Acceptance letters may come in small envelopes, but the debt that comes with them is much greater.
Penn Manor seniors are preparing to go off to college next fall, but rising tuition rates for the majority of universities have already been causing stress.
As four of the five most popular college choices of Penn Manor students are increasing their tuition, applicants have to find more ways to earn the extra money.
But were students even aware that the cost was increasing?
“I had no idea,” said senior Zach Levenson, “But I still want to go. West Chester is a great school.”
West Chester University will be increasing its tuition cost from $12,229 to $12,704 this year, making a 3.8 increase.
However, Levenson has a plan.
“I’m applying for student loans and scholarships this month. Hopefully it’ll work out.”
Some seniors don’t have to worry about this increasing cost though.
“[The increase] didn’t really matter to me. My parents are paying for all of it.” said Mike Cotich.
Although, if you’re not like Cotich or Levenson, there are other ways to finding a method to pay for college.
“Financial Aid Night is a good thing to do,” said guidance counselor James Yearsley, “but there are always other things you can do.”
Yearsley recommends helpful websites such as collegeboard.com, educationplanner.org, and the guidance office’s Moodle page.
“Besides need-based scholarships, kids should take the time to go to the websites that ask for essays. That’s where there will not be as much competition, because if it takes extra work most kids will stay away.”
And Yearsley stated that this “probably won’t be changing any time soon.”
“There are extra cost of things like air conditioning in dorms, higher quality food, and even some laundry services. These weren’t around years ago, and it causes the cost to go up,” said Yearsley.
Penn Manor’s top five most popular colleges to attend are no exception.
Penn State and West Chester have already increased their tuition, while Millersville and Temple will announce their increases over the summer.
Pittsburgh University is the only school that is actually lowering its cost of tuition, in an effort to help students cope with the struggle of paying for college.
While college may be emptying your piggy bank, there’s still ways to save every penny you can.
By Lindsey Ostrum and Mike Nitroy
Haha, I’m surprised nobody picked up on the the typographical error in the title of this article where a dollar symbol was substituted for an “s.” It really confused me since it made no ¢ents.
I’m not really concerned because I really have no interest in going to college
@Nacho
they were trying to be funny
i plan to go to college thank you for that info.