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.
About 98% of my tuition is covered by scholarships, grants from the school, and federal loans and grants. To most other students attending Syracuse, paying the remainder 2% of the school’s tuition would be easy to cover by their parent’s incomes. However, for me it is difficult and extremely stressful, especially since both my parents’ incomes fall below the poverty line, they speak little English and I am a first generation college student. Knowing this, I could not bear to ask for my parents’ helps in paying for my education, and decided to save up whatever money I made from my job as a cashier during high school. Still though, as life is filled with unforeseen circumstances, a lot of the money I made during high school went towards helping my parents. I have to constantly be in communication with the financial aid office and bursar office to settle my dues.
Like many other low-income students here, I’ve had to take on a job on top of classes in order to pay for books, and to save up for next semester’s tuition. Having to constantly be in contact with the financial aid and bursar office, keeping track of my finances, and working on top of taking classes has definitely taught me how to manage my time and money well, but has also burdened me with a great amount of stress. Attending a private institution such as Syracuse for low-income students is an omnipresent issue in regards to finances. However, I am extremely grateful to attend such a prestigious academy.
