Stafford Loans Argumentative Essay

501 Words3 Pages

These issues carry over into the most important part of the loan as well: the repayment. All Stafford Loans offer benefits such as no interest until graduation, fixed interest rates, flexible repayment plans, and loan deferments and forbearances, but just because a student graduates college does not guarantee that he or she will be able to find employment after graduation, and it also does not guarantee that his or her salary will be sufficient to repay the loans. Such is the case for one in eight borrowers who default in their loans within three years after graduation and suffer dire consequences. From ruined credit to diminished wages, life can be pretty difficult for a graduate who risked it all to strengthen his or her future and that of …show more content…

As mentioned previously, direct taxpayer support towards public universities has decreased lately leading to a rise in tuition prices. Universities are pressured by their boards to break even, and since student loans will just cover their price increases, they have no incentive to hold down tuition costs. That is where the solution must intervene. According to the Department of Education, public colleges made about $57 billion from tuition alone in the 2009-2010 school year. That gives the government a threshold of about $60 billion to spend on aid. But how much does Washington actually spend? According to the New America Foundation, the federal government appropriated about $35.9 billion in grants and $32.6 billion in tax benefits for a total of over $72 billion in aid that does not need to be repaid. Technically, the government currently has enough money to cover tuition costs and more. With increased taxpayer support to back it up, instead of sending aid directly to students, the government could instead send it to the states under the condition that student funding remains at a certain level and colleges kept their tuition rates at a certain price. This approach would also help stop cost-inflation. If increased demand for higher education causes cost-inflation, then reducing tuition at public universities will cause private