July 20, 2008 by Mara Strom Wisebread had an interesting post yesterday about students whose families’ middle class income status has squeezed them out of the golden Medina of federal and state financial assistance: Financial Need. Blogger Xin Lu cites two college friends whose families were well off enough to be denied financial assistance to their top picks — Harvard and MIT. When their families decided the Ivy League was out of their league, the friends went to their second choice: public in-state schools, where they presumably managed to graduate debt-free. There’s a wealth of food for thought in this post — and especially in the comments section. For me, one of the most salient issues comes down to the following question: What is the true value of a college e...

June 30, 2008 by Mara Strom Last week, we spotlighted the views of Barack Obama, the (presumed) Democratic nominee, on higher education and financial aid. I promised you then that I wasn’t being partisan — and that we’d look this week at what the Republican nominee John McCain has to say about funding your college education. Well, I’m keeping my promise, but in all honesty, there isn’t *that* much to say. On Scholarships For Veterans We know that McCain doesn’t like the Democrat’s proposal to give veterans a free-ride to college. But McCain’s criticism of the bill isn’t a knock on full scholarships to veterans (per se) as much as it is a critique of the bill’s terms: McCain says to give these benefits after only three years (as th...

June 23, 2008 by Mara Strom A few weeks ago, I mentioned the brouhaha that was brewing between Barack Obama and John McCain over the Democrats’ proposal to fully fund scholarships for 3-year veterans. Well, that’s not the only financial aid issue making its way onto the ‘08 campaign trail with the presumed Presidential candidates. We know that figuring out how to pay for college is probably the bane of your existence, but what do the candidates think about financial aid? Here’s a look at what Obama says on the subject (and before anyone freaks out, we’ll be talking about McCain next week. Stay tuned!) On Tax Credits For Students Obama says he would give anyone paying college tuition a $4,000 tax credit to help cover their higher education costs. His campaign e...