With control of the House and Senate, Democrats plan to make college more affordable by cutting the interest rate on student loans in half, raising the tax deductibility of college tuition and increasing the Pell Grant's maximum amount, which would affect students across the country, including those at AU.
With the rise of college tuition rates across the country, many students depend on financial aid. According to AU's Web site, 66 percent of fall 2006 admitted freshmen received some form of financial aid and/or merit scholarship.
Under the new plan, almost half of the AU undergraduate student body would be affected. Currently at AU, 47 percent of undergraduates receive need-based financial aid, and the average freshman total need-based aid is $13,791, according to The Princeton Review Web site.
"As someone who cannot afford tuition without financial aid, the increase in Pell Grant and the interest rate cuts in federal loans will benefit me," said Trent Helms, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences.
The potential changes in financial aid will be beneficial to the academic community, according to Krupa Thakore, a freshman in the School of Communication.
"As tuition continues to increase year after year, college affordability becomes an issue," Thakore said. "By offering more students with better financial aid, students will be able to afford the costs of attending college."
Under the national plan, the interest rates would be lowered to 3.4 percent, now at a fixed rate of 6.8 percent. Loans taken out by parents would be lowered to 4.25 percent from 8.5 percent for students in the guaranteed loan program, a program financed by private lenders that are protected against inaction by the federal government, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The potential changes in the costs of higher education would improve its current state in the U.S., according to Miriam Callahan, vice president of the College Democrats.
"Helping students go to school makes for a more educated workforce, which helps our economy," Callahan said in an e-mail. "Making college tuition tax-deductible would make college more affordable for many people, especially families with multiple college students."
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the newly elected Speaker of the House, pledged to make changes in the cost of higher education.
Cutting interest rates would save the average college student graduating with $17,500 in college debt $5,600, Pelosi said in a speech during a rally in June, according to her Web site. Pelosi also said she plans to increase the Pell Grant's maximum value from $4,050 to $5,100, according to The Chronicle.
Republicans say the plan would be too costly and the proposal would cost the government $60 billion over a five-year period and $150 billion over 10 years.
John Findlay, director of political affairs for AU's College Republicans, said there is little funding available to make these cuts.
"Democrats have promised to create programs that will be beneficial for some," Findlay said. "However, there is no funding unless they raise new revenues or cut spending in other areas. As a result, this will add to the already large budget deficit."
However, the Democrats will attempt to use the $12 billion the Republicans cut from loan programs in 2005 and will also make deeper cuts in lender subsidies, according to The Chronicle.
The chance for the changes in financial aid is unlikely, said Owen Davis, a freshman in CAS.
"I don't believe there will be any changes in the next two years," Davis said. "The Bush administration plans to veto anything Democrats will push. ... In the next two years, there will be a government stalemate"
