I study Business Administration at QCC and would like to pursue a higher degree after graduation. I will be the first in my family to complete my degree and graduate. It inspires me; I want to make my parents proud and be the first in our family to graduate from college. My ASAP advisor helped me get a head start in succeeding at building my programs and setting up my schedule. I receive FAFSA, TAP, and have been awarded a merit scholarship. The minimum awards for TAP should be increased significantly. The specific allocation of funds from my financial aid is disproportionate and does not cover the cost of non-tuition items. The skyrocketing costs of textbooks has been a huge obstacle to completing my degree. They are unaffordable and a huge burden. One thing on campus that is helpful is the food pantry, which I utilize from time to time for a quick snack after practice. The advising at QCC is all very disorganized. There is never immediate assistance, problems never get solved right away, and there is always a wait-list. In addition, the website is almost always down, and our Wifi is spotty. I don’t ever take the elevators because I do not trust them; a lot of my friends have been trapped in the elevators before.

I am a junior majoring in Psychology at Queens College. I hope to get a PhD in Psychology and pursue a career in research. In my family, I’m the older brother and the first to attend college. I’m the first one to navigate these websites and systems like FAFSA and TAP, so I’m learning how to do all this for the first time. I had to apply for FAFSA and TAP myself since I’m the one in my family who speaks English well, so it’s a lot of pressure. I have to translate FAFSA to my parents and then translate my parents’ documents to FAFSA to get them on the website. I usually have to submit the FAFSA application by a certain deadline and I struggle filling it out properly before then. I also feel like the website for TAP is very complicated. It’s not intuitive. I struggle to do what I need to do. I rely on FAFSA and TAP to pay for college. My financial aid doesn’t cover the winter and the summer semesters, so when I take those courses, I have to pay out of pocket. Science textbooks are very expensive. I rely on the library computers since I don’t have a laptop. Whenever I try to find a computer, most don’t turn on or are frozen, and you can’t even log in. Also, the printers are really difficult to use and don’t do a good job printing. In addition, I don’t think there are enough opportunities or programs on campus to help students prepare for job interviews and resume building, but I’ve had some good professors who have helped me get a better understanding of how to get internships, become more aware of how to present myself for job interviews, and connected me with opportunities etc.

I major in Office Administration and Technology at Bronx Community College. I fund college through financial aid with TAP and Pell. The money I get for financial aid covers tuition, but there is nothing left over. I have struggled a lot with taking as many classes as I do and not being able to work because of how many classes I have to take. I then struggle to pay for all the things that TAP doesn’t cover, like textbook fees. Because of this, I have had to quit several times and take a year off to work and then come back. When I was in ASAP, I had a key class that I had to take, but they only offered it at night, which I could not do, so I went to the advisor and was basically told to drop out since I had to take that class to get into any of the others that I needed. Because of that, I did drop out. Most of my classes are now online. 

I am majoring in Paralegal Studies at Bronx Community College. I plan to move on to a four year school and then eventually law school. TAP and Pell’s financial aid cover my tuition. TAP’s eligibility and award size should be changed because it covers tuition, but not the other costs associated with coming to school, like subscription services for specific classes and textbooks, which are expensive in my major. Without these resources, it is easy to fall behind. On top of textbooks, the costs of childcare were really, really high for my two children. We had to either use a credit card or a money order, and I would have to wait for my financial refunds to pay for it. The early childhood center is great though. I don’t think I would be able to manage anything if my kids weren’t there. Being one of the first in my family to go to college, it has hit me that we have been economically at the mercy of all our employers. My parents encouraged us to go to college but they don’t really understand a lot of the challenges that face college students like the need for that work/life/school balance. In addition, I think that if the infrastructure needs and the advisement issues aren’t addressed, enrollment and retention are going to continue to be an issue. I have gotten stuck in the elevator in different buildings multiple times. The constant need for infrastructure repairs means longer routes to classes, which can make you late. There are a few buildings that are not ADA accessible. My advisors did not have enough information about my current degree program to advise me adequately, requiring me to have to do a lot more research on my own and also spend two extra semesters here because I was not put in the right classes. In terms of class options, the electives required are not offered, leading to us having to take classes at other CUNYs. The schedules there don’t always line up with the BCC schedule, so I get home really late two days a week and have to travel to those other CUNYs. Plus, adhering to the schedule the daycare sets while figuring out my class schedule has been hard. And the approval and denial process of taking classes outside of BCC is really complex. With all of the steps, it took me an entire summer to get these classes approved when they should just be offered here since they are part of our degree program.

I am majoring in Paralegal Studies at Bronx Community College. After graduating, I hope to eventually go to law school and become a lawyer. Financial aid from PELL and TAP pays for my college. Before I joined ASAP, books and transportation were my greatest challenge paying for college because some textbooks, especially law textbooks, are expensive. My Family Law textbook was over $500 and is more than 10 years old, so the professor said it’s outdated. I have also had trouble with TAP coverage. The eligibility should be changed to include prerequisite classes that you have to take in order to take classes that are part of your degree program because TAP wouldn’t pay for those. Within my program, I have also struggled with class scheduling. We have to take three elective law classes, however they always offer the same ones over and over every semester, so the students struggle to meet this requirement. On a separate note, I’ve had some really good professors that are really approachable and want to help and the LGBT Resource Center here is really helpful. However, we have no dedicated paralegal studies advisors despite it being a specialized major offered. Due to the lack of advisors, my graduation date gas been delayed (I should have graduated last semester). The classes are only offered every other semester, so if you miss it you have to wait an entire year. The school needs to be able to invest more in advising and class opportunities for my program. Our infrastructure also needs improvement. One semester, there was no heat for a few weeks, so we had no classes. Only about half of the buildings are ADA accessible.

I am a junior at SUNY New Paltz. My major is history, and when I graduate, I want to go into policymaking as a career. I pay for college out of pocket, and the biggest challenge in paying has been around the costs of food and textbooks. I also see a need for increased funding from the state for SUNY counseling offices and infrastructure on campus. Counseling offices typically close early and don’t account for student flexibility. Renovations on campus have made accessibility to certain buildings more difficult, and there have also been instances where appliances such as card readers or the elevators have stopped working in dormitories, blocking access to things such as the kitchen or laundry rooms.

I am a sophomore studying digital design, I hope to get a job in animation. I pay for my tuition through financial aid. I am the first in my family to go to college and it’s a little stressful as I feel there’s a lot of pressure to be better than the people in my family as I’m a first generation. Some of my biggest financial costs have been paying for transportation, food and textbooks which is where I have to spend a lot of the money I earn working. I also have issues with our escalators and elevators often not working.

I am a senior studying liberal studies looking to get into business. I pay for my tuition with financial aid, loans and paying out of pocket. I would like to extend the years and money that is allowed to to be received from TAP. For example students who are in college a little longer than the regular 4-5 years aren’t allowed to receive some financial aid. Everything has been a big challenge for me due to the fact that I don’t receive certain financial aid programs and is paying out of pocket while being a full time student athlete. Transportation, food, textbooks all cost a lot of money while I am still paying for my tuition on my own.