With tuition on the rise, FAMU students are relying heavily on student loans and part-time jobs to pay for school.
“Student loans are necessary evils with me because I am not in a financial position to pay college tuition outright,” said Juleon Barnes, who is majoring in business administration. “The value of an education is important so I am willing to finance it through student loans.”
Barnes also depends on the income he earns from summer internships to provide much-needed spending money.
Frederick Anderson, another business administration student, said, “You have to do what you have to do. But it is a shame that students have to rely on a loan to pay college cost.”
Anderson hopes to obtain a good job after college, so he can begin paying the money owed. He added that he relies heavily on loans to pay out-of-state tuition expenses.
At FAMU, many students cover day-to-day spending by obtaining part-time jobs so they don’t have to borrow additional funds. Nationwide, black students carry the heaviest work schedules in college. A recent American Council of Education study showed that 41.3 percent of black college students put in more than 35 hours of work each week.
A legislative proposal to increase the State University System's tuition could worsen the situation for FAMU's mostly low-income student body. In Florida, state-mandated tuition hikes generally accompany multimillion dollar cuts in education spending. Tuition increases force many FAMU students to enroll in fewer classes due to their lack of funds.
In a recent Tallahassee Democrat article, FAMU psychology student Janecia Roberson emphasized how much the proposed tuition increases will hurt her and her FAMU peers.
“Most of the students are working just like I’m working,” Roberson said. “I have 18 credit hours. I work 30 hours a week. We can not afford this.
“In the middle of a recession, tuition prices should not be going up. Where’s the money supposed to come from?”
Roberson raises a good question. U.S. President Barack Obama's American Opportunity Tax Credit could help FAMU students such as her as long as tuition increases don't eat up all the new financial aid. But if FAMU leaders dump a heavy differential tuition hike on students next year, the problem will remain the same. The students who are working long hours and enrolling in fewer classes each semester will have to continue that pattern.FAMU's best bet to ease the budgetary pain is to keep tuition low and encourage students to use their stimulus funds to enroll in more classes. That will generate more tuition revenue and help students finish their programs in a shorter time span (which will bring up the six-year graduation rate). It will also produce a bigger credit hour enrollment that, along with next year's expected 1,000 student increase, will help FAMU qualify for more enrollment growth dollars from the legislature.
Obama's college plan could help FAMU reach 15,000
Growth strategy essential to FAMU's financial health
These students need to cut back on their spending. all you see are these students trying to wear the latest fashions while claiming to be broke. A lot of them are driving new cars, and moving into apts knowing the job market here is pretty dim. Fellow Black people, stop trying to keep with the status quo.
ReplyDeleteAMEN!!!
ReplyDeleteLet's not sit here and stereotype FAMU's students. The facts show that most of FAMU's students come from low-income families and that most black college students have to work to pay their bills.
ReplyDeleteJust because you see some students wearing fancy clothes or driving nice cars doesn't mean that most FAMU students have big money.
You should go to The Set and see all the students who use the bus to travel to their apartments, the supermarkets, and back to campus each day.
While I agree that it's difficult for most FAMU students during these times, there comes a time when you have to suck it up and deal with it. Florida already is well below the national average when it comes to tuition. If FAMU doesn't raise tuition, that's less money for the school, point blank. Even the university and student senate are supporting an increase.
ReplyDelete"If FAMU doesn't raise tuition, that's less money for the school, point blank."
ReplyDeleteThat's not necessarily true. FAMU students tend to decrease their course loads when tuition goes up. That means that FAMU actually LOSSES money as a result of tuition increases. It also means a lower graduation rate. Neither one of those problems helps the school, at all.
Please spare me. Pell grants are increasing so I'm positive the students won't feel the hike in tuition. Considering the State of Florida is like 49th out of 50 states in tuition, FAMU students are getting a top notch education at an extremely discounted rate.
ReplyDeleteNot like tuition is gonna increase by that much in the first place.
To 3/05/2009 2:40 PM at least the bus ride is free and there for them to utilize instead of paying for a cab.
These students are lucky as heck to even be able to receive over $2,000 a semester in a pell grant. When I was at FAMU I was lucky to get $250. So please raise the tuition FAMU it won't hurt them.
"Please spare me. Pell grants are increasing so I'm positive the students won't feel the hike in tuition."
ReplyDeleteIf students have to spend all their new Pell Grant money to pay for tuition increases, then nothing changes. They won't be any better off. FAMU's graduation rate won't be any better off either because students won't be able to buy more credit hours.
"Considering the State of Florida is like 49th out of 50 states in tuition, FAMU students are getting a top notch education at an extremely discounted rate."
Nationwide, tuition is completely out of control. That's one of the main reasons that most students take 6 years to complete a 4 year degree.
"at least the bus ride is free"
There are no free bus rides. Students pay for the bus service through their transportation access fee.
"So please raise the tuition FAMU it won't hurt them."
It will hurt the student's graduation rates. If FAMU takes away all the new Pell Grant money through tuition hikes then students won't be able to afford to increase their course loads.
I'm going to have to agree with 3:13. As a student who recently graduated, I know how difficult it is to pay for an education these days, but the fact remains that there's no way FAMU could expect to keep its low tuition rate for long. On top of that, in the midst of this recession, there was a RECORD amount of scholarship money that was not claimed last year. If students are that hard up for money that they cannot (or will not) apply for millions of dollars in unclaimed scholarship money, that's nobody's fault but their own.
ReplyDeleteThe federal Pell Grant just increase by $500 per student with the passage of the stimulus bill. That's enough right there to cover the tuition increase and leave the kids with some pocket change.
ReplyDeleteThis article is some str8 bullchit!
$500 will not be enough to dig FAMU students out the hole the new tuition increase will bring.
ReplyDeleteYou've got to remember that not only are students facing a 15% differential, but increases in housing, A&S, health, and athletic fees too. All of those increases will take up new Pell Grant money before students can even use it to enroll in more classes.
We're setting ourselves up to continue the same problem that's keeping our graduation rate low right now.
And even if tuition does increase I'm sure it wouldn't increase that much. Maybe a 10% increase which would equate to about $10-$11 per credit hour. RAISE TUITION!
ReplyDeleteYou took the words out of my mouth! WOW, how so much truth to it. Not only clothes but weaves and fake nails, etc...
ReplyDeleteThe differential would add a 15% increase. The extra fees, housing, general cost-of-living increases will go on top of that.
ReplyDeleteAll of that adds up. $500 just isn't enough. The students in this article aren't going to be able to cut back their jobs or student loans for that what's left over from that Pell Grant money.
2:40 what are the facts that you reference? What percent of FAMU students come from "low income" families? I'm just wondering how you have access to individual students FASFA.
ReplyDeleteThese are the percentages of FAMU students that were determined to have financial need as of January 2009:
ReplyDelete94% of first-year students
96% of full-time undergraduates
93% of part-time undergraduates
http://www.hbcumentor.org/campustour/undergraduate/2474/Florida_AM_University/Florida_AM_University4.html
Here's what Dr. Ammons said last year:
ReplyDelete"At Florida A&M, we've got 78 percent of our students who are on need-based financial aid. That means that they're coming from families with limited resources."
http://blogs.tampabay.com/schools/2008/03/ammons-uncut.html
Rent is going to go up! Utilities are going to go up, but some of yall want tuition to stay the same. Go figure?
ReplyDeleteJust because rent and utlities are going up doesn't mean that tuition should go up too.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who ahs been on campus for awhile, that students come from low income families is a poor excuse. They are the MAIN ones who are walking around in the latest fashions and the same time they are claiming to be poor. that is what white people use against us. They see people in the low income areas with $200 tennis shoes, and $300 shirts and jeans.
ReplyDelete2:40, if you look at statistics, very few FAMU students ride the bus. And as someone who rode the bus, I didn't see very many students. and walking the campus, u can hear them talking about what cars they are going to buy with their refund checks.
ReplyDeleteIf you think education is expensive, try ignorance!
ReplyDeleteEducation can't be free. FAMU, nor Florida, can compete with tuition that is the cheapest in the nation!!!!
"They are the MAIN ones who are walking around in the latest fashions and the same time they are claiming to be poor."
ReplyDeleteYou have no evidence to back up that claim. You have not compared the FAFSA forms of all the students who wear expensive clothing.
78 percent of FAMU students are on need-based aid. That is a fact and can be proven. Tuition decisions should be based on that fact and not stereotypes.
"2:40, if you look at statistics, very few FAMU students ride the bus."
ReplyDeleteWhat statistics are you looking at? FAMU students are very dependent on the Venom Express. That goes especially for the freshmen who live on campus and are not allowed to have cars during their first year.
Being eligible for aid does not equate to low income.
ReplyDeleteThe Pell Grants are available for families with incomes up to $60,000. I'm sure there are a number of students at FAMU whose families earn between $40,000-60,000. Add to that the out of state students whose families may earn even more, but require assistance with out of state tuition. Don't fail to mention higher income families with multiple children in college, who are also eligible for assistance.
Why do people accept stereotypes without giving them any critical thought?
Pell Grants are available for students from households that make up to $60,000. But most Pell Grants go to those who make under $30,000.
ReplyDeleteFAMU's average family income is less than $40,000. That is low-income.
There are readers on this blog who want us to believe that most FAMU students are spoiled rich kids who just have $$$$ lying around. The tuition increases are not helping.
There are also those on this blog who on one hand proudly proclaim that FAMU provides one of the best educations available anywhere, then on the other hand want the state of Florida and the university to continue giving it away for next to nothing !!!
ReplyDeleteI have yet to read any comment about giving away a free education. The point that's being made is that the current tuition price is much too high and it's hurting FAMU's graduation rate.
ReplyDeleteStudents can't finish within six years if they can't afford to take 15 or more credit hours per semester.
Students are cutting back on classes and working more to pay for tuition increases. Just go back and read what ACE said about how blacks have to work longer hours than anyone else in order to pay for college.
ok, not free, but next to nothing !!!
ReplyDeleteThe student in this article who's working 30 hours a week to pay her way through school sure doesn't think that FAMU's education costs "next to nothing." When FAMU piles tuition increases on students like her, it's just making it harder for them to graduate within six years. The graduation rate isn't going to go up if students can't afford more courses.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter what your so called "students' thinks. The facts say otherwise, Florida's tuition is the cheapest in the nation.
ReplyDeleteAnd nationwide, tuition is completely out of control. It has increased at more than double the rate of inflation.
ReplyDeleteIf tuition were reasonable, 78 percent of FAMU's students wouldn't be on need-based financial aid. Increasing tuition during a recession is going to hurt FAMU's students even more and make them take even longer to graduate.
Tuition is dirt cheap for in-state students at FAMU. However, it is incredibly expensive for the out-of-staters who traditonally are the primary inhabitants of FAMU's more renowned programs.
ReplyDelete90% of college students are going to go through some sort of "struggle" to get tuition paid.
However, assumming that one's credit isn't absolutely awful, college is generally free....until one graduates.
7:12. It is impossible for you to have that information. For one thing, the University would not have access to information on family income for students not applying for financial aid. So even if you worked in FinAid you would not have a number representing all FAMU students, therefore you are unable to compute an average across ALL FAMU students.
ReplyDeleteStill I would like to know if this $40,000 number was actually computed and why. Have you seen such a computation?
The FAMU Governmental Relations page says this about the income backgrounds of FAMU's students:
ReplyDelete"FAMU knows its students well, the average median family income for a FAMU student is less than $40,000 annually."
http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?governmental&KeyMessagesForYourElectedOfficials
For one thing, the University would not have access to information on family income for students not applying for financial aid.
The university does have that information. FAMU asks students to report their family's income on the application.
www.famu.edu/admissions/FAMU_Undergraduate_Application.pdf
When you force tuition increases on students who come from low-income backgrounds, it slows them down from graduating. Tuition is much too high.
3:29 the request for financial information on the admissions application is found under "Optional Information." Again to my point, this is going to be filled out by families seeking financial aid. FAMU has no information that includes families not seeking finaid.
ReplyDeleteSo of course the info on students the university does have would be from those families with lower income levels.
My point again, no one can successfully argue that the average family income for FAMU students is $40,000 or any other dollar amount. The university only has info that families seeking finaid choose to provide.
Again to my point, this is going to be filled out by families seeking financial aid. FAMU has no information that includes families not seeking finaid.
ReplyDeleteThat may be true, but the FAMU administration still feels comfortable saying that the median family income for all students is below $40,000. There's more than one way to gain family income information. The university can use surveys, polls, etc.
Simply because students aren't required to submit income information in their applications doesn't mean that FAMU doesn't have a reliable way of figuring out what the student body's medium family income is.
9:36 The President of the United States of America, the Vice President of the United States of America, the United States Secretary of State all felt comfortable saying there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
ReplyDeletePeople can say and believe anything they want. That is why we require evidence before agreeing.
People can say and believe anything they want. That is why we require evidence before agreeing.
ReplyDeleteThe point remains that FAMU does have reliable ways of determining the average family income of its students. It could have gotten the information through polls, surveys, or a variety of other methods. Simply because you do not personally know how the FAMU administration obtained the information does not make it untrue.
The U.S. Department of Education's National Center of Education Statistics also tracks the average family incomes of students at individual colleges across the country. That is another possible source of FAMU's information.
ReplyDeleteLet me try to explain it this way. The DOE, FAMU, nor KC and the Sunshine Band can track families who choose not to supply the information.
ReplyDeleteThe DOE does not have information on income levels for families not seeking finaid. If you check DOE reports, they discuss percent of students receiving finaid and the demographics of those families. DOE does not discuss families not receiving finaid.
Again, my point. Neither FAMU nor any other college can reportfamily income across the board. They can only report for families choosing to supply the information.......families seeking finaid.
The DOE does not have information on income levels for families not seeking finaid.
ReplyDelete78% FAMU's students are on need-based aid. The DOE does have the information for all the students who fill out the FAFSA, which is the majority of the student body.
FAMU has reliable ways of determining the income of the remainder of the student body that does not fill out the FAFSA. It can use a combination of surveys (such as the optional information in the undergraduate application) and polling.
The FAFSA is not the only way to come up with data on FAMU's average family income.
I teach at the university. About five years ago I had a student who hardly came to class. Then one day he showed up and was grinning from ear to ear. After class he told me he had used $6,000 of his financial aid money to purchase rims for his car, an new sound system, and he had completely "re-done" the interior, putting in new seats and getting the windows tinted. I asked him why hadn't he been to class lately, and he told me he'd been showing off his new car and hadn't "had time to come to class." I then asked him why hadn't he at least purchased a book for class, and he replied that he didn't have time "to be purchasing no book for a class that he wasn't interested in." I left that alone and went on about my business.
ReplyDeleteThe world today is not what it used to be. I am thinking about colleges but the money is over whelming. We should not have to pay more in the recession. The latest fashions and new cars haver nothing to do with the tuition increase. I pray by the end of my senior year something good will happen.
ReplyDeleteAs you all speak of Ignorance and what these children in FAMU are and are not wearing think about this. Have you ever thought about how these children from these low-income homes probably had nothing? Their shoes could have came from the flea market instead of the mall? Their jeans were probably from their older brother or sister and their shirt was their cousins? Growing up when you could have something, you made sure you had it when you got grown, right? This is what they are doing. Eventually they learn that they cannot go around spending three to four hundred dollars on a single pair of shoes, or twenty on a pair of socks. This is something they have to learn on their own, and your negativity will not change it. I bet that each one of you who are saying this are the ones who are actually doing this. And for the tuition rates going up, the professors need raises, and if there is no money for them to get a raise on in the FAMU account, then they loose that teacher to another school that is offering more money. FAMU throws parties and concerts, that costs money. Some students are homeless or were wards of the state, which FAMU has to pay for, they don't have the money for it, so who ends up paying for it? The student. Everyone in the state of Florida pays for the buses, not just the students. They pay for them with the taxes that they have to pay every paycheck, every year, every time they go to the store. So what these students want to keep up with the Jones'. Let them. Don't worry about them, worry about how you are going to pay for school, worry about how you are going to pay for rent and utilities. Stop having your head stuck up your a$$ and get a roommate. Don't live in the same apartments as the rich kids, knowing that your going to have to work your butts off for three weeks to pay one electric bill. If you have to live in a run-down apartment on the bad side of town, then so be it. If you have to have three or four roommates, then so be it. Don't complain about what others are doing, when you aren't being true to yourselves either. As soon as we, as Black Americans, realize this, the better off that we will be. We don't know their circumstances, we don't know what they went through growing up to get where they are right now. The point is at least they are going to school, to further their education. At least they are doing that. Many African-Americans out there are just laying on their back, popping out babies, and aren't even trying. So before you go and put a label on them, put a label on yourselves.
ReplyDelete7:37 is right and those comments about students buying stuff with their $$ is very biased because not all students arre doing that and I bet some are living check to check and barley are getting by so the increase will not help them
ReplyDelete