I pay for my tuition entirely out of pocket with no financial support from my family. I was forced to drop out of my four year public college because my family fell on hard financial times and TAP didn’t cover enough of my outstanding tuition costs. I worked for four years in order to afford to send myself back to school.

Even now, I am constantly at risk of having to leave school again because of financial reasons. I’ve had to choose between buying textbooks and buying groceries, and I’ve frequently gone hungry in order to make timely payments towards my education. Because of my independent status and other factors, I don’t qualify for any financial aid, state or federal. I will be transferring to a four year public college next semester, but without financial assistance from the state, my future at that school is uncertain.

I am a resident of Brooklyn, NY and go to the Pratt Institute of Art and Design. My family is unable to afford higher education by itself. Pratt has one of the highest college tuition rates and although it is a private school its students do get help from special programs such as the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). Without this program, it would be impossible for me and for many other people to afford higher education. Currently I have two part time jobs, which interfere with my schooling.

I am also worried about my future financially when I get out of college. It is hard to focus on schoolwork when finances are an issue, and it is especially hard knowing your parents back home are struggling to secure a future for their child.  Funding for education is funding for the future, and I don’t think any person should have to struggle and worry about their future. I do not want others to worry and struggle like my family does.  If New York does not fund higher education, they are endangering the future for everyone. Education should be given to anyone who has the desire to learn, regardless of their ability to pay.   Please, set an example for the rest of the country and the world by funding higher education.

My name is Carola and I’m a foreign student studying at Pratt from Australia. Being thousands of kilometers away means that I have to sustain myself here.  College affordability for me means having enough money to be flexible and make the most of my experience living in New York. Most importantly this means being able to deal with unexpected expenses such as losing an important item, getting sick or taking a cab home when it does not feel safe to catch the public transport. With the cost of art supplies, textbooks and the basic cost of living so high it can feel like you have very little flexibility and even the smaller expenses can easily lead to a lot of anxiety about being able to make ends meet.

I’m currently a senior attending Queens College full-time. I’m currently working toward my second degree on the pre-law track. My first degree was from Hofstra University in Biology.  I work and study very hard to maintain my good grades and recently it’s becoming more and more difficult.

Because I don’t receive any financial aid, I have to work to pay my tuition out of pocket. I work 60+ hours every week as a medical technician to be able to pay my tuition and purchase necessary textbooks for classes that cost anywhere from $500-$1,000. If the state removes the tuition freeze and encourages CUNY to increase tuition to cover costs, instead of providing adequate state funding, it will only make it more difficult for me to pay for my education. I do not want another tuition hike, and am looking forward to the day when CUNY is once again affordable.

I come from a middle class background in a family of 9 so I never expected to get any financial assistance from my parents. I also never expected to receive financial aid from the government because of my father’s income. I knew college would mean debt and I’ve accepted that. However, I don’t think it’s something that I should have had to accept or that future generations should accept. I work two part time jobs along with an 18-credit schedule and an internship. I am also a part of a resident planning committee for my dorms.

I don’t regret all the hard work I do because I know it’s making me a better person every day.  But, I do not like that on top of all that I do, I still have to worry about finding several thousands of dollars in order to continue making contributions to my college and the surrounding community. I have wanted to attend college since I was a little kid, in my mind it represented the first step towards achieving the American dream. However as time went on and I woke up to the reality of America’s true nature, I have come to terms with the fact that I’m going to have to work as hard as I physically and mentally can just to achieve stability.  My legislators owe it not only me but to the honor of their office to make sure the financial burden of college becomes a thing of the past.

For this year, my family and I paid about $1,684 out of pocket and the rest was covered by loans which are about $20,000-$21,000 for the 2016-2017 school year.  I haven’t gotten much financial aid so I’ve had to take out private loans to cover the rest.  My parents cover the cost of textbooks and my grandpa sends me $100 each month to help with transit and food.  After I graduate I’ll probably be in debt for many years, sadly.

I don’t have a job because I wanted to adjust to college for my freshman year.  But some people have to balance a job and classes. I feel sorry for their mental health because they seem to struggle at times.  Getting a college degree, to me, is such a huge accomplishment. I think it’s important to be able to further your education beyond high school.  I’m currently undecided, but I’m looking forward to finding a major that fits me perfectly and having a career that I’ll enjoy.  The financial burden of college is constantly on my mind. It’s going to be a huge financial burden for me for years and years, and with an uncertain job market in the future, who knows what will happen.

College is costly to me. I pay through loans and out of my pocket.  The cost makes it definitely hard to enjoy college since I need the help of loans to pay for it. I work about 15 hours a week throughout the school year in an attempt to lower the cost of college.  I’m the first from my family to get a degree. I am from a Caribbean island, and there, it’s a big deal to get a degree.  I’m studying nutrition and exercise sciences at the moment but not sure what’s in store after college.  I try not to think about the stress that paying for college and maintaining my grades puts on me. If I do, it makes me very sad and even frustrated with the way the system works here in America.  Financial aid has been a huge help, even though it never covers everything (academic, housing, books, meals).

I mainly pay for college through loans and I have a grant through the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). I’ll eventually be struggling to pay back my loans in the future. I always avoid buying textbooks.

I’ve also worked part-time on campus and those jobs haven’t interfered with my studies. I’ve been able to do my homework at those jobs. I wouldn’t be able to go to college without EOP. EOP grants don’t just help you out with money. They help you with actually getting into college, too. It has its own orientation, pretty much. So, they’re the ones that have accepted me, not necessarily the school.

Part of my tuition is covered through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and the rest of my costs are paid out of pocket. This includes textbooks, transportation and additional online fees to access homework assignments for certain courses. I’m a 25 year old mother of a 1 year old son. Gratefully, I managed to find a job on campus, through the COPE program (now called CUNY EDGE, Educate, Develop, Graduate, and Empower) which also pays for his daycare. This allows me to maintain some financial stability for my growing family.

Just like many other students, I cannot afford to pay for all of these costs. Last semester, before I was enrolled in EDGE, I had trouble registering for classes because I had a hold on my account from the Bursar’s office. The balance was $1,050 and I hadn’t gotten any notification that my financial aid wasn’t covering my full tuition. I was required to pay the entire balance before the first day of class. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place! I had to find a way to be able to pay this full amount in such a short amount of time. Eventually I had to ask my family, who were experiencing their own financial burdens. The stress had become overwhelming and it was very hard to stay focused during finals week! I needed help and there was no one to help me. Luckily, now I have a job through the EDGE program which allows me to pay for my tuition, and all other expenses.

I went off to college immediately after high-school and I did not have any idea of what I was getting myself into financially. In the first weeks of my first semester I found out that I had to take out loans because I didn’t have enough with my scholarship money, Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) award, and Pell Grant. I also needed money to pay for my books. A worker in the financial aid office told me I had to take out loans in order to pay my bill. I had already moved away from home, settled into the dorms and attended a few classes before I even found out that I didn’t have enough to pay for it. I kind of felt like it was a trap.

And I still had other expenses to pay. I spend most of my extra money on food because the on campus meal plan (financial aid covers this food option) doesn’t have healthy options. There are hardly any vegetarian options and since I’m a vegetarian I am always forced to find food at outside food stores. In order to pay for this, I work every school break there is, summer break, winter break, and even spring break. For me, finding affordable, healthy food adds more stress and anxiety than having to take a mid-term or a final exam.

My undergraduate days are coming to an end and I’m filled with anxiety because I’m already $30,000 in debt. It is estimated that I could pay that off in 10 years, meanwhile, it only took 4 years to obtain. I don’t think getting accepted into graduate school would be a problem because my grades are really good. However, paying for the GRE test, application fees and the cost to attend has lead me to pause. The price of one application fee is enough to buy food for 2 weeks and the cost of the GRE exam is enough to buy me food for an entire month! Sometimes I feel that eventually I will have to sacrifice my nutritional health in order to afford an education.