I am currently part of the Macaulay Honors Program where I am a sophomore double majoring in Psychology and Political Science. In the future I plan on pursuing my master’s degree in criminal psychology. I also receive full TAP and Pell grants which pay for my college career. If it would not be for these grants, I would have to take out various student loans to be able to afford college.

My biggest challenge as a CUNY student receiving TAP and Pell is taking fifteen credits a semester to graduate on time without these grants running out.  As far as my other expenses go such as food, textbooks, and transportation my parents help me out. There needs to be a fully funded CUNY. In today’s economy one can not get a decent paying job without a diploma, therefore making it a necessity and not a commodity. Also, at the most basic level education should be accessible to all.

I am currently a senior majoring in Applied Mathematics, and after graduation I plan on pursuing a career in Quantitative Sociology. It is my eighth year of college due to mental and physical issues that have arisen and slowed down my ability to graduate within four years. The only reason why I was able to afford stretching out my years in CUNY was due to the fact that my parents have payed for my tuition over the years.

My parents, as well as grandparents, are CUNY alumni — they attended CUNY for free. This gave them the opportunity to pursue higher education being that they were coming from a low economic bracket. CUNY was a tool that gave them access to the professional class. This allowed me to go to college without needing financial aid. I have taken advantage of CUNY’s mental health services. I was very active in the social anxiety support group on campus where I really felt the extent of the budget deficit. The group did not have enough time to allow every student to contribute. This may have been due to a budget cut that did not provide enough staff to compensate for the large demand from students. So in order to have smaller groups they cut down the time of each group session.

I am currently a freshman majoring  in political science and minoring in Urban Studies. After graduation, I plan on going to law school.  I pay for tuition through TAP and Pell Grants, and my parents assist me with the costs of textbooks. TAP only covers four years of financial aid, so I must take fifteen credits per semester to graduate on time. If TAP would cover summer and winter courses then it would lighten my load over the fall and spring semesters. Along with being a full time college student, I also work part time to financially assist my family.  It is nearly impossible to make college my first priority when I feel overwhelmed with the overload of credits and working.

CUNY and SUNY should be fully funded, so that specifically my two siblings will not have to feel pressured to work in order to afford college. In terms of my college experience, CUNY needs to be better funded. I had difficulty registering for a calculus class which I needed to fulfill a core requirement.

Additionally, finding an academic adviser who will be able to give me accurate advice is very hard. At the beginning of my Freshman year, I had a question regarding financial aid. One adviser gave me inaccurate advice which almost caused me to lose my financial aid due to the fact, that there are not enough advisers for the amount of students. She had to rush when giving me advice in order to make time for the long line of students waiting to be advised. This budget deficit at CUNY could have had detrimental effects on my college career.

I am currently benefiting tremendously from my Work Study position in the Queens College office of Veteran Affairs. I receive a tax free stipend as long as I am enrolled as a full time student. I chose recently to be in school full time rather than work as a porter.

Either way, financially I would be struggling. I want to improve and enjoy my life but more importantly, provide the same opportunity for my two children. Gabriel is 13 and Liam is 9. If I did not have Work Study, expenses would be overwhelming and I would be on the street. My current major expenses are feeding my kids and paying rent. At the end of the month, I just make ends meet I am grateful for this on campus job.

I’m currently a senior attending Queens College full-time. I’m currently working toward my second degree on the pre-law track. My first degree was from Hofstra University in Biology.  I work and study very hard to maintain my good grades and recently it’s becoming more and more difficult.

Because I don’t receive any financial aid, I have to work to pay my tuition out of pocket. I work 60+ hours every week as a medical technician to be able to pay my tuition and purchase necessary textbooks for classes that cost anywhere from $500-$1,000. If the state removes the tuition freeze and encourages CUNY to increase tuition to cover costs, instead of providing adequate state funding, it will only make it more difficult for me to pay for my education. I do not want another tuition hike, and am looking forward to the day when CUNY is once again affordable.

I come from a middle class background in a family of 9 so I never expected to get any financial assistance from my parents. I also never expected to receive financial aid from the government because of my father’s income. I knew college would mean debt and I’ve accepted that. However, I don’t think it’s something that I should have had to accept or that future generations should accept. I work two part time jobs along with an 18-credit schedule and an internship. I am also a part of a resident planning committee for my dorms.

I don’t regret all the hard work I do because I know it’s making me a better person every day.  But, I do not like that on top of all that I do, I still have to worry about finding several thousands of dollars in order to continue making contributions to my college and the surrounding community. I have wanted to attend college since I was a little kid, in my mind it represented the first step towards achieving the American dream. However as time went on and I woke up to the reality of America’s true nature, I have come to terms with the fact that I’m going to have to work as hard as I physically and mentally can just to achieve stability.  My legislators owe it not only me but to the honor of their office to make sure the financial burden of college becomes a thing of the past.

For this year, my family and I paid about $1,684 out of pocket and the rest was covered by loans which are about $20,000-$21,000 for the 2016-2017 school year.  I haven’t gotten much financial aid so I’ve had to take out private loans to cover the rest.  My parents cover the cost of textbooks and my grandpa sends me $100 each month to help with transit and food.  After I graduate I’ll probably be in debt for many years, sadly.

I don’t have a job because I wanted to adjust to college for my freshman year.  But some people have to balance a job and classes. I feel sorry for their mental health because they seem to struggle at times.  Getting a college degree, to me, is such a huge accomplishment. I think it’s important to be able to further your education beyond high school.  I’m currently undecided, but I’m looking forward to finding a major that fits me perfectly and having a career that I’ll enjoy.  The financial burden of college is constantly on my mind. It’s going to be a huge financial burden for me for years and years, and with an uncertain job market in the future, who knows what will happen.

College is costly to me. I pay through loans and out of my pocket.  The cost makes it definitely hard to enjoy college since I need the help of loans to pay for it. I work about 15 hours a week throughout the school year in an attempt to lower the cost of college.  I’m the first from my family to get a degree. I am from a Caribbean island, and there, it’s a big deal to get a degree.  I’m studying nutrition and exercise sciences at the moment but not sure what’s in store after college.  I try not to think about the stress that paying for college and maintaining my grades puts on me. If I do, it makes me very sad and even frustrated with the way the system works here in America.  Financial aid has been a huge help, even though it never covers everything (academic, housing, books, meals).