U.S. student loan debt totaled more than $1.7 trillion dollars in 2021. And while President Biden’s recently announced student loan forgiveness program and payment extension helps relieve some of the pressure for some of those borrowers, it doesn’t address making secondary education more affordable in the first place.
Some programs do exist, however, to make higher education affordable. More than a dozen states and multiple cities and counties subscribe to initiatives called ‘Promise Programs.’ They vary in design – some have merit or income requirements, while others provide stipends for books and other expenses. But, in general, Promise Programs offer recent, local high school graduates tuition-free college for institutions in a specific geographic area.
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