House of Representatives of the United States

Dear Honorable Titian:

I understand the House of Representatives of the United States has just passed a bill which would do away with federal grants to college students. I am currently enrolled in college and depend greatly on the grants I receive. These grants allow great opportunity, for not just me, but for many other students as well. Taking them away would cause problems in several areas. The passage of the "Pick the Public's Pocket No More" bill would lower college application rates, lower college graduation rates, and lower our country's number of new college graduates for open positions in the work force.

Without grants, many Americans would not be able to pursue college degrees because of the debt they would acquire financing their degree with loans alone. Federal grants allow young adults, who are the future of our country, to pursue a college degree without the full burden of college debts after graduation. (M) When considering whether or not to pursue a degree, many are persuaded to apply because they often receive grants to assist them. Without the grants, many people would not even apply because they would have given up on being able to afford the full cost of higher education themselves. Our economy has already seen the negative effects of excessive debt due to student loans in all age groups. Omitting federal grants from financial aid would only add to the outrageous debt current students and college graduates have already incurred.

Along with lower application rates preventing new students from entering college, graduation rates would also suffer. Without grants, many students already pursuing degrees would not be able to continue to complete their degree and graduate. Those students who entered into college with a set cost that they could afford would most likely not be able to adjust their finances to accommodate such a large change in financial aid. Once these students decide to discontinue their enrollment, most will have student loan debt from the years they did complete with no degree to assist them in paying the loans off. Not only would admittance drop dramatically, graduation rates would diminish at an unprecedented rate.

The drop in application and graduation rates would hugely change our work force as well. Our country prides itself on encouraging its citizens to better themselves through education. (P) While its priority has been high school graduation, many jobs now require college degrees, making higher education more important than ever. While I understand that every American should be expected to sacrifice during this hard time, just as we were in World War II, I feel that this particular sacrifice would put our country in an even worse state. (S) Our work force will not be prepared to handle nor understand the advancements that we have strived so hard to achieve. College is made to prepare students with