Two Ways of Thinking About Student Aid and Equity

By Alex Usher. Take two students.  One of them comes from a poor family and needs student aid, the other, by dint of having wealthier parents, is either ineligible for aid, or can manage somehow to get through school without it.  One therefore finishes school with debt and the other does not.  Because the debt carries interest, the poor student pays “more” than the better-off student.  And because the poorer student will start their career with debt and the other one will not, student aid and post-secondary education are fundamentally “regressive”. More...