Students struggle to put their education first

The California State University system is raising the tuition up by 9.1 percent, increasing the amount that we pay every quarter.

From Fall 2011 to Fall 2012 the increase of tuition has sky-rocked since last academic year making the final total $498 and rising drastically. It makes it hard for a lot of students to even think about coming to school because the capacity of units that we can take is now 17 beginning in Fall 2012.

Last academic year’s limit was at 21.5, which made it easier when you have to worry about some classes being five units.

A lot of heartburn over this issue is coming straight from the students, letting staff and faculty know just how they feel.

“My tuition has been raised, and my units have been lowered. And you wonder why people stay in college for five to six years now? Ridiculous,” said sophomore Robin Gamboa.

“I’ll now be spending more for school, and now on my three month break I’ll have to spend another two grand for summer school just to catch up and graduate in four years. I find it another way for the school system to get more money for as long as they can. Taking only four classes a quarter no one will ever be able to graduate from any program on campus in a decent time,” Gamboa continued.

The big conversation among students isn’t about what they did this past weekend or what their future plans for the summer are; its more of how they feel about coming back to school in the fall and whether or not they think that its worth the time and money.

With graduation approaching and right around the corner, students are constantly talking about what their futures at CSUSB hold.

“Before they raise tuition they should let us know where the money is going and let us vote on what they raise and let us know just what we are paying for. Instead of just sending us an email and letting us a know a couple months after they already made the decision,” says senior Melissa Moreno.

Although students are frustrated with the problems they may have to face financially, the harsh reality of the increase is “you can’t out a price on education” says graduating senior Stefany Zacarias.

The uproar among students however, is they might have to put more money into buying books and other school supplies because of the high cost of tuition and less financial aid will be disbursed to students.

Students will have to work harder, not smarter, to make sure that they are able to pay for the necessities that a college degree entails. Which gives them less time to study and more time working for a little extra cash just to get by.

On top of all of that is the raise in the Annual Percentage Rate of student loans. Along with worrying about how their financial aid will be disbursed, students have to worry about how they will pay for their loans upon graduating from CSUSB. This on top of registering for classes for Fall 2012 and making sure they meet the 17 unit max seems to be the main topic of discussion in the student union.

With this huge pressure looming overhead, many students are finding themselves having to just grit their teeth and bear it, looking for some sort of positive outlook on it all.

“No one can take your education away, its yours, you worked hard for it and it will hopefully get you a good paying job in the end to help pay back what you loaned out,” says freshman Gianna McCoy.