Natalie Barletta – Special to the Southern News
One of the perks of attending Southern Connecticut State University is it’s inexpensive tuition. Because Southern is so inexpensive, the dream of becoming a college graduate is much more accessible to a bigger variety of people. However, come fall it’s all going to change. It was just announced that SCSU will be doubling its tution come fall. And nobody’s happy about that.
Right now, to be a commuter student at Southern the cost of tuition is $8,981.00 a year. For residents, the cost of room and board varies. It can range from an extra three to four thousand, depending on where you’re living and how many roommates you have. Compared to other schools, such as Quinnipiac University, which for an undergraduate education is about $55,000 dollars a year for both room and board and going there. Needless to say, SCSU is the better pick for someone’s pocketbook. However with this new tuition increase, Southern’s tuition will be about $16,000 for commuters, and $24,000 for residents. For those who already have a hard time paying their tuition, these new numbers can get you where it hurts. College is expensive, especially when you think about the additional costs of books, supplies, printing, and other necessities that students need. Whoever said that education was the biggest investment that you can ever make obviously didn’t realize how deep inside their pockets some have to go to pay for their education.
When hearing the breaking news, many students were outraged. Many who are rely on student loans are anxious about the grand total that they will have to pay back when they throw their hats in the air. Some students, who are reliant on scholarships to fund their education, worry that they might not have enough. “Being a state school, I expect my tuition to be affordable. If I had wanted to spend $30,000 or $40,000 a year on tuition alone, I would have gone to a different school altogether. With this new increase, I am very worried about how I’m going to pay for it,” says Lauren Stone, who is a resident. “I can’t become a commuter because I live too far away from campus to do so.” Even the commuter student, whose tuition is significantly less, is having trouble paying for it. “I could barely afford the tuition before, now going to college for me is going to be impossible”, says SCSU commuter Justin Gere. “Before the increase, I was able to afford my tuition without a student loan. Unfortunately, I now have to rely on loans to fund my education.”
With all of this mayhem going on, we wonder why there’s an increase of tuition. Some say its because of all of the campuswide projects going on, ranging from the renovations of the Buley library to the new Science building, which are both set to be open next year. Others say that Southern wants to use that money to build new projects, such as a medical school, and a law school. Another rumor is that they are putting a Starbucks kiosk in the student center. Although there are many speculations, there has been no definite answer as to what the cause is for the sudden increase of tuition.
Whatever the reason is, Southern students don’t want to hear it. “I’m going to be senior next year-those new improvements to campus will not even pertain to me”, says disgruntled Southern student Amelia Young. However, come July we all will be crying on our way to the Bursar’s office.