By Anna Blanco
Jessica Malknecht knew that she would have to help herself in order to supplement her funding to attend the University of Colorado, so as a freshman she took on a job as a community assistant in Buckingham Residence Hall.
When that didn’t provide enough to meet her expenses, she took on the position of a peer mentor in Buckingham Hall.
That didn’t provide enough, so she added the position of a campus tour guide to the mix.
When even that still wasn’t enough, she began working as a videographer for the CU women’s varsity lacrosse team.
Malknecht had finally balanced her budget.
Higher education is a huge and rising expense, and the University of Colorado-Boulder is no exception. But at CU, income disparities can create a student body where some students float through with unlimited funds, yet others wonder how they will ever be able to afford CU. Fortunately for those students, the university is expanding its array of programs and resources to help students in financial need.
The cost to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder can range anywhere from approximately $28,000 (Colorado residents) to $51,000 (out-of-state) per year, coming to a total anywhere between approximately $112,000 and $204,000 for a four-year degree, according to the university website. Why the difference? Tuition for out-of-state students is nearly three times higher than Colorado resident tuition.
As the chart below indicates, CU’s in-state tuition has risen from $532 a year to $13,154 over the last 40 years. And out of state tuition has risen from $2,124 a year to $35,823. But it’s not just CU. College tuition has been rising 8 percent a year since 2003 all over the country. From 2003 to 2013, tuition prices rose almost 80 percent across the nation. That compares to the 27 percent inflation rate over those ten years, and even the 43 percent increase in medical care prices was dwarfed by tuition increases.
These amounts can be intimidating, but CU offers many resources to help students with their finances. In fact, out of the 5,799 incoming freshman in 2012, 40 percent were awarded some amount of financial aid. Out of the 24,041 total undergraduate students, 37 percent were awarded financial aid, according to the CU Office of Budget, Planning and Analysis.
A resource that remains unknown to most students is the CU Promise, a program that started a year ago. The CU Promise offers grants and work-study jobs to entirely cover the “student’s share” of tuition, fees, and book expenses. The student’s share is tuition minus the Colorado Opportunity Fund, which is a stipend the state pays to CU to cover part of every student’s education. The CU Promise is designated for Colorado students who are eligible for the federal Pell Grant and are attending school full-time. CU Promise recipients may receive this aid for up to 10 semesters (or until they have completed their degree) . Because recipients must first qualify for Pell grants, the CU Promise is reserved for students at the lowest income levels.
As helpful as The CU Promise is to those of low income, financial aid is also available for a broader range of students.
The CU Office of Financial Aid has several helpful features available on its website to help students. It includes a Net Price Calculator, which gives an estimate on your college cost based on your financial situation. Also included on this website is a video guide to help families fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the financial form that determines how much financial aid a student will receive.
Many financial aid opportunities are offered for low income students, but what about those in the middle class who aren’t financially struggling enough to receive a lot of aid, but still need help with their finances? CU Financial Aid Advisors Ofelia Morales and Susan Youtz have tips to offer for both middle and lower class students.
In order to help students save money, the advisors recommended that students:
- Enroll in more credit-hours per semester in order to minimize the time needed to finish an expensive degree.
- Only take on what they need to borrow, as opposed to the entire amount of loan being offered. Why go $60,000 into debt when you needed only $35,000?
Even when students feel they have little chance of receiving financial aid, Morales and Youtz advise, they should apply anyway. You could get lucky!
The advisors recommended that students:
- Apply early. The earlier you apply the more likely it is that money will still be available for the Financial Aid office to give out.
- Keep applying. It is common for freshmen to apply for many scholarships, but they don’t often continue to apply for scholarships after their freshman year.
Youtz also stressed the importance of finding work. Not only can it help you pay for your education, it also makes you look good to employers in the future. The sooner you get a job after graduation, the sooner you can start paying off all that student debt.
Malknecht knew this all along. In addition to her many jobs, she also received multiple scholarships. Now about to graduate in Broadcast News, she feels the hard work was worth it.
“It was a great experience,” she says of her CU education. “All the jobs I’ve had have prepared me for the real world.”