Skepticism over Obama’s effort to rein in college costs
Friday August 23, 2013, 11:46 PM
BY PATRICIA ALEX AND LESLIE BRODY
STAFF WRITERS
The Record
For many middle-class families struggling to afford college, President Obama’s proposal to rein in those costs by linking federal aid to a new rating system amounts to little more than an abstraction.
“A proposal’s just a proposal,” said Emily Kerr, 20, of Maple Shade, who has put school on hold to work full time as a medical receptionist while she repays student loan debt she accrued at Burlington County College. “I’m not poor enough to go to school on grants, and I’m not rich enough to pay out of pocket.”
Kerr is looking for a second job that she hopes will provide enough income to allow her to return to school. “When it comes to paying for classes, I get very anxious.”
She is not alone. After a decade of escalating college tuition and fees, the middle-class anxiety is pervasive and immediate.
Michelle Ryan Lauto, 22, who grew up in Bogota and Northvale, has $8,000 in student debt but no college degree. She left Pace University after two years because of the costs. Now she is a nanny.
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