I am the second person in my family to be attending college in America, in New-York as well. I had the opportunity a year after my high school graduation to get admitted into The Borough of Manhattan Community College to study Business Management. It was a new world for me, I took my two very first semesters at the end of 2014 Fall semester, and into the start of 2015 Fall semester. I had to failed 5 out of 8 classes horribly. My advisor, or what I could call my advisor at the time had poorly given me class that were much more difficult to manage as a freshmen and also told me to take five of those hard courses to improve my chance of graduating on time. I did, but I did not do well at all, and as a student who did not easily give in and accept failure, it was hard to see those failing grades, I had to take those classes over and I was no longer a fan of getting advised for my class. I learned from another student how to access my Degreeworks that shows us our course requirements and I figured out what I could handle and what I couldn’t, but I had to take a year off of school immediately after my second semester, because it had turned out that my financial aid had only paid for half of my tuition because of a missing New-York resident document that I had not been notified that I needed and I had a debt of two thousand plus dollars to pay off. For the next year I took my time to pay it off as I got a job that helped me out, at the time the pay was 7.50 an hour, and every second week of a month that paycheck went to the debt collectors who had called me every two weeks a month religiously for a whole year. He was quite nice, but it was a sad time for me as I could not continue my education.

I finally managed to return to school for the fall of 2016 and passed every class with flying colors, during the worst black Friday ever. I hadn’t taken advice on time or early after my first horrible experience with them, I had waited until the day before school each semester up until 2018 when my professors from my own degree could finally advise me. It went over much better and I took a light workload of three to two classes since I kept working and could not commit to being full time anymore, the price of living was defeating me and I was quite the hard worker so I juggled work and school while finally having the burden of paying for school off my back as I then received full Financial aid. I was thankful that I never took out a loan towards college, but it was tempting.

For me, this degree means that I was strong enough, determined enough and driven enough to push myself no matter the hardships and costly charges and rapid worry that swam through me on a daily basis and finally made it to the finish line. I want to show that I wouldn’t give up, that this degree for me will be an achievement that I worked my hardest for and would help me get somewhere better even though I’m not yet certain as to where yet. My struggles have definitely put off my graduation three years longer than it had to, and the pandemic coming into the picture also pushed it back another semester, but I truly do intent to fight until I can hold my degree in my hand. I would not disappoint my family or myself, I worked too hard for this.

My name is Shaneya and I’m from the Bronx. I am currently a Senior triple majoring in Criminology, Political Science & Africana Studies. In my free time I love to do things like dance, read and listen to music. When I decided to go to SUNY Cortland, I honestly wanted to go because they had my majors and I liked the campus and the tuition was somewhat in the price range. My plans for after college would be to go to grad school for criminal justice and after go to a PhD program.

I’ve paid for school through a mixture of student loans and scholarships and out of pocket money. Rent was paid by refund checks and food is paid with food stamps and cabs for transportation. It was hard before I got scholarships; I had to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket. I currently have a work study with the professional studies building on campus as a clerk, but am only offered 10 hours a week. As the Pandemic hit, it was especially hard because work slowed down a lot of ways to make an income.

I am a sophomore at Queensborough Community College majoring in sociology. I am graduating after the summer semester 2021 and have applied to Hunter College – Silberman School of Social Work. I want to be a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker). I am 31 years old, and I was not able to go to College after graduating high school in 2007. I was one of the many students who was undocumented and was not able to afford going to college. I was not able to get any aid to pursue an education after High school, and it was also very difficult because I had to also work to support my family. I was the eldest of 3 and came to The United States when I was 9.

In 2012 when President Obama passed the Dreamer’s Act. I filed for D.A.C.A and a year later in 2013 I was able to work in the country legally and support my family with a decent paying job. Even after receiving D.A.C.A I was not able to go to school. Because D.A.C.A does not aid students with any financial support. I just had to keep working to support my family because even though I received D.A.C.A my parents did not. So, the responsibility lied heavily on me.

I met my husband in 2013 and we dated for 5 years, before getting married in 2018. He is an American citizen, and I got my Green Card a year after we got married. I applied to Queensborough Community College on my 30-birthday rewarding myself with progressing my education, trying to achieve my goals. I thought it would be easier now paying for school and I would qualify for getting financial aid but that was definitely not the case. I applied for FAFSA and was denied because now together my husband and I made over the threshold amount to receive financial aid. At this time, I was still working trying to support my family.

Soon after in 2020 the pandemic hit, I lost my job. My husband and I had some savings which are getting used to pay for school and textbooks. FAFSA still will not approve me for any aid, since they use taxes from years prior to see if you qualify. I have made numerous attempts to apply to the Excelsior Scholarship, TAP and PELL for assistance but got denied yet again. My husband works, and I go to school. It has been really tough, but we make it work. We do not have any children; I am an excellent student and have been on the dean’s list since I started college. I was not even aware of being on the Dean’s list, till I saw my transcript. I then proceeded to ask my advisor if that shows for anything, and his answer was “Unfortunately, that doesn’t do much but congratulations”.
Fortunately, I am not below the poverty line but living in New York and paying high prices for everything means paying for college has not gotten any easier. It has been a really long journey for me to achieve my goals. We need a fully funded CUNY because there are students like me who are still stuck in limbo. First, I was undocumented I couldn’t afford tuition because of no tuition assistance and I had to take care of my family, then I was approved for D.A.C.A still couldn’t afford school because D.A.C.A does not make you eligible for any financial assistance, it just makes you legal so you can pay taxes and continue to work. When I received my green card, I was still left out with any financial support because the combined income was over the threshold.

There are millions of me out there, who would like to pursue their dreams but are not able to because of finances. Having a fully funded CUNY would help New Yorkers like me, finish school, get a decent job so we are not stuck in limbo when it comes to our future. I am fortunate enough that I have a partner who supports me and my dreams. But most do not, and a Fully funded CUNY would really help those who have struggled and are struggling to get a higher education to pursue their goals and dreams.

Leslie Spinosa is a first-year student at Pratt Institute. Although apprehensive about the remote learning option offered to her after committing to Pratt, Leslie felt somewhat obligated to accept the offer in fear of losing her presidential merit scholarship or loans in the future. Leslie was accepted into Pratt in Spring of 2020, right before COVID-19 had kicked into high gear. Given her family’s financial security at the time, she felt confident in committing to the institute with reliance on her presidential merit scholarship, student loans, and federal work study allotment. However, that security was compromised in the wake of COVID-19, as her father was out of work as a car dealer for months. Mr. Spinosa applied for a pell grant to provide his family some relief, however it never followed through. Now, he is back at his job, however business is slow and school has become harder to pay for as a result. Leslie has taken on a job of her own to help out, however, with the especially chaotic schedule of online school, she has not been able to take on enough work hours to generate a significant income. Not being able to work on campus to acquire her federal work study money has been a major loss. Additionally, Leslie’s family income was higher at the time of applying for the FAFSA, resulting in a lower grant which, in light of her current financial situation, has left her to rely heavily on loans. Further, Leslie has dealt with her fair share of basic struggles with the new remote learning system. She often finds it difficult to count on consistent communication with her professors, and has had a particularly hard time getting her questions answered by her financial aid advisor, leaving her in the dark about where she stands with the school. Despite all of this, Leslie has worked exceptionally hard to make it through the semester thus far, and will continue to push forward through these trying circumstances. Leslie sees the great value and necessity in acquiring her college degree, and hopes Pratt will provide her with the technical skills and connections to launch her post-graduate career.

My name is Cynthia Leon. I am currently in the first semester of my fourth year here at the City College of New York. I am a Biology and Psychology major on the pre-med track. When I first got into college, I met up with an advisor who told me that my major choices would take more than four years to complete. When I heard this, I was alarmed since this meant that an extra year would involve payment on my part (excluding financial aid). Also, if I wanted to abridge the time towards graduation, I would have to pay out of pocket for winter and summer courses. On top of this, I had to pay for transportation, meals, and materials needed for my courses. Fortunately, I was able to receive financial help from the Ellen Knowles Harcourt Scholarship. The founders of the Harcourt Scholarship assured me that I can rely on them when I had outstanding balances from the Bursar that needed to be paid off or to cover the cost of books. Additionally, they would cover the cost of my transportation and any other college-related expenses. The financial support I received, as well as the moral support, relieved me from the stress and burden of my financial plight.

A lot of people fail to consider how financial aid needs to cover more than just tuition. The living expenses associated with getting a college education quickly add up and end up costing students thousands of dollars on necessities — mandatory expenses that not everyone can afford. Even though I was lucky enough to get financial assistance to afford my tuition, like many other students, I’m left responsible for hundreds of dollars in books and transportation each semester as well as thousands of dollars for housing. 

I lived on campus at City College when COVID-19 hit; we were told we would receive partial refunds for leaving our leases early but we only received this money six months later. Additionally, many students had already signed lease agreements for the Fall 2020 semester, and the only financial solution for them was to pay $1000 to terminate that lease or be held responsible for the full $12-18 thousand dollars. Most students pay for dorming with their finances and the refunds could have had a significant impact on students who lost income due to the pandemic. In a twisted way, COVID-19 has made college more affordable for me by reducing the cost of transportation to campus and allowing me to live with my parents instead of paying for housing. It’s time politicians in Albany acknowledge the external costs of higher education.

Eric Jing Guo has been a student for many many years. He has had to take out loans to be able to pay for his education since he didn’t receive any assistance from the state. Like many students, he  is worried about paying back his looming student debt. 

But Eric is a dedicated student and has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is today, as a graduate student, a teacher’s assistant, and a research assistant in his field of study, which is public/non-profit management, as well as market computer discipline science. Eric hopes to use the knowledge he has gained through his college experience to help small businesses promote themselves and grow their markets. He feels that in today’s world, a college education is important to succeed. 

The pandemic has hit everyone, but thankfully Eric was at the very end of his degree, and since he is taking his final class to graduate he said it has not been too much of a burden on him, however, he and his cousin have both lost income due to these trying circumstances. But one thing Eric has noticed is just how much the pandemic affects the class dynamic. It comes as no surprise that overall communication between teachers and students has become more difficult, as sending an email doesn’t exactly lend for the best back and forth sort of discussion that is necessary for fostering education. 

Eric doesn’t have too much more to go before he accomplishes his goal and is thankful for all the individual support he has received from his professors and peers over his time being a student in America. 

I attend The Borough of Manhattan Community College. I was paying for college through financial aid and the College Discovery program. I wasn’t one of the smartest or most focused students, so it has been challenging because I was required to keep up a certain GPA to keep my financial aid.  

I started my years at BMCC as an Early Childhood Education major, but I was in the process of changing my major to go into social work. I have loans, I’m a little worried. I have been in BMCC for some time now and I fear that my financial aid will be finished before I complete my courses. And then even more after that.  Financial aid has been very helpful with paying for my classes, but towards the end of every semester, it was hard to buy food because I was in the school for the whole day and also having to pay for my train and bus rides to and from class every single day was hard

At the beginning of my 2019 semester, I got a job and it was helping me a little bit, but for me to get a decent paycheck, I would have to work long hours which distracted me from being able to focus on my school work which has further delayed my education. I do not personally pay for rent, my mother does, and I felt bad that she had to do it all on her own, so I was trying tirelessly for about 2 years to look for a job to help support her a little bit on top of paying for food and transportation.

Getting a degree for me would mean everything. Every day I have people asking me, “Are you in school?”, “When are you finishing school?” etc. I’m just tired of delaying the process. It would also mean a lot to my mom. I would be the first one in my family to go and to complete college. I want to give my mom a better life and myself as well and it would give me a chance to make a difference in the world. 

We need to fund Higher Education because of services like ASAP. ASAP has helped me in my academic years at BMCC. I’m grateful to have someone who helps me stay on track. ASAP has helped me buy my textbooks and has even supplied me with a MetroCard. Not only was ASAP there for me when times were tough, but they were also there to make sure I had everything I needed to go forward in my academic year. We all know how stressful college can be so it’s nice to get reminders just in case you forget an upcoming application you might have to do for college or something else.

The thing I liked with ASAP was that you’ll have not one but two meetings with a personal advisor to whom you will talk about how you’re doing at the moment with classes, textbooks, etc. And depending on the answer the ASAP advisor will make things happen so you could push forward during your semester. If you are not doing well the advisor might suggest and arrange a tutor, or if you still haven’t got all your textbooks they’ll make it happen.

If ASAP gets defunded lots of people would not have access to the resources they need for school. I would have to compete with other students to make sure I get advisor appointments and schedule classes. I would also be by myself throughout the education process, and not have an advisor to help me stay on track towards graduating.

I am studying Business Administration at Queensborough Community College, and I want to pursue accounting in the future. This is my second year, and I am graduating in Fall 2020. I’m currently in ASAP and they help cover some expenses and books, but I don’t receive any financial aid and pay out of pocket for tuition during the summer or winter sessions. Because of COVID-19 I haven’t been able to work for a month, but I still have to pay off my bills and help support my family. 

I am an immigrant. The only way I can pay for this college is by working and working too much. I have to deal with my travel expenses, meals, and then my tuition or textbook expenses. I work three jobs to get myself going and also help my family financially too as we are here to make our future. A fully funded CUNY would take a big load of stress off of me and my family, and would especially help immigrant families who are trying to save as much as they can to have a secure and better future. 

Being QCC’s Student Government President I think if people didn’t have to worry about paying for college, they could have more time to study or get involved with campus life and opportunities, rather than running to work right after class.