Correlation isn't causation, but the cost of college tuition rose dramatically once student loans becamse easier to get. We have decades of studies that show that people will spend less money at a store when they have to pay cash vs when they use a credit or debit card. I see no reason why college wouldn't be the same. Who cares how much it costs? I've got plenty of loans and I'm sure I'll make plenty of money so that I can pay them off someday.

Pressure on student loan repayments isn't going to change anything if the loans still have the same availability in the first place.

If the executive order signed in March does what it says it will I would not be surprised if that changes as well...IE: shifting some of the liability for non-payment back on the university and requiring them to state what the default rate is for graduate. IE: IF you take on this loan, how likely will you be able to pay it back later on.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/trump-pursuing-ways-to-h...

The executive order doesn't actually do anything about debt.

It just requests reports from various agencies, which will then be used to help shape policy in 2020 when the Higher Education Act is reauthorized. Similar reports have been requested by previous administrations, to little effect.

The EO was largely about free speech at research universities, which is extremely narrow and ignores the really problematic institutions both in terms of free speech and in terms of student loan debt.

The free speech rules apply to places like UC Berkeley and UIUC (who are already obligated to follow 1A, and who the courts are adequately dealing with when the don't) but not places like Wheaton College and Cedarville University (both of whom will fire tenured faculty for not being Christian or Republican enough, and expel students for being unapologetically homosexual).

Because the oversight is targeted at research institutions, it also completely ignores for-profit institutions where 50% of students fall into default as well as non-research private institutions which are often far more expensive than their public counter-parts.

Both are by design -- requiring free speech and financial accountability from any recipient of federal student loan money would put lots of conservative christian colleges in very hot water...

And wouldn’t make an ounce of difference in the student debt problem, given the small numbers of students at private Christian schools.

It’s also worth pointing out that other private schools, such as Vanderbilt, would also be in a lot of hot water for similar reasons.

Mortgage documents have to tell you what your monthly payment and total repayment amount will be. That would be a good thing to have for student loans as well.