With the US presidential election five months away, the candidates are making an effort to get their voices heard on topics such as health care, taxes, the economy and the ongoing war. But what about topics closer to a college grad’s bank account - student loans and the college tuition? Here is a breakdown of what is known about Barack Obama and John McCain’s stances on these issues so important to today’s students.

Faced with steep inflation of college tuition, many college aged people are looking to find out where the candidates stand on student aid and the rising cost of higher education. As over 17 million voting-age college students stand to be affected by the troubles in the student loan market, it has been harder for the candidates to avoid discussions on the costs of higher education.

From Bnet’s article on college costs in the candidate’s agendas:

This year, students are voicing concerns more loudly about their ability to afford a higher education as ever-rising college costs — up 22 percent in the last five years alone — have been thrown into especially stark relief amidst a media and public storm about the potential unavailability of student loans facing families in the upcoming academic year.

Traditionally Republicans like to cut public programs and funding in favor of projects deemed more important and McCain’s stance so far seems to be in line with that. To deal with the expanding federal deficit, McCain’s preferred solution is cutting government spending. This is good and bad since earmarks will decrease (under Bush the number has grown substantially). Read more…

If you’re a college student it’s safe to say you need money. Believe me, I understand. Students usually live on Ramen and infrequently do their laundry to save every quarter. One of the reasons the must cut back is the outrageous cost of normal college textbooks. The average college student spends about $900 every year on textbooks. Instead of footing the bill again next year, apply for the Chegg Textbook Scholarship and receive $500 in textbook rentals from Chegg, the place to rent college textbooks.

The winner of the Chegg Textbook Scholarship will receive $500 in textbook rentals from Chegg, and with the savings we offer that’s more than a year of free textbooks! Four runner ups will receive $50 each.

But what do I need to apply you ask? You need to write an essay of course; it is an real scholarship after all. The question you must explore in your essay is “What can one student do to help the environment?” The answers need to be submitted by June 20th and must be five-hundred words or less.

Check out the official page with the rules, eligibility and technical stuff at Chegg.com.