Gothamist: CUNY Students on Proposed Tuition Hikes

cunystudent

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:55:12 -0500

This is reply to "thcalan". CUNY students and college aged students are not stupid. For starters before you call us student "stupid", EDIT YOUR COMMENTS! (You have a syntax error). Second of all I am a single student, who DOES NOT qualify for financial aid because last year I made $21,000 last year. Now for an independent student with phone, electricity,rent, food bills, and transportation, it can be very hard to save money, yet I manages to do all of this and save enough money to pay for my education. I am always asked "Why didn't you get a loan?". I can't afford a loan, my parents can not help me, I help them, and why take a loan that in the long run will cost me more than just paying it little by little each month. I know other students who are in far more dire circumstances than me. I can not afford a $300 tuition hike next semester, I may not be able to go, I can not cut anything else out of my budget, and apparently financial aid does not think they can help me out. Another point, I don't qualify for public assistance. Yes not everyone who asks for help will get it, I actually make too much money for help, and I do not have any children. By increasing tuition and not changing the financial aid scale they are telling us students that they do not want us to go to school. My parents came to this country so that I would have the opportunity to go farther than anyone in my family has, because our education here is a right. Cutting public school and higher education funding is not only hurting students now, but it will have long lasting effects. It is well documented that as economic circumstances worsen college enrollments rise, people go back to school to retrain. They go to CUNY and SUNY schools because they can get help to pay for it. Now people will have second thoughts about enrolling, and those already enrolled can not finish, and subsequently we have a pool of unfit candidates to replenish the workforce in the future. We are competing with students all over the world, and these hikes and cuts, they are putting our future at a huge disadvantage.

7train

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:23:28 -0500

Come on! I understand the need to cut expenses in tough financial times, but WHO gets such a fat raise when everybody else has to do some belt tightening?? Plus, it's already tough to pay for tuition, people are getting their hours cut (myself included), losing jobs, etc....last thing you need right now is a tuition increase.

HUGO_MEGO

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:32:56 -0500

WTF is going on?? I thought everything was going to be free after cult leader Obama was elected.

thcalan

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:50:29 -0500

So the tuition will go from $4000 to $4600 per year. Big deal, and these kids quoted are morons...who the hell pays out of pocket for school, especially working part-time with a dependent. Hell, I go at night to a school in the CUNY system and working full time in a two income family I probably make 10x what that girl makes and still dont pay out of pocket. With her financial aid, her federal loan bill would be minimal. Im amazed every day at how utterly stupid and clueless college aged kids are

ides_of_march

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:05:29 -0500

Maybe the professors and administrators should take a pay cut.

handsomedevil

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:43:54 -0500

Coming from a state where the public university system is several times more expensive, I gotta say that the CUNY/SUNY system is one of the best bargains in the country. And that's still true with this tiny bump in price.

flynn110

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:13:51 -0500

wtf is going on? something seriously needs to be done.

nycblonde

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:30:16 -0500

An extra $600 a year is the equivalent of $1.64 per day.

Jen Chung

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:29:55 -0500

Or least refuse it. That raise could go to like 90 $600 scholarships for students in need.

Steven

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:28:06 -0500

Giving out raises when there is a huge deficit? Patterson should ASAP revoke the raise.

fugothamist

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:14:29 -0500

450K is chump change for the man who runs the "Ivy League of NYC"

kittencrunchies

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:08:34 -0500

wtf?!