From an early age, many of us were told to go to college. A college degree will open the doors to a bright future for our career choices, they said.
But the “future talk” fails to mention the high-priced cost of college.
For first-year, out-of-state students, college may come with sticker shock because financial aid may not cover the whole year since a tuition increase took effect this semester.
In August, TCC trustees voted to keep the total tax rate at 14.897 cents per $100 of assessed property values.
It seems the college system works hard to get a majority of its money from your financial aid while you get little through the refund students receive, if any at all.
In particular, colleges charge out-of-state students three times more than in-state students.
When I first started my college career at TCC, I was charged $171 per credit hour because I was a legal resident of another state. But as the second semester approached, I was charged $205 per credit hour.
The sudden increase of $34 to my tuition caused me to run out of money for the upcoming semester.
Unfortunately, I had to take out my first loan.
If we are currently living in a broken economy, why would community colleges raise tuition instead of lowering the tuition to better suit the students?
Don’t the colleges care about the affordability of college and the success they want the students to achieve?
For someone who is out of state and on financial aid, the increase has become a burden.
The trustees shouldn’t punish out-of-state students who have chosen among all the community colleges in Texas to enroll at TCC.
