I am a sophomore studying digital design, I hope to get a job in animation. I pay for my tuition through financial aid. I am the first in my family to go to college and it’s a little stressful as I feel there’s a lot of pressure to be better than the people in my family as I’m a first generation. Some of my biggest financial costs have been paying for transportation, food and textbooks which is where I have to spend a lot of the money I earn working. I also have issues with our escalators and elevators often not working.

I am Maurysha Cuttino. I am a senior at Suny Cortland hoping to pursue my degree in Professional Writing. I am from Tully NY, and my Assembly Member is John Lemondes and my Senator is Rachel May. I chose a SUNY school for many reasons, mostly for cost and distance. 

Though SUNY schools are cheaper they are still a lot of money and put people in a lot of debt. I am a future step-parent, and do help take care of my significant other’s kids. I am always worrying about money problems from school and other costs. I even ran into an issue this semester involving a single class and the possibility I may have to come out of pocket for it. I want to obtain my degree in hopes to develop a better career for myself as well as live my dream. I wish schools were free for those with less money or no family help. I know I could do so much better within classes and school without having to worry about if I’ll have enough money for coal, or if I need to miss a day of class to work an extra shift.

Because of costs and financial concerns, I never got the true college experience that most have in movies. I never got the sports or club experience due to the fact I had to make a living. I work full time overnights in addition to being a student. I think people don’t realize that there is a lot of money going into attending school, such as gas, rent and other priorities. Even food is expensive and when you spend all day on campus without a meal plan since you need to figure out how to eat and maintain your health. People need help and it would be nice to have more of that help.     

I am in my third year at BMCC. I am graduating this semester and I am transferring to Brooklyn College to pursue a BA in Political Science. As of right now, I have financial aid to pay for the costs of college. I was nervous about this semester because I am a part time student and I didn’t know how I would pay for college without TAP. When TAP eligibility was expanded to part time students it really helped me. When I transfer to Brooklyn College, I will have to pay more for the cost of school because my financial aid won’t cover it all. I am currently working and when I transfer I will be a full time student and I am expecting a heavier workload. I will have to balance being a full time student while working 30 hours a week. Even now, as a part time student I feel like I have to pick between focusing on work to pay my expenses and focusing on school. If we had a New Deal 4 CUNY, I would be able to use the money that I am making at work for actual living expenses, not college. I wouldn’t have to work as many hours and I could focus on school. It is especially difficult now with inflation and the pandemic, because students are struggling with food, rent and education. This plays into mental health and stress. There are not many resources on campus to help with students’ mental health. My current advisors and counselors seem like they have too many students to care about me when I am in a meeting with them. 

I am a senior at BMCC and I am majoring in Business Management. I am planning on continuing my education at a four year college to get my bachelor’s degree. I live with my parents, but they can’t afford to pay for my college expenses. So I have to take out loans in order to pay for my education. I take out subsidized loans through FASFA. It covers all of my school expenses but it doesn’t cover my textbooks, transportation, or food. Also, I have to help support my family, so I have to work two jobs to afford other expenses. This makes it difficult for me to concentrate on my education. In order to graduate I needed to take a certain class that wasn’t offered my last semester. This forced me to take out more loans because I had to go to school for an extra semester. I am really worried about paying these loans back in the future. I wish they would make college free for everyone, so I wouldn’t have to be so overwhelmed about paying for my education.

I am a graduate student at Hunter College majoring in Computer Science. During my undergraduate and masters, I received no assistance paying for tuition. This is extremely difficult when taking summer classes where 2 courses alone can cost up to $3000. I have not taken out any loans yet as I work and my parents pay out of pocket but I might have to for the remaining of my masters. Increased CUNY funding and more financial support for graduate students would help alleviate the financial burden I am facing.

I am a senior at Hunter College. I pay for school through financial aid but sometimes it does not cover my full expenses. To help cover them, I work a part-time job. I do not receive TAP but I wish the amount of paperwork for TAP was not so stressful. It takes a long time to complete the form and the requirements to quality are very narrow. My biggest challenges in college have been waiting for the elevators and trying to schedule appointments with my advisors. The elevators take an extremely long time to come and when they do come, they are typically crowded. In addition to this stress, navigating the world of advisors was also challenging. To get in touch with advisors, it takes about 3 weeks. By increasing CUNY funding, we would be able to hire more advisors who can respond quicker.

I am a sophomore at Queens College, majoring in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. After college, I would like to be an elementary school teacher in New York City or another part of the state. I am involved in the community as I volunteer to feed the homeless and tutor children in an afterschool program. 

Not too long ago, I was in a darker place, however. During the pandemic I transferred from the Von College of Aeronautics and Technology. Many professors at this institution assume that incoming freshmen are proficient in math to a certain level, regardless of their educational background. This model didn’t work for me, as I struggled with math in high school. As a result, I had a nervous breakdown when faced with tough physics and math classes in college.  I experienced intense anxiety and insomnia, and couldn’t see an end in sight. Eventually I decided to transfer to Queens College. This entailed hefty paperwork and planning.  I knew this was the right decision for me, but it was extremely difficult to put myself together while breaking apart every day from mental health issues. 

At this time, I also felt restricted by my parents and by circumstance.  As a first generation college student, it is hard for my parents to understand what I go through in college. They are also cautious about my safety, which made it hard for me to make friends and explore the city during high school.  My parents are paying out of pocket for my college education, which I am grateful for. At the same time, it comes with a tradeoff of sacrificing my freedom for my education. 

Upon transferring to Queens College, things started to look a bit brighter. I immediately met with my advisor at QC, who is a friendly and warm individual. She guided me to the best courses for me and in the right sequence. I also applied for a job at a local after school tutoring program at this time. Now I serve as a counselor and tutor for middle school students. I love my job and it is the driving force that keeps me focused on my schoolwork. My job also gives me more financial independence from my parents, so that I can cover some of my expenses. With my earnings, I ride public transportation around the city. Riding buses and the subway makes me feel like I have more freedom.  At QC my job, my advisor, and my major have made a world of difference in my life. 

Although my life has turned around over the past year or so, the public higher education system still needs improvement. For instance, institutions should offer more mental health and tutoring services for students struggling with courses and all students should have access to helpful advisors. We need more funding for higher education to bring these essential services to students.

I am a first year student at Nassau Community College. Currently, I am studying Liberal Arts, but my goal is to switch to IT. I am paying for school both with unsubsidized loans and out of pocket. However, I am an out-of-state student, so the tuition is double for me. My mom and I are splitting the remaining balance after loans half and half. At first, she was paying it all, but then I got a job and offered to help out.

Paying for school is far more expensive than I thought, and it’s a challenge working and going to school at the same time. Pretty much all the money I’m making is being dedicated to school. That’s why I try to make sure I’m doing well in school; because the money that my mother and I are spending would go to waste if I don’t.

I am a full time student and work almost full time – about 30 hours a week. It takes a lot of discipline and focus to make sure I can still do well in school while balancing all the hours at work. When I first started working, I thought I would only be working 20 hours a week, but I needed to increase my hours to help pay for school. If I had the option, I would only work 20 hours, so that I could spend my time doing readings for class and getting a really good handle on the material. Balancing school, work, sleep, and personal time is definitely not easy, but with a lot of dedication and determination, it’s manageable.

Being at a commuter school in a suburban area makes transportation hard too. Depending on the day of the week, I either borrow my cousin’s car, someone drops me off at school, or I get an Uber. However, I uber more than anything else. I usually spend about $60 a week on Ubers, but the real money issue is tuition.