American youth have bought into the idea that a higher education is a worthwhile investment. That’s because it is: a college degree comes with lifelong benefits like increased job satisfaction, decreased durations of unemployment, and financial stability.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) assists students in affording post-secondary education by assessing his or her family’s ability to pay, based on the Estimated Family Contribution calculation. Though seemingly progressive, the federal government’s policy toward funding higher education is severely outdated and current reform will further burden low-income, first-generation students.
As it stands, the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) puts the onus on parents to pay for school before the federal government. This contentious political philosophy fails to account for the context of the 21st century. America is changing, and nostalgia is a dirty liar.