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| www.mercurynews.com Students protest outside the CSU Chancellor's office in Long Beach, Calif. |
Tuition for the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) are steadily increasing and trapping students into paying the rising prices.
“I don’t have much of a choice” said Serena Wolff, a second year marine biology major. “Whatever school my major takes me to, I am going to have to pay their tuition.”
All of the students are currently attending Foothill College who expressed their opinions on campus Thursday afternoon.
CSU has raised the price of tuition four times since 2007 and just voted to increase tuition by 15.5 percent for the 2011-2012 school year from $4,230 to $4,884. UC approved an 8 percent increase that would raise the yearly tuition by $822 starting in the fall.
UC hopeful Connie Chung, a bio-psych major, seems not to care about the tuition increase. “Nope, the money factor has nothing to do with where I decided to go to school” she said explainng that her parents are financially supporting her wherever she goes.
Not all students are able to disregard the fact that tuition is going up.
“I want to avoid debt at all cost” said Stacey Elder, a second year nursing student who can’t sit still when the thought of tuition and potentially having debt is mentioned. “But my major is hard to get into, so I will go wherever I get in.”
Students are aware of the additional costs that come along with going away to college but it is not the money that is steering them in a certain direction. Most students are choosing schools based on their major, yet some have had their hearts set on a certain school.
Luis Chavez, second year business major, said he is attending Foothill with the goal of going to a UC in southern California and is saving money to pay his own way through college. “I don’t want my parents to pay, they have enough of their own financial burdens,” he said. “They already let me stay at home for free and that is plenty.”
Even with the increases in tuition, students are determined to go to the best college that suits them no matter what it takes.
Wolff said she moved four hours south to San Jose allowing her to go to Foothill with the hopes that it will help her get into a UC. “I can’t afford a car so I spend two hours taking a bus each way to school every day so that I can make ends meet,” she said.
Most students said that getting a job would be a most to help out with the cost of tuition. “I would most definitely have to get a job,” said Camille Concepcion, an undecided first year. “But being a full time student is a job on its own!”
