Executive Summary

More and more, college is the gateway to the American Dream. Education may be the most important investment we make in our lifetimes. It holds the key to good citizenship, enriched lives, and economic prosperity—both for ourselves as individuals and for us as a nation.

The economic returns to college are higher than ever before, and more Americans than ever are going to college. In 1998, young men who completed at least a bachelor’s degree earned 150 percent the salary of their peers with no more than a high school diploma—and young women earned twice as much if they had graduated from college.^[1] A college graduate earns $600,000 more over a lifetime, on average, than a high school graduate.^[2] And the real rate of return on a college investment is 12 percent—nearly twice the historical average of the stock market.^[3]

Over the past seven years, we have more than doubled our investment in student aid. As a nation, we need to help America's parents pay for their children’s college education and their own continuing education. For seven years, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have sought to make colleges and universities, community colleges, and trade schools universally affordable for all Americans. The Clinton-Gore approach is three-pronged:

• More college scholarships. The new Hope Scholarship tax credit provides up to $1,500 in tax relief for the first two years of college, saving 2.6 million families $2.6 billion in 1998. The Lifetime Learning credit—which provides up to $1,000 for juniors and seniors, graduate students, and adults seeking job training—gave 2.3 million families $800 million in tax relief in 1998. Over 3.8 million needy students receive up to $3,300 in Pell Grant scholarships, a $1,000 larger maximum grant than in 1993. Since 1994, over 150,000 AmeriCorps members have earned nearly $400 million for college while serving their communities.
• More affordable student loans. This Administration has introduced lower fees and interest rates that have saved the average borrower over $500; more flexible repayment terms, including the option to repay as a share of income; and a restored tax deduction for student loan interest. The new Direct Student Loan program—established in 1994—bypasses federally guaranteed lenders to deliver loans to students more quickly, simply, and cheaply. Together, students and taxpayers have already saved $15 billion through student loan reforms.
• New paths to college and successful careers. The new GEAR UP initiative raises expectations and helps over 450,000 disadvantaged middle-school students get on track for college success through partnerships between high-poverty middle schools, universities, and communities. AmeriCorps education awards and a one-third increase in work-study jobs have allowed hundreds of thousands of Americans to earn money for college. Our investment in the TRIO program to help low-income, first-generation students succeed in college has increased by two-thirds since 1993, to $645 million. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act has provided seed money to help every state broaden young people’s career options, make learning more relevant, and promote successful transitions to college and careers. And Youth Opportunity grants make possible comprehensive employment and training assistance to 75,000 out-of-school youth in high-poverty communities.

The Clinton-Gore commitment to opening the doors of college is the largest investment in higher education since the G.I. Bill. College is affordable for all Americans, and more and more of us are benefiting from it. The evidence is in:

• More Americans are going to college than ever before: Sixty-six percent of 1998 high school graduates enrolled in college or trade school the next fall, compared to only 60 percent in 1990. Although low-income and minority students continue to go straight to college at significantly lower rates than high-income and white students, the gaps have narrowed since the 1970s and 1980s.^[4]
• More high school students are preparing themselves for college: The percentage of high school graduates who have taken four years of English and three years each of math, science, and social studies increased from 38 percent to 55 percent.^[5] This increasing academic rigor is heartening because the intensity and quality of high school curricula are dominant determinants of degree completion. Also, SAT scores, especially in math, have gone up over the past 10 years, and the number of test takers reached an all-time high last year—even as a larger and more diverse group of students took the test.^[6]
• Fewer students are dropping out of school: During the 1990s, approximately 11-12 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds had not completed a high school program and were not enrolled in school, compared to 13-14 percent in the 1980s and over 14 percent in the 1970s. Progress has been especially strong among African Americans, whose high school completion rate now slightly exceeds the national average.^[7]
• More Americans are earning college degrees: Over 32 percent of 25- to 29-year-olds had earned at least a bachelor’s degree in 1999, up from 27 percent in 1990. In particular, white and African American women have seen their college opportunities grow.^[8]
• Americans are becoming lifelong learners: Fifty percent of adults participated in formal learning in the year prior to a 1999 survey, up from 38 percent in 1991.^[9]

This report describes President Clinton and Vice President Gore’s efforts to expand college scholarships, make student loans more affordable, and close the college opportunity gap. It describes the impact these efforts have had on college preparation, enrollment, and completion. Finally, it outlines the challenges that continue to face all of us who care about expanding and equalizing college opportunity.

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