By Felipe Rodriguez
Many community college students are not prepared to face tuition bills that pass the $10,000 mark right after transferring.
Fewer can imagine the amount of debt that will accumulate after they graduate.
Even with financial aid, many students still find it hard to pay for simple things like necessary supplies and eventually find themselves paying out of pocket for fees that financial aid disregards.
Many ditch the idea of transferring once they hear the costs of school expenses due to the rising costs of attending prestigious schools.
While some states seek ways to make schools more affordable and beneficial for students, the prices to attend California’s universities continue to go up.
On January 26, the University of California Board of Regents approved a tuition and fee hike to the nine undergraduate campuses. This is the first increase the board made since 2011 and will be taking effect this summer.
The tuition will be rising another 2.5 percent and will also be receiving a $54 rise in student fees for all full-time students.
This tuition hike was created to keep up with the increase in enrollments throughout the campuses and are seeking to expand the services these campuses offer.
Tuition hikes and the protests against it have been gaining a lot of attention in the media the past couple of days.
Officials from the UC campuses stated that the increase is modest and necessary.
The University of California, San Diego was one of the more notable campuses that protested the council’s decision. This action has brought a lot of controversy that has brought new financial issues for students.
The reality of the situation is that these spikes make it harder for community college transfer students to commit to prestigious universities.
While the tuition increase seems pretty ethical, raising the tuition cost to expensive schools not only brings in more financial issues, but even keeps community college students from even attempting to commit to these schools.
With campuses like East Los Angeles College that have majority of its students that depend on financial aid and make below the average salary, these tuition hikes are very crucial and can bring dismay to students that are seeking affordable schools they can transfer to.
Some board members went against the tuition hikes and brought bigger topics into the debate.
Gavin Newsom was one of those board members who stated that the tuition hike is just taking education into the wrong direction.
Newsom says, while some states seek to lower the costs, California continues to rise the cost. Newsom also continues with “wages are not keeping up with the costs of education and the uncertainty of over middle class scholarship’s future is profound and pronounced”.
Newsom’s views on the tuition hike is an idea that many college students have desperately been expecting out of universities.
According to a study by communitytransfer.net, one of the reasons that 60 percent of students fail to transfer is due to the rising cost of schools outside of the community college spectrum.
UC’s are very expensive. These schools are getting more and more pricey as the cost of living goes up in California.
UC’s are amazing schools and students should not be struggling with thinking about how they are going to pay for their education.
The potential some students have should not be stopped by the cost of attending a school and, although tuition hikes are a scary reality, states must seek ways to lower the cost of attending in order to help students thrive.
These schools should not be ignored as an option when applying to transfer and it is very important to find the best route that fits one’s educational goals and even more important one’s budget. Don’t let prices discourage you. Knowledge reigns supreme.
Although free universities are a long way from becoming a reality, universities should seek ways to lower the cost of attending.
To find out more about the costs and how you can attend these schools, visit the transfer center.
