Earning a college degree remains one of the most important investments one can make in his or her future. Over the course of a lifetime, the average American with a bachelor’s degree will earn approximately $1 million more than those without any postsecondary education, are more likely to repay their loans successfully, and is also far less likely to face unemployment. Ensuring all Americans have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the global economy is critical to our nation’s economic competitiveness and success; by 2020, an estimated two-thirds of job openings will require postsecondary education or training.[1]
That’s why the Obama Administration has made historic investments to ensure college opportunity, affordability, and success, doubling investments in Pell Grants; creating the American Opportunity Tax Credit worth $10,000 over four years of college; making student loans more affordable by cutting interest rates and allowing borrowers to cap student loan payments at 10 percent of income through the Pay As You Earn and other income-driven repayment plans; making access to financial aid and college information simpler and faster; and promoting innovation and competition to bring down costs and improve college quality. The results show: more students are graduating college than ever, and new student loan defaults, delinquencies, and forbearances are on the decline.
Despite this progress, many American families still feel college is out of reach, and persistent gaps exist in college attendance and completion. While half of all people from high-income families will earn a bachelor’s degree by age 24, just one in 10 people from low-income families will.[2] In addition, today’s college students face new and different challenges. Nearly nine of 10 undergraduates live off-campus—either with parents, children, or roommates, or on their own. [3] About seven in 10 community college students work while they’re in college; nearly a third work full-time.[4] And one in four undergraduates are parents; more than 10 percent of undergraduates are single parents.[5] Too many students face barriers to completing college due to lack of access to basic resources like housing, food, health care, and childcare.
Read more from the White House Fact Sheet: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/%E2%80%9Camerica%E2%80%99s-path-progress-has-long-depended-our-nation%E2%80%99s-colleges-and-universities-%E2%80%93-and-today-%E2%80%99s-more-true-ever-when-college-degree-increasingly-ticket-21st-century-careers-and-secure-middle-c