At Thursday’s highly anticipated summit focusing on expanding college opportunities for low-income students, talk of financial aid and college applications was aplenty. And for the Obama administration, reforms centered around — and stopped at — higher education institutions. But that is hardly the case for hundreds of thousands of recent graduates entering an economy rife with underemployment and thousands of dollars in student loans, proving the buck doesn’t stop with college.
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During the all-day summit hosted by the White House, President Barack Obama’s senior advisors joined forces with university system presidents and education nonprofits to explore expanding college opportunity for low-income students. While panelists discussed a variety of barriers to entry into higher-ed institutions, from complications with the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) to standardized tests like the SAT and ACT, and ways to combat them, the Obama administration and its allies failed to present reforms necessary to lower the cost of college, decrease student loan debt and lower the youth unemployment rate.
“Everybody here is participating, I believe, because you know that college graduation has never been more valuable than it is today,” President Obama said in his address to attendees. “…We’ve got to make sure that more Americans of all ages are getting the skills that they need to access the jobs that are out there right now. But more than ever, a college degree is the surest path to a stable, middle-class life.”
Much of Thursday’s event focused on necessary steps high schools and colleges need to take to open up the window of opportunity for low-income students. Such reforms included providing assistance for students and their parents when filling out the FAFSA, the form necessary to receive any type of financial aid, and helping students navigate tricky college websites when it comes time to apply.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D) hailed changes made to his state’s education system designed to help students get into college, which included setting aside time for students to write college essays in English classes and fill out applications in computer classes. Others in attendance — including President Obama — spoke of flaws associated with the SAT and ACT, two exams that are the gateway to college acceptance.
“We know that when it comes to college advising, and preparing for tests like the ACT and the SAT, low-income kids are not on a level playing field. We call these standardized tests — they’re not standardized,” Obama said.
But while the Obama administration provided feel-good improvements in the realm of higher education, President Obama and his advisors didn’t propose reforms to help students as they enter their post-graduate lives.
The buck, for the White House, virtually stopped with acceptance.
President Obama and his advisors failed to explain what happens after graduation from college, where youth unemployment sits at 15.9 percent, more than double the national unemployment rate. According to December’s jobs numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a dismal 74,000 jobs were created. And 18- to 34-year-olds represent 46 percent of the unemployed. Meanwhile, thousands stopped looking for employment altogether.
One of the major reforms discussed by both education nonprofits and university representatives alike was the need for assistance with filling out a FAFSA. Completing the application is the first step in receiving student loans and Pell grants, but is a lengthy process that can often be confusing.
Bridget Terry Long of the Harvard Graduate School of Education noted that the difficulty of the FAFSA creates a barrier to entry for low-income students. Simplifying the application process, she said, would make it easier for students to access the financial aid available to them.
But neither Long nor her fellow panelists addressed the issue of repaying loans received. College graduates today leave school with an average of $29,400 in student loan debt. And they’re entering a job market that is rife with underemployment. Reports of students struggling to find jobs that put their degrees to use are hardly anecdotal.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the underemployment rate for 22- to 29-year-olds stood at 44 percent in 2012, rising sharply after the recession. In 2001, that number sat at 34 percent.
“College grads are frustrated,” Raffi Williams, deputy press security for the Republican National Committee, told Red Alert Politics in an email. “They want to work but because of Obamanomics they can’t find jobs. It’s no wonder 61% of youths disapprove of the President’s handling of economy. What Millennials need is a President who is interested in creating job opportunities, not one who stifles it by refusing to move the dozens of House passed jobs bills that have stalled in the Democrat lead Senate.”
In anticipation of Thursday’s event, which included speeches from both President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, the White House announced $100 million in commitments from nonprofits, universities, foundations and corporations that will provide low-income with scholarships, fee waivers and assistance with enrollment and applying to colleges.
Headed by National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling, summit attendees included former Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who now heads the University of California system, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, Khan Academy founder Sal Khan and more than 100 representatives from colleges and universities nationwide.
