The economy has caused hardships for many American citizens – especially students. Some citizens have lost their jobs, making them wonder: how important is a college education?
The increase in tuition for SMU has caused some students, who rely on loans or their parents to pay for tuition, to find other ways to pay for the costs of higher education. According to Chris Casey, vice president of business and finance, there are new payment plans for students to pay for tuition. They can be found on the Bursar’s website at www.smu.edu/bursar.
More students are turning to community colleges to continue their education because it costs less than private universities. According to www.newsregisteronline.com, there was a 5.2% increase in community college enrollments in the Dallas County Community College District, which includes around 66,400 students in Dallas County. Andrea Johnson, an SMU junior, said, “a lot of my friends from high school went to a community college for a year or two before transferring to a university.”
According to past DCCCD research, more students transferred to SMU than from other institutions in Texas.
SMU offers scholarships to students from DCCCD. Some scholarships that transfer students can be eligible for include a full-tuition scholarship if the student has a GPA of 3.7 or higher with at least 50 transferable credits. Students transferring from DCCCD can also receive a $2,000 scholarship if involved with Phi Theta Kappa while taking classes at a community college.
“SMU has kept the tuition increase for 2010 as low as possible to be sensitive to the economic issues faced by students and families. Through expense reductions as noted above as well as effective containment of other University costs, we were able to keep the tuition and fee increase to six percent while continuing to increase financial aid provided to students.
While dealing with the tuition increase, students have to find ways to save money, especially if they are involved in an organization such as a fraternity or a sorority that requires dues to stay active.
“I have to think twice before buying something,” said Chelsea Stephens who is not only a student but also part of the Greek community on campus. “I do not struggle with paying dues for my sorority, but my parents have questioned me about whether or not I truly want to be part of it.”
Some students who must pay for their own college tuition without financial aid or scholarships are concerned about the tuition increase. “It seems as if tuition is going higher and higher. I wonder if it will ever stop,” said SMU journalism student Praveen Sathianathan.
Fortunately, Casey assures students that the tuition will not rapidly increase because the university will continue to be sensitive to the status of the economy and the families affected by the decline.