Many Americans today feel like they'vе lost or are losing their shot at a college education because paying for it often seems out of reach. So how big of an issue is this in the presidential campaign?
Here's what President Obama has done to help families pay for college: He negotiated a deal with Congress this summer that kept the interest rate on government-backed Stafford loans from doubling for 7.5 million students.
Obama's income-based repayment plan will eventually cap students' loan payments at 10 percent of discretionary monthly income. He also poured billions of dollars more into federal aid for low-income students.
"I want to make college more affordable for every young person who has the initiative and drive to go and make sure they'rе not burdened by thousands of dollars worth of debt," Obama said.
What Obama's policies have had no impact on is the most vexing problem of all: the rise in the cost of college.
"Because while [Obama] pushes more aid out the door, tuition just goes up and up and up. In fact, some people argue on the right that the federal support actually induces increases in tuition," says Sandy Kress, a former education adviser to President George W. Bush.
Kress says college costs have gone up and squeezed the middle class so much "that whatever advantage Obama might have in this area I think is mitigated at least if not nullified."
And that, Kress says, could give Mitt Romney's proposals for higher education a boost among voters.
"I'm not going to promise all sorts of free stuff that I know you'rе going to end up paying for. What I want to dо is give you a great job so you'll be able to pay it back yourself," the GOP presidential nominee said.
Romney has no plans to increase federal spending on higher education and was roundly criticized for telling college students at one point to simply borrow more money from their parents. He says he won't cut aid for low-income students. Instead, he will "refocus" need-based aid — namely Pell grants, which provide up to $5,500 a year to low-income students.
"Some people who are getting [Pell grants] now won't get it in the future. That's what refocusing means to me," says Bob Shireman, who helped design many of the Obama administration's higher education policies.
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