. . .ironically making college less accessible to poor/lower-middle-class kids (outside of the small percentage who are good/lucky enough to get in to wealthy elites or get full-tuition/full-ride scholarships).
That's the thesis of this fascinating article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/09/lsu-debt-free-college/406555/
I wonder, if the money that currently goes in to Pell Grants (and similar state-level fin aid grant programs) went to fund public colleges instead (the Federal money maybe with strings attached that required states to match), would that lead to greater or less accessibility to college for poor & lower-middle-class kids?
As it is now, while the Federal and state grant program for the poor + Federal loans + work-study was enough to cover the cost of everything at one of the more expensive flagships in this country 20 years ago, that combination will be enough to pay for everything only at a few flagships these days.
Certainly, the private for-profit schools (many of which are little better than scams) would be hit hard, but that would be a good thing in my book.
And I haven't even touched the Federal guarantee and forgiveness of massive (mostly grad school) loans. What if that money was diverted to fund publics as well?
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