While Oregon universities and community colleges try to deal with lowered state funding, college students also suffer the effects of reduced investment in higher education.
Marcie Neil, a sophomore majoring in pre-journalism, lost her work study benefits and a loan because of cuts to financial aid.
Neil qualified for financial aid last year, but she was denied money this year even though her parents’ combined income did not increase. Reduced funding for higher education meant there wasn’t as much money available to distribute to needy students.
“They just said there wasn’t enough for me,” she said.
Neil now pays for tuition, fees and housing with private bank loans.
“The interest rates are pretty bad,” she said.
Neil, who is taking 17 credits this term, said the 2003-04 school year would be her “intensive academic year,” and that she would focus on getting a job to help pay for school next fall.
She said she worries about the loans and the debt she is accumulating.
“I’m sort of setting myself up for bad times after graduation,” Neil said.
Oregon was one of three states to receive an “F” for affordability in the National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education’s 2002 “Measure Up” survey.
University students have suffered a 19.8 percent increase in tuition and fees since 2001.
A student taking 13 to16 credits during the 2003-04 academic year will spend an estimated $4,875 in tuition and fees, according to the Office of Student Financial Aid. That amount is $800 more than what a student would have paid in 2001-02, according to the Oregon University System.
Amanda Lorts, a junior linguistics major, said the continual increase in tuition definitely affects her life as a student. Lorts said she has suffered a cut in her financial aid, and every term she gets $200 deeper into debt to the University.
Lorts works as a cook to cover her living expenses, but her income doesn’t pay for school costs. Instead she relies on federal loans and expects to owe around $15,000 to $20,000 after she graduates. Lorts said she hopes to get a hold on her loans after she leaves the University so she can get a job and eventually attend graduate school.
Stephanie Langenfeld, a senior majoring in psychology and journalism, said she also feels the effects of tuition hikes every year.
Langenfeld said her financial aid and unsubsidized loans used to cover the cost of her tuition and books, but with tuition going up and financial aid going down, she now has to cover extra costs with more loans.
“It definitely adds to the stress of a student,” Langenfeld said. “And we’re already stressed about money anyway.”
Langenfeld pays for some of the cost of her education by reading and recording textbook chapters for disabled students. She recently started her own homemade soap company, Moon Flower Soap, to supplement her student income.
“I get frustrated when I see tuition going up and money that was intended for students going to other parts of the state,” Langenfeld said.