Hillary Clinton's campaign is doubling down on its commitment to take up former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' plan for free college education by releasing a new tool that shows students how much they would save on college under a Clinton presidency. Earlier in the campaign, Clinton rejected the idea of free public college education for all students, but she's now committed to the plan as a key part of her campaign agenda.
According to the tool, more than 80 percent of families meet the criteria to receive totally free tuition for in-state four-year universities. Clinton's plan would also allow many students to attend community colleges free, four-year schools debt-free, and would have debt-reducing programs for out-of-state and private schools—all to reduce the burden for more students. The average middle-class college student could save around $37,000 on their education under Clinton's plan.
Clinton's campaign website also says additional education benefits would be available for students who are parents, students looking into minority serving schools (such as historically black colleges and universities), AmeriCorps alum, and veterans. According to Buzzfeed, Clinton also plans to allocate a $25 billion provision for historically black colleges.
Clinton's education plan would also help reduce student loan debt for college graduates or students who are still in school but have already accumulated debt.
But there is, of course, still the matter of the bill. Like Sanders' plan, Clinton's is being criticized over how much it would cost the government. No doubt it would cost many, many billions of dollars, but Clinton has not yet released specifics for how much the plan would cost and how it would be paid for.
