captainbhangra

does this apply for us, those that already in college?

Higher Education

* Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama and Biden will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service.
* Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Obama and Biden will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

its under 'higher education' in that link

i thought it was only $2500, or is that something else?

thank you

beardy

2/3 of our tuition made free? Holy mayonnaise, I'm looking forward to flushing my FAFSA application down the drain now.

chibi_loopi

...but 100 hours of community service to pay back? that's crazy unrealistic.

JetForcegeminix

How is that unrealistic? You have plenty of time during the summer. You could even do 2 hours every weekend,

grey_syntactics

Summer scenario:

4 hours per day
5 days per week
5 weeks

=100 hours.


I worked over 1800 hours last year during full-time classes - I'm sure most of us can do 100 hours over the summer break.

nickthecoolest

That works out to be between $25-40 an hour... it seems pretty good to me unless I'm miscalculating. I doubt any college student makes near as much as that in their PT or summer jobs...and very few will be lucky enough to make that after graduation.

pinkerfloyd

agreed. 10char

sweetnezz998

do your parents have to put something on their taxes to receive the credit or is it given in an alternate way?

usmc_izzy

This is only for those of us that voted for Obama. The rest of you may find this program too socialist for your tastes, so out of respect to your beliefs, this program isn't extended to you. =P

captainbhangra

hahahahhaah izzy

is it really just doing 100 hrs of community service for $4k?

anybody know how its going to work?? sounds pretty sweet

ThatsWhatSheSed

Dude, it's cake to do 100 hours of community service. Last semester I put in 208 while tutoring 6 subjects, being president of two clubs and being officers in others, while maintaining a 4.0. After all this I still had plenty of time to party and chill with friends. If you want service hours that are a lot of fun check out service organizations such as Circle K (one of the clubs I am president in) and also Rotoract to name a few.
Unfortunately, this plan has not been put into action. I have been watching this very closely to see when, or if, it becomes legit. Can't always trust campaign promises
promises. Really when you think about it you are getting paid 40$ an hour tax free to do community service. I understand it is motivating people to do service by paying them, which is kind of wrong and against the purpose of community service, but wow! Do any of you get paid 40$ an hour tax free while building your resume like a mofo being involved with community service??? It's the definition of win win. I so hope it comes through because Ill be getting paid for something I already do a lot of.

hippo50

No thanks.

chibi_loopi

okay, don't get me wrong, i agree that 100 hours of community service is a good way to pay back. ive done tons of hours as well my entire life. but my concern is will this make community service less credible and more of a thing that "people do because they need do" as opposed to them wanting to? i say this because as a president of a club and having experience leading volunteering events, people did it not because they enjoyed doing it, but because they wanted to "look good" on their college app. this resulted in less effort and less efficiency which ultimately turned into crappy projects that people who did care for it had to do additional work while receiving the same amount of credit. i guess what i am trying to say is - will there be a standard and how will they enforce it?



i love the idea and i love the new stance of prioritizing education. but i just dont want half-a** commitment to the community just to meet a standard... because in the end, that hurts people and makes them have to pick up the flack.

sweetnezz998

okay so my parents just went to have their taxes done and asked about this new program. they said that it will not apply to this year but for the 2010.

pinkerfloyd

'i just dont want half-a** commitment to the community just to meet a standard... because in the end, that hurts people and makes them have to pick up the flack."

having 10,000 people doing a half assed job accomplishes 10,000 times as much as 10,000 half assed people not doing any job, at all.
sure you don't want their help?

that aside, i think you're cutting people short. while i agree that people are less likely to perform at a level that could be considered 'inspired', i think that, for the purposes of community service -- the boundaries of which are seemingly endless (convalescent homes, hospitals, children's programs, schools, etc.) -- once involved, i honestly believe that the average guy/girl would feel gratified in providing their service and, in turn, perform it well and with pride. after all, the people this will apply to aren't like the caltrans workers you see on the side of highways, being punished for getting caught for something they probably don't regret doing anyway... it's hardly a surprise that they're not giving 110%... for Obama's program, college students will be doing the work --> hard working individuals who've not yet been robbed of their compassion by the pains of 'the real world'.

i'm all for this program, and i think that 100 hours community service is a fantastic counterbalance to the millions of reluctant tax payer dollars being allotted to make things easier for us.