA all together... and so far I have seen no mention of how that will be handled.
2) Are living expenses also being covered?
Even if we do away with college tuition people still have to have room, board, and even money for things like car insurance. Some people may have family that will support them 100% during college but then there will be people without any family support. My concern is that there will still be a socio-economic gap in the end as it's a lot easier to get a high GPA when you don't have to worry about working to keep a roof over your head and food in your mouth. Dare I say too, many young kids without family support do not know how to even deal with human services to get assistance for food even if they are eligible. It seems like the whole process needs to be streamlined and thought through extremely well. Once again none of the candidates seem to be discussing this.
3) There are only a limited number of spots for housing on campus or through colleges. How will it be decided who gets those spots?
We already know that for most people both GPA and SAT/ACT scores tend to be heavily correlated with stability at home and support networks. My concern is the colleges may decide to base who gets on-campus housing on GPA and test scores, leading to those with lower socio-economic, home stability, and support networks to continue struggling and still having to find ways to commute back and forth to campus. Granted, this is something many probably already deal with. The only thing I could see potentially working to be fair is limiting on-campus housing to freshman only.
4) How is this going to change the idea of college rankings and prestige such as the ivy schools?
I could see this going one of two ways. Either the Ivies and high ranking schools will still use GPA/SAT/ACT to primarily cherry-pick leading to no real difference in long-term socio-economic changes for the mass majority as employers continue to often opt for hiring graduates from these schools. Or else the schools no longer feel the need to compete against one another... potentially leading to sub-par education. I do think there is already something to this idea of degree inflation that is a problem... I am struggling now with employers is the whole under-qualified/over-qualified issue and not finding the sweet spot. I suspect that has a lot to do with so many people now having bachelors degrees and while I am all for the education I wonder how this will change the employment market long-term.
5) Are we only talking free education for the associates and bachelor degree levels?
If the candidates are considering doing this for graduates/post-graduate studies this could get really interesting! I suspect a lot of people might be willing to stay in school longer too if housing expenses and such are all paid.
So if you all could ask candidates questions about their proposals regarding college and student debt, what would your questions be? What thoughts do you have on these questions?
Here are some of my concerns:
1) FAFSA, is it staying or going?
This was the bane of my existence since both sets of my divorced parents refused to fill it out. Getting through college took me way longer than it should have because I had to pay out of pocket up until the very last bit, and I ended up in adult entertainment which also lead to a lot of issues. If we are saying free college for all I will only be in support of candidates that get rid of the FAFSA all together... and so far I have seen no mention of how that will be handled.
2) Are living expenses also being covered?
Even if we do away with college tuition people still have to have room, board, and even money for things like car insurance. Some people may have family that will support them 100% during college but then there will be people without any family support. My concern is that there will still be a socio-economic gap in the end as it's a lot easier to get a high GPA when you don't have to worry about working to keep a roof over your head and food in your mouth. Dare I say too, many young kids without family support do not know how to even deal with human services to get assistance for food even if they are eligible. It seems like the whole process needs to be streamlined and thought through extremely well. Once again none of the candidates seem to be discussing this.
3) There are only a limited number of spots for housing on campus or through colleges. How will it be decided who gets those spots?
We already know that for most people both GPA and SAT/ACT scores tend to be heavily correlated with stability at home and support networks. My concern is the colleges may decide to base who gets on-campus housing on GPA and test scores, leading to those with lower socio-economic, home stability, and support networks to continue struggling and still having to find ways to commute back and forth to campus. Granted, this is something many probably already deal with. The only thing I could see potentially working to be fair is limiting on-campus housing to freshman only.
4) How is this going to change the idea of college rankings and prestige such as the ivy schools?
I could see this going one of two ways. Either the Ivies and high ranking schools will still use GPA/SAT/ACT to primarily cherry-pick leading to no real difference in long-term socio-economic changes for the mass majority as employers continue to often opt for hiring graduates from these schools. Or else the schools no longer feel the need to compete against one another... potentially leading to sub-par education. I do think there is already something to this idea of degree inflation that is a problem... I am struggling now with employers is the whole under-qualified/over-qualified issue and not finding the sweet spot. I suspect that has a lot to do with so many people now having bachelors degrees and while I am all for the education I wonder how this will change the employment market long-term.
5) Are we only talking free education for the associates and bachelor degree levels?
If the candidates are considering doing this for graduates/post-graduate studies this could get really interesting! I suspect a lot of people might be willing to stay in school longer too if housing expenses and such are all paid.
So if you all could ask candidates questions about their proposals regarding college and student debt, what would your questions be? What thoughts do you have on these questions?
MBA, Walden University (In progress - 60% done)
2016 TESU, BA-LIBST, Emphases in Multimedia Comm./Human & Social Services
TESU TECEPS: Abnormal Psych PSY-350, Psych of Women PSY-270, Sales Mgmnt MAR-322, Advertising MAR-323, Marketing COM-210; Capstone w/ Ciacco
Other Sources: CLEP, Art Portfolio, 3 Comm. Colleges, 2 Art Colleges, FEMA, AICPCU Ethics
2016 TESU, BA-LIBST, Emphases in Multimedia Comm./Human & Social Services
TESU TECEPS: Abnormal Psych PSY-350, Psych of Women PSY-270, Sales Mgmnt MAR-322, Advertising MAR-323, Marketing COM-210; Capstone w/ Ciacco
Other Sources: CLEP, Art Portfolio, 3 Comm. Colleges, 2 Art Colleges, FEMA, AICPCU Ethics