Dear Next President,

In this world, everything revolves around money and how to get money. My mom has always said “Going to college and getting a degree will help you get a job you love, with the salary you love.” Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is lucky enough to go to college. This is why I want you to help people who are unable to afford college. I propose that you add more money into the federal budget for financial aid.

According to PBS, 44% of children in the world have not been getting the proper education they need. We say that “the young are the future” but when those kids don't have all the proper resources what kind of a future will they have? According to PBS, 86% of low income parents did not graduate from high school and live on a low income. That is why 44 % of children who might want to be a lawyer or a doctor are denied the post secondary education they should have because their families live on a low income. Therefore, they don’t always have that choice to pursuing a career. There may be a variety of reasons why they wouldn't have the opportunity to go, but a huge factor of that is the cost. Bigfuture remarked that, “to attend a public 2 year college ( in-district) would be about $3,347, to attended a public (in-state) 4 year college would be about $9,136, to attend a public 4-year (out of state) would be $22,958, which then for a private 4-year would be $31,231.”

The New America Foundation says, in 2013 there was 69 billion dollars used for financial aid programs and Pell Grants for low-income students.That is what we need more of, there are some people that think we have given way more then we should or just the perfect amount. I am not saying that they don't give enough. I am saying that we need to find a better way to help those who don’t get enough money. Also from AACSU, “the Pell Grant ranges from $550 to $5,550.” Which could really help a student who lives in a low-income household who want to go to college, but for those who do not apply or fit the requirements they go for financial aid and for that they have different requirements.

According to the National Priorities in 2015, “the federal budget was 3.8 trillion dollars. The U.S. Treasury splits all the money into three different groups: Mandatory spending, discretionary spending, and interest on debt. Mandatory and discretionary spending account for more than 90% of all federal spending, they also pay for all the government programs on which we all rely. “Interest debt is the interest payments federal government makes on accumulated debt minus interest income receives by the government for asset its owns.” In which only 69 billion dollars are given to financial aid.

The whole world knows that everything has a price the only difference is that for some people they can pay and for the others it would cost them an arm or leg. My proposal is to create a grant similar to the Pell Grant for students in low income but more for those who have a lower chance and for those who strive at school. Just imagine if the smartest doctor is out there but is not able to pay for medical school. The world will never see what they are capable of because they didn’t qualify for financial aid. That is why we should give more money to financial aid, to improve our future and make dreams come true.

Sincerely,

Juliana Silva