Paying for School Becomes Tougher
Denton, TX
As the recession lingers, students are finding it harder to pay for school and having enough money to do other activities at the same time. With job worries and financial aid stress, many are stuck on what to do to help ease costs.
“My family hasn’t been able to take a summer vacation because of school costs,” said UNT freshman Samantha McNulty, “I barely go out anymore.” McNulty, whose parents pay for her school tuition has found herself having to get a summer job to help her parents out with expenses. McNulty says as a photography major, most of her extra money goes towards supplies needed to help further her career pursuit in photography.
But this situation is what most students find themselves going through since the United States entered into a recession. Many are facing the troubles of being let go and not being able to find a job now that the U.S. unemployment rate has reached a 26-year- high of 9.5%, according to CNN. In June, the U.S. lost 467,000 jobs due to the bad economy, according to reports released by the Department of Labor.
“I just got let go from my job and it was tough because you ask yourself how am I going to pay for my child to go to school,” said Marhea Hunter, a parent of a UNT student. Hunter has decided to put more attention on the assistance of loans to help take care of costs. “Loans are helpful but I wish there was more, it gets really tough.”
According to MSNBC, college tuition costs are getting higher as always but now much higher due to the economic times. Tuition is rarely kept constant with inflation, and now that times are worse schools will look to increase costs even more than before.
Even students, who use the assistance of scholarships, see themselves using other resources at UNT. Keki Fiatia, a junior at UNT, has a scholarship that pays for her fall and spring sessions of school but not for the summer sessions. “I still have to take out loans to help pay, I don’t have tons of money worth of loans but I definitely have some.”
“I haven’t done anything all summer because I’m worried about paying for books,” added Fiatia. “The recession really hit hard and now you have to change your priorities.”
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