Where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Stand on College Affordability
Survey after survey has shown that paying for college is one of the biggest worries facing families today. But you wouldn't have known it from the recently concluded presidential debates. In more than four hours of back and forth across three nights, the candidates mentioned the word "college" all of 11 times, and often just in passing.
So where do they stand on this important national issue?
Here is what we know so far.
Hillary Clinton
Democratic candidate Clinton has had the most to say about her plans for making college affordable, both in the debates (nine mentions to her opponent Donald Trump's two), in speeches, and on her website.
From the third debate, for example, we have this:
I feel strongly that we have to have an education system that starts with preschool and goes through college. That’s why I want more technical education and community colleges, real apprenticeships to prepare young people for the jobs of the future. I want to make college debt-free and for families making less than $125,000, you will not get a tuition bill from a public college or a university if the plan that I worked on with Bernie Sanders is enacted."
(Opponent Trump's response: "...she can say all she wants about college tuition. And I'm a big proponent. We're going to do a lot of things for college tuition but the rest the public is going to be paying for it.")
On her website, Clinton outlines similar proposals, such as these four, which we're paraphrasing here:
- Free tuition at four-year public colleges and universities for in-state students whose families earn $85,000 or less a year. By 2021, the income limit would rise to $125,000.
- Free tuition at all community colleges.
- Lower interest rates on federal student loans.
- Debt relief for current borrowers, including the option to refinance their loans at current federal rates.
Donald Trump
Republican candidate Donald Trump has had less to say about college in the debates, and the education policy area of his website is primarily devoted to K-12 issues, such as school choice. However, it does offer these two bullet points in a section titled "Donald J. Trump's Vision":
Work with Congress on reforms to ensure universities are making a good faith effort to reduce the cost of college and student debt in exchange for the federal tax breaks and tax dollars."
And:
Ensure that the opportunity to attend a two or four-year college, or to pursue a trade or a skill set through vocational and technical education, will be easier to access, pay for, and finish."
In an October 13 speech in the college town of Columbus, Ohio, he addressed the issue of student debt more specifically, proposing an income-based repayment plan pegged to 12.5% of a borrower's income, with the remainder of the loan forgiven after 15 years. That contrasts with current plans, with require payments based on 10% of income, with forgiveness generally coming after 20 years. Clinton's proposals support the current percentage and timetable but also add some new features, such as up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness for "social entrepreneurs and those starting new enterprises in distressed communities."