subject: Scholarships and Grants In Dire Straits - A Battle We Are All Loosing? [print this page] Scholarships and Grants In Dire Straits - A Battle We Are All Loosing?
Is the death of education as we know it on the horizon for those pursuing a college degree? It seems like it wasn't too long ago that all one needed was a pell grant, a scholarship or two and a small student loan to get through college. In his article, "Universities on the Brink", Louis E. Lataif, dean emeritus of Boston University's School of Management, indicated that the cost of a higher education has increased by 440% or about 17.6% a year for the past 25 years. That is an incredible cost to fund an education post graduation.
In the past it used to be true that a college graduate could earn enough to offset the cost of their post-graduate education but today that is no longer true. Over the past 20 years, Lataif stated that over the the cost of a college education has increased six times faster than the increase in the average earnings of a college grad. Couple that statistic with the fact that 2/3 of seniors now carry student loan debt and that spells a major student loan disaster waiting to happen!
Considering that student debt hit an all time high of $830 billion and that the student loan default rate keeps increasing, it is no wonder that more and more people are opting to abandon a formal post-graduate education. To put it bluntly, we just can't afford it anymore! But in reality, can we really afford not to pursue that higher education? So what are we to do? This year the Obama administration may be forced to limit funding, if not outright do major cutbacks, to the Pell Grant program. Couple this with dwindling support for scholarships due to economic hardships and what is left over for financial aid? Student Loans? Perhaps not; student loans are more like a financial death sentence especially now with the unemployment rate hovering around 9% or so.
If the U.S. is to stave off the impending economic doom that is crouching at the door, we will need a skilled workforce. Obama has often stated that we need this skilled workforce now more than ever. We need children to get involved in subjects such as math, science and engineerig but with our public school systems failing on that front, what are we to do? So how is the U.S. workforce to become skilled when grants and scholarships are teetering on the brink of oblivion themselves?
Paying for college today is no longer a personal luxury but a matter of national concern...maybe even, dare I say it...NATIONAL SECURITY????? Getting money for college is paramount to one's personal success and the nation's success. The good news is that there are many options available for paying for your child's education or for your own. Innova Financial Solutions has made a personal commitment to help students pay for college with an innovative program that combines a tried and true wealth accumulation vehicle with a partnership with some of the nations top schools.
Is funding a college education a loosing battle? It is too early to tell but if we continue to try to resolve the same problem in the same way, the answer is undoubtedly yes'! It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Let's stop the insanity and put a solution together today! If our country is spiraling into the debt stratosphere, then what can we do as individuals to alleviate that burden? Perhaps not relying on goverment aid to pay for school? It is estimated that the Pell Grant program recieved roughly $17 billion in aid. What if that amount were cut in half? What if we could gain access to the quality education we needed and more without needing to tap into this government aid? It is up to us...the nation was founded on the phrase "We the people". Somehow, over the 200+ years the U.S. has been around we have lost the meaning of that phrase. Are we a nation of handouts and a propensity to spend everything we have...even if we don't have it to spend?! We've got to come up with solutions and fast.
I encourage you to leave your thoughts and comments and have a great day!
