...I will make applying for financial aid in the first place a lot easier. Now, as you know from your experience, you practically need a Ph.D. to understand how to fill out these forms... Americans spend 100 million hours a year filling out these forms. That is the equivalent of 55,500 full-time jobs. But 25 percent of the qualifying expenses never get claimed. These forms are tedious, confusing and 100 percent unnecessary. That's why I'm getting rid of them... Here's what you'll do when I'm president. You'll check one box on your income tax return. Doesn't matter whether you're long form or short form, one box. That's it. Then you'll receive a letter from the Department of Education with a couple showing the amount of federal aid, grants and loans, you're entitled to. You'll include this information on your application. Your college will collect the money directly from the Department of Education. And you'll be on your way to getting the diploma. This will save families and students 100 million hours a year. It'll save the government money. And it will increase, we estimate, the college-going rate by about 5 to 7 percent. Think that's a pretty good payoff for eliminating piles of paperwork.

Sketchy about the lingo being spoken by today’s adultalescents? As those in their late teens and early adulthood like to say, Ah-ite!

Last spring, as a group of students filed into my class room, one of the girls shrieked, "Sick! I just want to vomit!" I whipped out the hall pass and held it out to her at arm's length. No way was I catching her germs. I needn't have worried; apparently sick means something is really cool. And of course anything that incredible makes you want to vomit. It only follows that hot actually means cool, gnarly translates into awesome, and gangsta denotes friend. Maybe they're all playing Mad Libs and just haven't told the adults.