see 1787's solutions for affordable college
The Bottom Line
The Service for School program would offer anyone who wants a cost-free education the opportunity to trade their labor for it. Presently, the Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD) program provides education benefits to veterans and servicemembers who have at least two years of active duty. Service for School would essentially extend these benefits to any American citizen who performs at least two years of civilian public service.
Student loans can be super scary. Just the thought of high debt is a stressful, overwhelming barrier of entry for many Americans. That said, Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying “an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest,” and he was so right. For many people, investing in education is often life-changing not only for them, but for their entire family (and their future families).
Equally important, a well-trained, educated citizenship is the single most important factor in fortifying this nation’s future economic strength and, as such, is fundamental to us maintaining our superpower position on the world stage. In this relatively new era of globalization and rising technology, an uneducated, unskilled and unprepared work force equals an unparalleled disaster for this country – and this reality affects every single one of us.
To survive in this rapidly evolving environment, we must do whatever it takes to ensure a flexible, dynamic labor market and a well-educated, adaptable workforce. Meaning, we must fully invest in our people – all our people. When you think of it that way, it’s obviously in our collective best interest to make higher education an affordable option, including making student loans as painless as possible to pay back.
Clearly, we have some work to do in this department. Student loan balances now total over $1.65 trillion nationwide – around 31 percent more than a decade ago. Student loans remain one of the largest categories of consumer debt in America, and repayment problems remain substantial. As of mid-2026, 10.6 percent of outstanding student-loan balances were 90 days or more delinquent.
For the 2025–2026 school year, average tuition and fees for full-time undergraduate students were $11,950 at public four-year institutions for in-state students and $31,880 for out-of-state students. At private four-year institutions, average published tuition and fees reached $45,000.
The Pew Research Center discovered “a quarter of college graduates ages 25 to 39 with loans say they are either finding it difficult to get by financially or are just getting by, compared with 9 percent of those without loans. And while only 29 percent of young college graduates with outstanding student loans say they are living comfortably, 53 percent of those without loans say the same...About a third (35 percent) of those ages 25 to 39 who have at least a bachelor’s degree and outstanding student loan debt say the benefits of their degree weren’t worth the lifetime financial costs. By comparison, 16 percent of young college graduates without outstanding student loans say the same.”