U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s message for students thinking about college is simple: You can do it, and the federal government can help pay for it.
Duncan visited Louisville on Thursday as part of a back-to-school bus tour with stops in 10 cities. He told a group of prospective college students during a discussion at the University of Louisville that too many of them never fill out federal financial aid forms. He said they miss out on about $150 billion in grants and loans made available by the federal government every year.
Duncan said he worries that many students with the grades to go to college believe that it will be too expensive.
Those skeptical students have a point: nationally, student debt is near $1.3 trillion dollars and the average price for in-state students at public four-year universities is 42 percent higher than it was a decade ago, according to the College Board.