Where the Candidates Stand on College Costs

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…