The Bright Futures Scholarship and the Army Reserve each paid for my tuition, so I received a $3k check back from the registrars office each semester.

 

IMO you have no business racking up student loans if you can't receive and maintain a bright futures scholarship.   I went to a public university and have multiple friends who never escaped the restaurant industry because they graduated with a 2.2 GPAs in psychology.  Private for profit schools have only made this problem worse by graduating students who are not being recruited by major industries, lack marketable skills, and probably shouldn't have been in college in the first place.

 

If you don't have the aptitude to graduate in the top 30% of your college class then you are probably better off starting a career with an AA/AS degree and working full time while you finish your degree.  Having 4 years of experience as a bookkeeper, electrician, drafter, or administrative assistant will make it much easier to get a job when graduating with average grades or from a less prestigious university.  You will also avoid the majority of debt most students accumulate from room and board and should be able to start with a salary higher than most initial graduates because of your work experience.

 

I am personally not in favor of any program that makes college more accessible to the masses.  There should be programs to promote diversity and assist the underprivileged, but assistance should only apply to students that show the most aptitude in those categories.  Both candadites are pedaling propaganda to uneducated parents who think it is vital that their children graduate college, when there children probably wouldn't graduate even if the tuition was free.

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