Easing the burden: Lamar Alexander on financing a college education

We all know that the price tag for college puts a degree out of reach for many people, and for many others, the debt from student loans is very high. Lamar Alexander, US senator from Tennessee and former Secretary of Education under President George H. W. Bush, has a proposal for easing some of the burden. He lays out his ideas in this February 2019 essay from the New York Times.

Alexander, “Going to college should not be a financial albatross”

1. Alexander has several specific proposals for making college more affordable for US students. What are they? Who would be responsible for putting Alexander’s plans into effect? Summarize his ideas. Has he provided sufficient evidence that his plans would achieve their goal? Why or why not?
2. Alexander is the senior US senator from Tennessee, a seat he has held since 2003. What might have been his purpose in writing an essay for the New York Times? It’s not a Tennessee newspaper, and this is not an election year. Who is Alexander’s intended audience, and what is he trying to accomplish with his essay? Explain your reasoning.
3. In his They Say, Alexander uses direct quotations as well as paraphrases. Select two examples of quotations by named persons, and discuss why Alexander might have chosen to use the person’s exact words rather than a paraphrase. Consult Chapter 3 of your text to help you respond.
4. Alexander asserts that the best way to “help more low-income students attend college” would be to simplify the FAFSA, the form that students and families must complete. Certainly, no student or parent would ever object to making that form less of a headache, but would that simplification really accomplish all that Alexander claims it will? Think about all that’s been involved in your process of financing your college education. Reflect on your own experience and that of people you know and evaluate how far Alexander’s proposals would go toward achieving the goals that he puts forth. Using Alexander’s essay as your They Say, write an essay evaluating his proposals.

Comments

[Matt Kay & Friends]

Debt cripples thousands of students a year post-college. Additionally, it discourages milllions of students a year from applying to college, in fear that they will never be able to repay what they have accumulated. Alexander proposes several ideas of making the student loan process less complex and less expensive. Overall, he does a great job at providing alternatives to the tackle the problem of over-encombering debt that students gain due to the necessity of funds to pay for college classes.

[Val M, Kasey K, Mason B, Grace F]

Alexander starts by proposing that the number of questions on the form to apply for federal student financial aid be reuced from 108 to two dozen. This idea would not be as effective as actually informing students of how to apply for FSFA, which they are not taught to do. The rest of his ideas are more well thought out and effective. His other proposals not only help to reduce the cost of college, but to help these students pay it back in an effective manner. We believe that both the federal and state government should offer more scholarships to students for their achievements in high school. This will help to reduce the stress that is placed on student, as they will have less to pay.

[dwl]

I think that the best was to help people pay for college is to have them work on campus and instead of paying them it pays for their college. If you don't want that paying for their whole college then make it so that it takes care of 50% or something. The only way they can work on campus is if they have a C+ or higher.

[Robert Warden]

honestly i think that the system of loans set up by the government is fine and is not overly complicated. i think the FASFA form is asking only for basic info that we already know about ourselves by doing our annual taxes and etc. if anything i only really agree with his ideas to give college skin in the game of holding student accountable for the loans they take out. This also includes at what rate students are borrowing money at. i also agree that someone should be the adviser for student for loan advise and what works best for the student at the time. This would help reduce tuition prices. i think that the only problem with the system is that college prices keep going up and its not stopping and that is the bulk of the issues. if everything was more affordable to begin with more students would take the next steps in there education even if this is a post college education.

[kimlittle]

I really feel that this is why a lot of students don't further their education from high school. The cost and as researcher has shown that 60% of parents don't have the means to help with college they have to take loans out and pray for scholarships to get there education.I truly feel that more young people from high school would try to attend college if it was at a responsible cost.I at 50 years old don't see it getting any more resealable

[Carlee Williams]

Alexander makes a fascinating point about altering the student loan process, to make it less complex and less expensive. I'd never thought of it that way before. I'd always thought that college tuition would keep increasing over time, but if Alexander is right, then that would explain why so many students are unable to pay back their student debt in a reasonable time. As Alexander mentions in the article, "Eliminating this unnecessary complexity is the best way to help more low-income students attend college." I would have to agree with Alexander that altering the loan process, would tremendously increase the number of student loan applicants. But what Alexander overlooks is that it is a difficult task to convince the federal and state government to change the policies they have set. Just like Kim Little, I do not see college tuition getting anymore reasonable, but I do think Alexander makes excellent suggestions towards how the government should alter this stressful process.

[Destinee]

Like Matt, I agree that millions of students are afraid to apply to colleges because of the fear of being in debt. He states, "It discourages millions of students a year from applying to college, in fear that they will never be able to repay what they have accumulated." I agree with this statement, I have a lot of friends who joined the forces instead of college. Some would even tell me "I do not want to be in debt". Also myself I feared of being in debt, I decided before going to college to come up with a plan that I can stick to so I would not be in debt.

[Simerdip Mundi]

In this article it explains how college is getting harder and harder to afford. The writer argues that millions of students are haunted by the process of applying to school and having that thought of being debt after they graduate. I feel this is why more and more students are attending community college after graduating high school. This is one of the reasons why I attended community college after I graduated because of the fear of being in debt. The writer gives great alternatives to face this problem of student debt.

[Alana]

As Alexander mentions in this article, that we have to eliminate complexity to help more low income students attend college. I agree with his statement and solutions, I have two suggestions I'd add. I'd consider colleges to offer students who are really struggling the opportunity to attend with no pay until they're financially stable. Also I'd try to save money ahead of time before I enroll into college. With that I suggest that students who graduate high school should have that opportunity and have had proper training of how to manage money.

[Tyler Snyder]

I agree with Alex that college is a huge investment that can really affect your life after you graduate college. The plan that I liked the most was the plan to calculate the discretionary income and base your monthly payment off of that. This is a great idea because it ensures that you are not going to struggle and live paycheck to paycheck in order to pay off your student loans. I think something definitely needs to be done, and I hope that the government is looking at solutions to the crippling student debt problem that the U.S. has.

[QandA]

This is a great step taken by Lamar Alexander. This help many students to start study again. Many students need this facility for studying. Thanks, for this informative post. We share this my team at QandA.

[Destiny Weiser]

I agree with what Alexander is saying. The costs of a college education is ridiculous and full rides are rarely given out and barely given to students who are in the top of their high school graduating class. Most people don't pay back their loans for decades after graduating college which is the huge problem in all of this. The ide that Alexander proposes about calculating your income and figuring out how large of a payment you can afford without struggling is a good idea. I feel that people often want to overpay to get their debt gone as soon as possible but then they often struggle with their daily life essentials. This type of budgeting is important as an adult who may or may not have a family or just take care of themselves.

[Shungo Kawate]

According to the writer Alexander, about 40 million graduates have $1.5 trillion in student loan debt in the US (2019), so he mentions whether the colleges offer education that is worthy of large sums. I agree with his question. It is a fundamental human right to receive education and the idea that tuition fees for illustrating the equality of educational opportunities should be as free as possible. However, since the country's economy can not be realized, it is collecting a large amount of money from students. Still, I think that the gap in society will expand if the students are forced to spend too much money on education. It's dangerous that the inability to invest enough in education for low-income people means that the class is fixed.
Also, he explains the old debt repayment system using the quotation of a professor at the University of Michigan. I guess the reason why he used the person's exact words is to emphasize that this system is not enough that others have the same opinion. In other words, Alexander believes that the system should be innovated to help students having debt.
In my country, Japan, most college students including me have our parents pay for our tuition so I can not imagine how serious the problem is. But I'm sure his proposals are better than the present ones.

[Hugo Drivon]

After reading the article write by Alexander, I agree with him about the huge cost of American University to get the chance to study and to get a degree. Indeed, the price of the University in the USA do not give the chance to a of of student to have the possibility to study. So, if a student wants to study, he often must borrow money just to pay the school, and after his degree he will already have thousands of dollars to pay back without even started his adult, his professional life! That the kind of thing that shocked me (I’m from France, and there is a lot of Free good University, where in around 5 years you will have to spend only like maybe $1000).
Those students who will have already lot of money to payback, will then have to borrow money for they house, for their car etc... so young adult after their University and just starting their life will already super indebted witch could be very problematic sometimes.
Alexander in is article make very good points and well suggestion witch I hope the US government will think about it and find solution for future American (and maybe also international student studying in the USA) students.

[Hitomi Iseki]

Alexander quoted from two specific organizations. First, administrators have a specific question: “Can you do something about the jungle of red tape that wastes on overhead that could instead be spent on students?” the author quoted. Second, professor Susan Dynarski at the University of Michigan calls the nine different ways of repaying student loans “a rigid, archaic payment system that unnecessarily plunges millions into financial distress, the author cited. He quoted exactly not paraphrased. That’s because the exact quotation enhances what the author wants to focus on.

[Yusuke Sashimonoya]

Alexander arguing that the high cost of courage education torment students. It caused some social problems, like delaying paying back. So, it is getting harder to have a lone.
In the article, Alexander explains how the old debts repayment is hard for the person who have it by quoting a phrase of a professor at the University of Michigan. I think that it's expressing the hardness of debts repayment exactly.
And Alexander explaining the fear of students. whether it is affordable and worth for students to have debts. For about this fear, Alexander is quoting administrators words. "Can you do something about the jungle of red tape that wastes money on overhead that could instead be spent on students?" It is a kinds of Metaphor, though we can know how it is difficult to have it.

[Jueun Lee]

(1) The number of applicants for student aid would go up by about two million a year, according to Kim Cook of the National College Access Network. The former president of Southwest Community College in Memphis told me he loses 1,500 students each semester who are discouraged by the chilling maze of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.

(2) Professor Susan Dynarski at the University of Michigan calls the nine different ways of repaying student loans “a rigid, archaic payment system that unnecessarily plunges millions into financial distress.”

He quoted these two figures' exact saying in order to support his opinion that the US university cost is too high and the country lacks system for students who face difficulty to afford it. I think the reason he came up with the exact saying of certain person was that the person he mentioned in his article was well-authorized person in the related field-university. To make his opinion or article look more convincing, he chose to quote exactly the same words that the people mentioned before.

[Camil Belbachir]

In this article in the New York Times, Alexander highlights the problem of the particularly high cost of tuition to study in the United States. To be able to pay for their education, students often have to take out loans that they have to repay over decades. In his article, Alexander seeks to attract the reader's attention by using the exact words spoken by the interviewee. By using paraphrasing, Alexander seeks to show the feelings and impact of this problem through the strong words used by the interviewees. For example, at the beginning of the article, the sentence “no one mentions just how expensive and soul-crushing the debt will be.” is very explicit, the word “soul-crushing” really express the feeling of the person. If we had to summarize that sentence, we’d had to choose a more global word that will never have the same meaning and the same resonance for the reader. The sentence “Can I afford it? Is it worth it? Can you make it simpler to apply for aid and pay back loans?” shows us the distress of the student who is trying to find out if the significant investment that college in the United States represents will be rewarded later.

[sewon kim]

According to the reading, Alexander insists we who live in this society must make it easier to pay back a student loan as we must make it easier to apply for a student loan. He mentioned about "A college graduate paying more than $1,000 per month on student loans recently". Moreover he said about "Roughly 40 million borrowers owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. Honestly, I entirely agree with him since I think US tuition fee to get a degree is super expensive as an international student. Although I do not know well about how much US students pay for tuition fee and they get a scholarship from university, I am sure it is much enough.

[Niharika Mishra]

We completely agree with the given article as college education has turned really expensive, financial aids support is not available for everybody. As alexander mentions in United States 40 million borrowers owe $1.5 trillion student in loan dept. In making this alexander warns about the need to change the way we pay back student loans and the way they are given out so easily. The suggested payment plan in the article would provide help for many students throughout the U.S.A.

[Gustavo Medina]

I agree from your point of view. I understand that the cost for tuition is increasing and that students need to be advised for taking out loans and help them through that process.

[jey]

Lamar argues that Financial Aid is the fastest and easiest way to reduce college debt. I agree with what Lamar has to say is because there are many students that go into debt just of the fact that they could not afford to pay the debt or fail to apply for financial aid.

[Adeline W]

College debt is one of those things that not only damages the individule, but socoiety at large. If stutents leave collage and get a job, and then preceed to spend the next twenty years paying off their debt, all of the money they are paying off is essentally being nullified- economically speaking. In other words, collage graduates are unable to start playing a more active roll in our consumer based economy until their debt is payed, and, may I remind you that the entire point of collage is to recieve a higher level of education in order to contribute to and better society as a whole.m

[Leah M]

The financial complications of college, in my opinion, are forcing students to focus more on how they can manage to afford it than what they actually want to pursue while there. Even after college, these students are followed by any debt they accumulate, and the money they make in the pursuit of their career will have to be devoted entirely to the cause of paying for education. We have been warned of how many people already owe money (40 million), and if this situation cannot be reversed soon, we may be discouraging people from becoming active in society and being able to pursue the education they need to get there.

[Taylor]

College's are way too expensive and most people can not afford colleges, and many people continue on in a master or doctors degree because almost all fields require extra years of schooling which makes it more expensive. I agree with the author's points that there are many more beneficial ways to reduce the cost of college. Paying off debts is also just making dead money, there is nothing else to do with it after it is paid off it is not flowing in a money circle. I like the idea of paying off your debt like a mortgage, so you always know what you will be paying and how long you will be paying for it. I think college debt also holds back a lot of young adults who are fresh out of college from doing things like buying a house, a car, doing things they enjoy, meeting new people because they don't have the money to do those things because money is tight.