I’m a senior and my major is Political Science. I hope to get a job that works in politics whether that be for a campaign or working for a group that advocates for an issue. I was inspired to major in this because of the 2020 BLM Protests as well as being a Roosevelt Scholar at Hunter College. I receive both the Pell Grant and TAP to pay for my tuition. TAP is great but it could be simplified. One of the things I found confusing was Parent 1 and Parent 2. One time I kept receiving emails saying there was an error with my TAP and that I had to fix it. I never could find the error but eventually the TAP went through. I recommend simplifying it so that it would be less confusing.. Many times I have had to adjust my plans for what classes I was taking in a semester because a class I thought would be offered is not being offered or it is being offered at a time that conflicts with another class. I haven’t really had much advisement after my freshman year of college. I do have a once a semester meeting with the leader of the Roosevelt Scholars. There are also many issues with the upkeep of Hunter. The elevators are often broken, slow and make getting to class difficult at times. Many of the roof tiles are falling apart.

I am currently a senior doing History Major with a Political Science Minor. I have no dream job with my major. My parents cover my living cost and some tuition however most of the money is from a private student loan. I don’t receive anything from the TAP program. Most family members have gone to college and graduated so I feel obligated to do the same thing. For freshmen and Sophomores a lot of classes that are needed may be gone because they get the last picks. Parking has been a major issue for the people on the top part of campus. it seems like the sports buildings are much better funded than the others. Book store return policy is a pain. If you miss the week of returns they make it very difficult to return them.

I am a junior getting aAnthropology/Media Studies/Philosophy BA at Purchase College. I work three jobs at school to help my parents pay for my education. My mom and dad also work multiple jobs. I get a scholarship from my Mom’s job, and the steaks are super high to maintain. This means I have to balance three jobs, an internship, and receiving high marks in all my classes which has been one of the most challenging things about attending college. I have experienced issues with affording the non-tution costs of getting my college education. For my majors there are many events off campus we need to attend such as museums, lectures at other colleges, and many books we are required to read. There is a push for professors to use the library’s course reserve where PDF’s can be published and printed. Some professors just refuse to use this resource which is incredibly frustrating because they will require multiple books only available on amazon. I have many required classes that I need to graduate but they meet at the same time every semester. Also many of my professors take leaves, or are spread too thin in their department due to adjunct professors not getting paid livable wages.At my school many of the buildings do not have proper heat or air conditioning, and the President will simply tell us to bundle up. Tiles are missing on pathways, and there are windows that have been broken for several semesters now. I am a tour-guide at Purchase and honestly it can be embarrassing to show aspects of the school that administration refuses to deal with.

I am a sophomore studying Health Science at Queensborough Community College. I pay for college out of pocket myself and do not receive any form of TAP and the cost has been one of the biggest challenges on campus for me. The class options are also very low, and trying to get in touch with advisement is hard and sometimes takes up to 3 hours just to see someone. The state of the campus is also really bad with elevators that never work. Please make CUNY free!

I am Maurysha Cuttino. I am a senior at Suny Cortland hoping to pursue my degree in Professional Writing. I am from Tully NY, and my Assembly Member is John Lemondes and my Senator is Rachel May. I chose a SUNY school for many reasons, mostly for cost and distance. 

Though SUNY schools are cheaper they are still a lot of money and put people in a lot of debt. I am a future step-parent, and do help take care of my significant other’s kids. I am always worrying about money problems from school and other costs. I even ran into an issue this semester involving a single class and the possibility I may have to come out of pocket for it. I want to obtain my degree in hopes to develop a better career for myself as well as live my dream. I wish schools were free for those with less money or no family help. I know I could do so much better within classes and school without having to worry about if I’ll have enough money for coal, or if I need to miss a day of class to work an extra shift.

Because of costs and financial concerns, I never got the true college experience that most have in movies. I never got the sports or club experience due to the fact I had to make a living. I work full time overnights in addition to being a student. I think people don’t realize that there is a lot of money going into attending school, such as gas, rent and other priorities. Even food is expensive and when you spend all day on campus without a meal plan since you need to figure out how to eat and maintain your health. People need help and it would be nice to have more of that help.     

My name is Brittaney Thompson, and I am a junior at Hunter College. I major in Psychology and Studio Art. As a student who does not receive financial aid, I have to pay for my education out of pocket. I have to work early in the mornings before attending class. There were times when I could not afford to pay my tuition and I had a hold on my account. This hold prevented me from registering for my classes on time and by the time I got  the hold off, the classes I needed were either all full or waitlisted. I usually have to settle for hard classes I did not want to take or classes at late hours.This one semester I had a hold on my account and struggled to get it off in time so I had to miss school. I had to go through the hassle of readmitting to Hunter and that process broke me. My experience with fighting to stay in school was hard, but I could not give up. Thankfully, I am still here.  I love attending school but it is hard to enjoy my time because I have to be working tirelessly to be able to afford it. Working before classes not just drains me but also affects my performance. My college experience so far has really scarred me and I hope in the future tuition can be free or at least more affordable.

I’m a psychology major. I’m a junior here at City College, and I think CUNY should be free because cost of living in New York City is notorious for being so high, and between that, tuition, and MTA fares, there’s not really space for you to use that money for anything that you need or anything for you to move around financially, and it’s becoming really depressing, people are moving out of New York City and people are not enjoying New York City and hustle culture as toxic as it is.

I’m student here at City College New York and I think I can benefit from a free CUNY and more importantly other students can benefit from a free CUNY because the cost of going to university here, while CUNY is an affordable university, it is still pretty expensive for some, especially low income families. In my case I still have to take out student loans, in the 10,000s attending here, and even right now I still have to take a part time job just to pay for some of the expenses like the transport and travel with my metrocard and overall I think a free CUNY builds an important part of our society which is the next generation coming up and learning in such a prestigious university that boosts communities.

I am a full time student at SUNY Cortland. I am a junior majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Spanish. I am from the West side Bronx, NY. I come from a single-parent family of 5 which includes my mother, and 3 younger siblings. When applying for college, I was determined to leave my community which I had been born and raised in order to have new experiences and be exposed to more opportunities. I primarily applied to SUNY and CUNY schools because the costs of a private education would have been too large of a financial burden on my family. The COVID-19 pandemic made my college decision process a lot more difficult due to the fact that it prevented me from visiting more schools in person. Therefore, I was a little skeptical about making the decision to accept SUNY Cortland’s offer at first. However, I was later informed that I had been accepted into the Educational Opportunity Program. This gigantic push and help from the EOP, combined with the help of Pell and TAP grants, have allowed me to have an opportunity at higher education. Although I am very grateful for all the help I have received, I still take out student loans to cover the remains of my college expenses. Although I am hard working and confident that if all goes wrong I will still be able to find a job with my major on my own, I am still concerned sometimes about having to job hunt after graduation and not having enough resources. I believe that a higher education should be made more financially attainable and student debt should be forgiven at least to some extent as well.