My name is Isabelle Pastore and I attend SUNY Cortland full time. I am a senior now, but I have been here since freshman year. I am from Stony Brook, Long Island. I decided to go to SUNY Cortland because my parents only allowed me to apply to SUNY schools. Cortland seemed like a good choice because I absolutely loved it when I visited. I toured a couple of other schools, but Cortland truly felt like home. A few of my friends were going to Cortland too, so I knew I would be comfortable here. I am majoring in Communications and I love it, but I’m not really sure what I want to do in the future. I pay for tuition through the help of my parents and student loans. Most of my tuition is paid through financial aid but  I am very worried about having to pay back my student loans. I work 15 hours a week over summer and winter break to help pay for my personal spendings, but it’s not nearly enough to pay my student loans. I think college should cost substantially less than it does. When my parents went to school, it cost much less and attending college was less common. I don’t think it’s fair that tuition costs so much because in today’s society, it is expected that people attend college in order to get a well paying job. I don’t like how we need to pay thousands of dollars in order to make good money. I think college should be more of a choice than a requirement. On top of tuition, students need to purchase textbooks each semester. Textbooks can cost hundreds of dollars and I truly think they should be included in tuition. 

The pandemic was a difficult time for me and my family. During COVID-19, my Dad unfortunately lost his job. Fortunately, my Mom also works so we still had an income, but it wasn’t enough for all of our everyday costs. It was hard for a while and there was even a time where I thought I would have to transfer home to attend school there. We didn’t even get Christmas presents that year. My parents wanted me to drop my sorority solely because we weren’t sure if we could afford it anymore. Thankfully, my Dad was able to get another job about a year later. 

Getting a college degree is important to me because it’s required in order to get a well paying job. I want to get my degree because I want to be able to support myself and live a fulfilling life. It upsets me that I will have to spend a good portion of my life paying back my student loans. I definitely think college should be way more affordable and less expected than it is and I hope that in the future, college is way more affordable for everyone. 

My name is Kiara David and I grew up in the Bronx. I currently attend SUNY Cortland with a major in Communications, minor in Women Gender Studies, and a concentration in Public Relations . I decided to come to SUNY Cortland because it was the only University to accept me through EOP. My plans in the future are to hopefully work in the public relations department of some type of business. To pay for school I used a mix of loans and grants. Many of my loans covered books and where I lived off campus.

I currently work as a student director in the Corey Union information desk for about 20 hours a week. I usually work to help pay for groceries and personal expenses . During the pandemic I would describe my college experience as a rollercoaster. I am a hands-on learner, so learning virtually has made it difficult for me . This pandemic overall has made it hard to receive income because a lot of jobs are closing down and I rely on work to help myself survive. Getting a college degree to me means uniqueness, in other words,I am one of the fortunate people to make it out of college. I am extremely worried about paying back loans after I graduate because finding a job six months after you graduate is not certain. Luckily my financial aid awards have covered most of my higher education costs but , I am only blessed to say this because of the EOP program I am in. Overall I feel as though SUNY & CUNY schools should fully be funded because I feel as though it shouldn’t be by luck that you have the opportunity to better yourself and be able to seek an education.