With rising tuition comes an increased need for financial aid — and a struggle for those who don’t qualify.
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Junior Arthur Zetes, although already working two jobs, will become a part-time student in the fall due to tuition increases.
The state Legislature passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act on May 9, which gives the UW Board of Regents tuition-setting authority starting in the 2011-2012 academic year. The Board of Regents will decide tuition June 30, and the UW administration is leaning toward a 20-percent resident-undergraduate increase, which would set tuition at $10,571 per year. Non-resident tuition will rise 10 percent, pending approval by the regents, to $27,230 per year.
Junior Arthur Zetes is an out-of-state student from Boston who only qualifies for loans and struggles to pay for his education.
“My family has hit very hard economic times,” Zetes said. “I’ve never been in this situation before.”
Zetes is a Japanese major who wanted to finish his degree requirements abroad. Having applied and been accepted to a prestigious university in Japan, Zetes planned to study abroad in the 2011-12 academic year. His plans changed when he could no longer afford to go, instead having to stay in Seattle and work.
“I’m trying to work as much as I can without going insane,” Zetes said. “I’m living with my friends, paying rent, … trying to get [state] residency so that, when I go to Japan, it’ll be a lot cheaper.”
Instead of going to Japan this year, Zetes is switching from a full-time to a part-time student fall quarter. He is reducing his course load to five credits and is working 30-40 hours a week at the Ponti Seafood Grill and at GAP in University Village. He pays for his own rent and also has a goal of saving at least $300 a month.
“I was almost going to go insane,” Zetes said, referring to finals week, when he began working. “It’s affecting my life more than my education. I [had a] short temper, I was worrying, … I wasn’t fun to hang out with. … My friends say that I look tired all the time, and I’m not as energetic and upbeat as I used to be. If this is how adult life is like, I’d rather be a kid.”
When asked how he would deal with a substantial tuition-increase next year, Zetes bluntly replied, “That’ll suck.”
Other students are worried about tuition increases, as well. This past year’s ASUW President Madeleine McKenna expressed her concerns at the Board of Regents meeting June 9.
“I think 20 percent would be a hard pill to swallow for a lot of students. It’s hard to measure what the impact on students would be.”
Although tuition would increase, the administration’s proposal would also allot $17.2 million for financial aid. Still there are concerns about the amount of people who would be receive aid.
“We’ll look how far we can stretch those grant funds,” said Kay Lewis, UW director of financial aid and scholarships. “We’re confident we can cover low- to middle-income students. Just how far up into that we can go, we don’t know yet.”
Board of Regents Chair Herb Simon said that, while a 20-percent increase seems like the most beneficial to students in terms of quality of education, the regents need to be mindful of how the increase will affect the middle class.
“They’re the ones that are most impacted when the cost of college education goes up,” Simon said.
Senior Dusty Wight’s younger brother is a senior in high school and hopes to go to the UW. Wight worries about how expensive tuition will be by the time his brother graduates from college, and whether his family will be able to afford to put him through college.
“We are in that bracket right in the middle,” Wight said. “We don’t have enough to pay, and not enough to make it for financial aid. They don’t really change the bracket very much, so I don’t think we’re going to get any money.”
Wight is a double major in political science and international studies, but is thinking about completing the pre-med track. If he chooses to complete the track, Wight would need to go into his fifth year, for which his family would struggle paying.
“If tuition wasn’t going up, it would have been an easier decision to make,” Wight said. “I could help support [my brother] for all he needs, which would take a big burden off of the family.”
Zetes said dealing with his financial problems makes it difficult to focus on school instead of work.
“It’s lowering my grades, I’ll tell you that much,” Zetes said.
Despite the challenges of paying for his education and the opportunity to attend a cheaper school closer to home, Zetes insists the UW is where he wants to be.
“This is the best school for me,” Zetes said. “Even if I got into Harvard, I would have [chosen] this school. I love the diversity here, … beautiful campus, huge array of classes — this school just has so much.”
Zetes hopes he can continue at the UW with the education he was expecting — with diverse experiences, quality classes and the time to commit to them. With his efforts in saving money, Zetes will try to keep up with rising tuition while finishing his degree.
“I don’t know how feasible that is,” Zetes said, “but we’ll see.”
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