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Students Fight to Keep Affordable College From Becoming Extinct

By Jessica Adair

My family’s mantra is as American as apple pie and baseball: work hard, get an education and you’ll succeed. It was clear, prescriptive and a fairly sound philosophy for those without great wealth or powerful connections. Like millions, I did what I was told.

That recipe for success, however, comes with a very expensive price tag. Average tuition at a public, four-year colleges has increased by 28 percent, or twice the rate of inflation, just since the 2007 to 2008 school year. To make matters worse, student aid can barely catch its breath trying to keep up with ballooning college costs. Pell Grants, once seen as the gateway to the American dream for aspiring graduates from low-income families, now cover a third of the cost of college.

It is time for our generation to mobilize state by state to change this.

Read more on The Huffington Post.