Students Struggle to Stay Out of Debt
Press-Enterprise 2/4/07
Non-fee-related costs, such as gas, housing and textbooks, have increased at an even greater rate than tuition, according to a recent report from the California Postsecondary Education Commission, an advisory panel to state lawmakers on higher-education issues.
Those expenses increased from $7,355 to $9,689 or 32 percent at University of California campuses and from $6,533 to $7,881 or 21 percent at Cal State campuses from 1994 to 2003, the report found.
"What many families don't realize, and are shocked to learn, is that when they write the check to cover college costs, fees will be less than half the total price tag. That's because it's expensive to live in California, and whether it's housing, transportation, or textbooks, the total cost of attendance is going nowhere but up," Howard Welinsky, the commission's chairman, said in a statement.
Concern about college affordability has prompted the commission to begin working with legislators to introduce bills with specific initiatives in the coming year, said Murray Haberman, the commission's executive director.
"If we continue down this path, where the costs are going up so fast ... people will eventually be priced out of the market," Haberman said.
Several recommendations included in the report:
Give students course credit and pay for internships;
Provide income-tax credits for tuition and borrowing;
Increase funding for Cal Grants, which do not need to be repaid; and
Consider subsidized housing programs for students.
The escalating prices of textbooks also have become a major burden for many college students. A college student at a four-year institution spends an average of $800 to $900 a year on books, according to the California Public Interest Research Group. Factors driving up the costs include textbooks packaged with CD-ROMs and workbooks, and professors requiring new editions of books.
In California, student tuition also has risen sharply in recent years, the commission's report said.
Systemwide fees for UC students have risen from $3,799 a year in 1996 to $6,141 in fall 2006. Similarly, fees for Cal State students have increased from $1,584 a year in 1996 to $2,520 last fall.
Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed 2007-08 budget calls for a 10 percent annual fee increase or $252 for Cal State students and a 7 percent fee increase or $430 a year for UC students. Community-college fees would not increase.
UC and Cal State leaders are expected to vote on the proposed fee increases in March.
The Campaign for College Opportunity, a group that lobbies state lawmakers for more money for higher education, would like to see the state enact a long-term fee policy so that increases are not a surprise, said Elisa Bongiovanni, campaign spokeswoman.
"Students and families aren't able to plan," she said.
Skyrocketing college costs have received much attention from Washington in recent weeks.
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced Thursday that President Bush's 2008 budget plan would include the largest increase in three decades in Pell grants for low-income students.
Additionally, congressional leaders are debating whether to cut interest rates in half, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent, over the next five years, for undergraduates with subsidized student loans.
Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, supports the measure.
"This bill provides vital assistance to the low- and middle-income students and their families with the most financial need -- those who receive subsidized student loans," Baca said in a statement.
Stretching Pennies
Students concerned about graduating with debt are working more and taking fewer units, which costs more because they take longer to graduate, the commission's report found.
Erika Camacho is a freshman at UC Riverside and she already is worried about when she can receive her degree. Camacho, 19, is taking fewer classes than last quarter and working nearly 35 hours a week to pay for gas, her cell phone, books and her quarterly parking permit.
"It's all that other stuff," Camacho said. "That's what's really becoming expensive."
Camacho commutes to campus from her mother's house in Rancho Cucamonga because she cannot afford to live in the dorms at UCR.
Among her expenses are her car insurance, gas and about $80 a quarter for the parking permit. She said that she splits the cost of books with her mother.
Camacho juggles two jobs to pay for her expenses, including 25 to 30 hours a week as a sales associate and lab technician in a camera store, and about another 10 hours every other week, helping her mother, who is an operations manager for a pottery-distribution warehouse.
"And I have a boyfriend and I have friends and I have a grandpa to take care of, so I'm tired a lot," Camacho said. "I was expecting college to be a little more fun and easy-going, but when you're working as much ... you don't have a life."
Still, she sees the value of going to school.
"I'm getting a degree and I guess that's what's important," Camacho said.
Other students such as Maleha Khan, 19, rely on grants and help from parents to cover their college expenses. All of her tuition is covered by grants. Her parents are paying for books and gas.
Khan, 19, commutes to UCR from her parents' house in Fontana to save money. Khan helps her parents in their store about 10 hours a week. She also keeps a budget to monitor all of her expenses for the quarter. She cannot go to movies or eat out because she has to "stretch my penny."
Khan said she spent about $466 on books for three classes last quarter.
"Now, you have to get really inventive about how you buy books," said Khan, adding that she often goes to used-book Web sites for her materials.
Debt for Dreams
Other students go into debt to make their college dreams come true.
Tricia Quinn-Munson has two daughters in college. Meghan, 21, is a senior at UC Irvine. Emily, 18, is a freshman at USC.
Quinn-Munson estimates that her eldest will graduate with about $15,000 of debt. Quinn-Munson said that Meghan's room and board was about $9,000 during her first year while her tuition was about $7,000.
"Does that say where you stay is more important than what you're learning?" Quinn-Munson asked.
Meghan has had to work full time since her second year. She has saved money by sharing an off-campus apartment with four other girls since her sophomore year.
"I think it's very unfair that a kid that is this smart has to work a 40-hours-a-week job to go to a state university," Quinn-Munson said.
Her other daughter, Emily, won a presidential scholarship that will cover half of her tuition at USC or about $17,000. But she still will owe about $100,000 after she graduates, her mother said.
And there's still the youngest child, Conner, 14, to think about. He's interested in the University of Notre Dame, a private institution in Indiana known both for its football team and strong academics. The tuition and fees for fall 2006 were $33,407, according to The College Board.
State Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, who is chairman of the senate's education committee, said he is deeply concerned about making sure everyone can afford to go to college.
"This is an investment that pays off," Scott said.
Beyond tuition
College students are being hit hard with expenses in addition to the actual sticker price of a degree. Here are some additional costs:
GAS
On Jan. 12, the average price of regular gas in the Inland region was $2.63, 14 cents higher than last month and 24 cents higher than last January.
TEXTBOOKS
In California, students spent an average of $898 on textbooks in the 2004-05 school year. The wholesale prices charged by textbook publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994.
HOUSING AND FOOD
An increasing proportion of students' budgets are spent on food and housing. At least 50 percent, if not more, of a student's total expenses in an academic year will go toward where they live and what they eat.
RENT
Inland-area rents have risen to an average of $1,129 a month from $1,064 a year ago.
DEBT
the amount of money borrowed by families and students for college expenses has increased by more than 60 percent from 1995-96 to 2003-04.
TUITION
the average annual tuition for a four-year public institution rose to $4,454 from $2,431 between 1993 and 2003, an 83 percent rise.
The average annual tuition at a two-year public institution Rose to $2,097 from $1,200, or 75 percent, between 1993 and 2003.
Sources: Automobile Club of Southern California; California Public Interest Research Group; California Postsecondary Education Commission; College Board and Realfacts Inc.