U.S.\u00a0Education\u00a0Secretary Arne Duncan’s message for students thinking about\u00a0college\u00a0is simple: You can do it, and the federal government can help pay for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a0college\u00a0students during a discussion at the University of Louisville that too many of them never fill out federal financial aid forms. They miss out on about $150 billion in grants and loans made available by the federal government every year, he said.<\/p>
“If you work hard, you will be able to afford\u00a0college, and we will meet you halfway,” he said. Duncan told the students, “please, please, please fill out that form.”<\/p>
Duncan said he worries that many students with the grades to go to\u00a0college\u00a0believe that it will be too expensive.<\/p>
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\u00a0College\u00a0Board.<\/p>
“College\u00a0is less affordable than we’d like it to be today, and it’s a worry,” Duncan said.<\/p>
Brandon Burris, a University of Louisville student who joined a roundtable discussion, said the financial aid form, known as FAFSA, could be a little daunting to complete. Burris said he came from a low-income family, and was the first to go to\u00a0college. But he said he had to do lots of research to figure out how to get help.<\/p>
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