Free tuition doesn’t mean free college, students point out
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brooklyn College students walked between classes on campus in New York on Feb. 1.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brooklyn College students walked between classes, on Feb. 1, on campus in New York. They don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but New York public college students who would stand to gain from the nation’s most ambitious free-tuition proposal were quick to point out a sobering reality from their own meager finances: Free tuition doesn’t mean free college.
BUFFALO, N.Y. >> They don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but … New York public college students who would stand to gain from the nation’s most ambitious free-tuition proposal are quick to point out a sobering reality from their own meager finances: Free tuition doesn’t mean free college.
Take Brooklyn College senior Florencia Salinas, who despite having her tuition nearly covered in full through scholarships and grants, still expects to graduate with a daunting $50,000 in debt. Or Buffalo State College junior Avery Edwards, who despite similar financial aid expects to owe $20,000 after collecting his degree next year.
That’s because tuition, at around $6,500 a year, is just about a third of the typical four-year student’s total public college bill in New York. Room and board are the bigger-ticket items at nearly $13,000 a year, and student fees and books tack on another $3,000.
Those extra expenses would not be covered under Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Excelsior Scholarship proposal, which would pay only the difference between financial aid and tuition at State University of New York or City University of New York campuses for full-time students from families earning $125,000 or less.
Students interviewed by The Associated Press said that any tuition help is welcome, but they could also use help paying for the many other costs of a college education.
“It’s less that my parents would have to pay. It’s less that I would have to pay,” said Nigel Peters, a sophomore at Buffalo State College, part of the state’s sprawling public college system, which includes 64 State University of New York and 24 City University of New York institutions.
But “enough?” he said. “No, not at all.”
The 19-year-old’s parents in Queens work overtime to keep the financial burden off of him and his twin sister, who attends college in Delaware. His mother, who already juggles positions in accounting and retail, recently picked up a third job, at an arena box office. They make too much to get aid now, he said, but “we don’t make enough so that my parents don’t have to work their behinds off to put me and my sister through school.”
He would welcome tuition help, he said, especially with plans to pay his own way his senior year. But even if it’s covered by then, Peters said, he still will likely work at his minimum-wage job over breaks and need loans to pay for everything else.
Most of Salinas’ debt comes from housing costs, so the Cuomo plan probably wouldn’t have helped her graduate in better financial shape. The 22-year-old computer science major said she would rather see the state put the money into the faculty and facilities at CUNY.
Cuomo’s proposal, which still faces approval by lawmakers, is one of an increasing number of plans across the country that seek to address the nation’s suffocating $1.2 trillion in student debt.
Democratic Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has proposed making two years of community college or the final two years of a four-year degree free at a public college in that state. A plan from Democratic Colorado gubernatorial candidate Mike Johnston would require volunteer service as a condition of two free years of college or job training.
All differ from independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ no-tuition plan, which became a major issue during the presidential campaign. Sanders’ plan would have eliminated tuition at public universities and colleges, while Cuomo’s “last-dollar” approach pays the tuition after awards from the state and federal sources of aid are applied.
It’s a distinction that troubles advocates for lower-income students, who say the program, while expanding aid to the middle class, won’t improve anything for them because their tuition is already covered. They warn it might hurt needy students if it takes away some of the flexibility they now have to use federal Pell awards for expenses other than tuition.
“Our goal is to provide the most students with the greatest opportunity,” Cuomo spokeswoman Dani Lever said, “and that goal is met by the Excelsior Scholarship program.”
The New York program also comes with a push to get students to tap into existing state and federal financial aid programs that could lower their costs even more. SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher estimated New Yorkers leave $174 million of federal aid untouched each year.
Lawmakers at a budget hearing last month also worried that the $163 million estimated cost of the New York proposal is too low. Cuomo budget officials said they based the estimate in part on free community college programs in other states. The program would also draw on the state’s existing $1 billion Tuition Assistance Program.
SUNY enrolls 403,000 undergraduate students and CUNY 245,000 students. Based on 2014-15 enrollment, about 40,000 students who meet the criteria would begin to have their tuition paid.
Said state Sen. Kenneth LaValle, a Long Island Republican: “All the bean counters say there’s no way.”
Associated Press writers Karen Matthews in New York City and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.
17 responses to “Free tuition doesn’t mean free college, students point out”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Don’t ya just love it when politicians say they want kids to go to school for free. They are the very ones that put folks in this position to have to pay inflated tuition prices for the past decade. The take over of the student loan business gave a free pass for Universities to raise tuitions to about whatever they wanted. Knowing that every kid was now allowed to get as much money as they need, Universities didn’t hesitate to jack up the costs. Only thing free about this is the freedom to acquire a lifetime of debt. I wonder how this will work itself out
As a UH student I was blasted by bloggers for working part time in Waikiki in my pizza restaurant. I tried to explain that my UH scholarships and tribal tuition waivers did not cover living expenses which, in Hawaii, can be very high. I graduated debt free as a result of hard work. Sorry, no state owes students room and board which they would have to pay anyway if they were not in college.
You know how I know you’re one of the Olds, and not a UH student? Because you confuse commenters on the SA website with “bloggers.”
I graduated hon. I have always called them bloggers. Will continue to…
Wow, I actually agree with your comments. Kids that run up tens of thousands of dollars of loans while attending college are probably not the cream of the crop. First things first, Get a degree that will provide you with post graduation employment…..if you pick the wrong degree, no worries, Starbucks is always hiring baristas. Two, you need to work your way through college, not rely on loans, I had three part time jobs at one point during my college years. Don’t be afraid to take more than four years to get a degree, there’s a world of difference between a 22yr old with no experience vice a 25yr old with a few internships under his/ her belt. The govt has screwed this generation by providing easy money…..colleges know this and have jacked up costs immensely. I graduated in 93, cost per credit hour then was about $150, I’m back on the same campus and cost have exploded to $650+ per hour…..WAY ABOVE INFLATION AND COST OF LIVING INCREASES from 93 to now.
This reminds me of the gameshow “deal or no deal”. Where the contestant is offered $149,000 and they turn down the deal because they say “it’s not enough”.
When you put money into something to get something greater back, it’s called and investment. And it’s YOUR investment – not ours.
Actually, an educated public is AN (not AND) investment into the community. The better educated our citizens are, the more they are likely to contribute meaningfully, through their careers, their innnovation, their passing on of their own knowledge to those who come after them. Your not knowing that might indicate you weren’t very well educated yourself.
You don’t force the public to make investments they may not want to make by taxing them and spending it in a manner they may not approve. It should be their choice.
Nomu, hello that’s the entire political system. You think there is an agreement about how much to spend on the military? or education? or roads?
“Free” tuition is a lie. The costs are picked up by the taxpayer.
I worked my a$$ off in high school, and DURING college, to afford my tuition and related expenses. I applied for scholarships and anything else I could find. I then worked for 6 years after getting my undergraduate degree and saved money to put myself through graduate school. No one GAVE me anything. Yes, tuition was much cheaper back then, but so were wages and salaries. Many millennials these days want things to come to them easily and with no obligation. They’d rather spend money on the newest phone or other tech gadget, go to concerts, dine out and buy the trendiest clothes. Self-direct your own lives, people. If you want something bad enough, work for it, save, and defer immediate gratification on material goods.
Respect! It’s the immediate gratification “thing” at work. Not willing to wait for the payback.
They forgot to mention about all the illegals coming into the country and that already live here, when they want to go to college everything will truly be free at the expense of the hardworking tax payer. I feel for the hardworking american who busts their A@##s off so their kids can go to school and get an education only to see able bodied illegals and immigrants getting a free ride and I mean a free ride from top to bottom. So I ask all you haters out there, what is wrong with putting America and the hardworking taxpayer first. You might not like him or voted for him but at least President Trump is doing something unlike the last Administration that sold us out for their own personal agenda.
What does your rant, have to do with immigration? You are trying to make a link where none exists. The issue above is helping to pay for education for Americans, current Americans.
He told you what it has to do with immigration. Read again.
Give me a break! Why should anyone get free tuition AND free room and board! My husband and I struggled to put our daughter through college and now she is paying back what student loans she was left with. That’s the way it goes!