I’m student here at City College New York and I think I can benefit from a free CUNY and more importantly other students can benefit from a free CUNY because the cost of going to university here, while CUNY is an affordable university, it is still pretty expensive for some, especially low income families. In my case I still have to take out student loans, in the 10,000s attending here, and even right now I still have to take a part time job just to pay for some of the expenses like the transport and travel with my metrocard and overall I think a free CUNY builds an important part of our society which is the next generation coming up and learning in such a prestigious university that boosts communities.

Hi, my name is Abigail Bang. I decided to go to SUNY Cortland because I was recruited for gymnastics. Also, it has a very good sports management program and they’re one of the tops in the nation. I am currently studying sport management with a concentration of facility and event management. My plans for the future are to be a personal trainer and a gymnastics coach on the side for higher level athletes. My parents are paying for the first year of school and I am paying for the rest through student loans. I have to pay for gas, food, and my rent comes out of my savings. I do have to work to cover expenses, and what I do is Instacart, personal training, and I work at a club gymnastics center in Syracuse. I work roughly 15 hours a week and three jobs total. College during a global pandemic was very mentally challenging because all of my classes were online while I was also working a full time job.  Getting a college degree to me means that I am much more likely to get a job in the sports industry because people look for college degrees. I am kind of worried about paying back student loans. I do not receive financial aid. Based off of Cortland, I’ve had a very good experience with my professors because they care about us, other professors have challenged me a lot because they don’t care as much, especially after covid was over. 

I am a junior at SUNY Purchase studying Literature. I hope to go to law school afterwards. My family feels pretty unstable financially, and college is both a hope and a hurdle. I moved back to New York from Texas in 2021 and I am having trouble with my residency and it is affecting my financial aid; I feel the system is too difficult to navigate by myself. Although my parents support me by helping me commute to my university and paying for my education after aid, it is becoming difficult. I have a part-time job on campus but I am looking for another job on campus. SUNY Purchase is a fantastic university and while it was one of my top schools, one of the major reasons it ranked so high was because I could commute there. With the financial aid packages, on-campus housing was simply not an option for me. I wish there were more virtual options for classes since I have to commute from pretty far and more options for classes, since few classes for my degree are actually offered in a semester. A lot of the offered classes also overlap in their timing, so I can only pick one among many classes I would have liked to take and would help fulfill my degree requirements. I have come to love many things about college here. 

I am a full time student at SUNY Cortland. I am a senior majoring in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology and a minor in Spanish. I am from the East side Bronx, NY. I come from a single-parent family of 4. When applying for college, I was accepted in different schools and I had different options. However, I was only able to apply to SUNY or CUNY schools because that was all my mom was able to afford and barely. I always wanted to go away for college and one day my high school took us on a school trip to come visit SUNY Cortland and ever since then I started seeing it as an option. I fell in love with the Student Life Center and the peaceful environment at SUNY 

Cortland so I decided to commit it to the school. I pay for tuition through the help of financial aid and student loans. Most of my tuition is paid through financial aid, which is helpful, but it is still not enough. Being able to pay my student loans is something that concerns me the most. I used to have two jobs. During the summer and winter breaks, I work almost every day to help pay for my personal expenses, and I also have a part-time job at school, but it’s not nearly enough to save for my student loans. My mom tries her best to help but there is so much she can do as a caregiver of a single family. I believe college should be free for low income families. Since attending college is almost required in today’s culture in order to secure a well-paying career, I don’t think it’s fair that tuition is so expensive. Students must also pay for their textbooks each semester in addition to tuition. I firmly believe that textbooks should be covered by tuition even if they may cost several hundred dollars. 

My family and I experienced some difficulty during the epidemic. My mother sadly lost her job during COVID-19. The amount of government assistance we received to support our family of four was not enough. It was challenging for a while, and there was even a point when I believed I would have to return home to finish my education. I believed that I would never be able to go to school since money was so tight. I used the majority of my funds to assist my mother with her bill-paying. Nevertheless, I was able to get a job online and assist my mother for the rest of the year. 

Having a college degree is very important for me because it won’t only allow me to have better paying jobs, but it would also allow me to help my family get out of poverty. One of my biggest concerns is having to pay student loans for the rest of my life. I am hoping that one day everyone is able to attend college without having to worry about money.

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 focused students, so it has been challenging due to the fact that I was required to keep up a certain GPA in order 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. Yes, 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 four years. 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 mostly the whole day and also having to pay for my train and bus rides to and from class every single day was hard

In 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, but 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. Everyday 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 not just my mom a better life, but myself as well and it would give me a chance to make a difference in the world.

I attended The Borough of Manhattan Community College and for me it was not that difficult but it was challenging.I was not eligible for financial aid because my parents were both working, so I was not at all given any rewards from them. It was because my parents had worked for thirty plus years, which caused me to not be eligible for financial aid so we had to pay out of pocket for my school. Around that time my family had moved into a private home. It was then after that that every year would be a little harder, we had to do some renovations, so the majority of the money that my parents made had to go into fixing the house. It took me about 4 years to finish at BMCC because I had to be a part-time student and get a job because I did not want to overwhelm myself with school and so that my parents didn’t have to spend so much money on me and books and also the house. It would have been too much.

By the end of my last 2 years I started to work as an Usher at the school, so I was able to pay for classes for myself and help around the house whenever I needed. Since I’m living with my parents, they didn’t charge me for rent but if they needed money for the basics like food or any other essentials, they’d ask me or my brother. I worked about thirty hours a week. Yeah, it got a little stressful in the end, but it wasn’t as bad compared to other students who had to take out loans, I thankfully had no loans to pay back.

At BMCC I was studying Small Business Entrepreneurship. I would like to own a photography company and as an art major it’s more for the experience and the networking, so studying or getting a degree means getting the experience that not everyone would get by doing it on your own. Going to college helps you get your foot out the door, but you have to push yourself to make the next step.

I am a dual major in Children and Youth Studies and Political Science. I hope to be an advocate and fight for matters that are important to me. I have decided to pursue Children and Youth Studies because there are many children in Bangladesh, my native country that continue to suffer with little to no voice. I am fortunate enough to come to the United States and pursue education. But many children around the world are not as lucky. I hope to make a change in how children are viewed and treated in society. Thus, I decided to major in Political Science also, because in order to make a change I need to have the power to influence or be part of policymaking such as through activism. 

I receive Pell, TAP, and I also work to put myself through school. The financial aid awards covered my higher education costs like tuition, textbooks. But it definitely does not cover my food, rent, and other living expenses. I work to cover my living expenses such as food and transportation. I have one job and I work 20 hours a week. It is hard to pay for commuting while paying tuition so I have to work. I would like to see the state support students with the other costs associated with college that people often forget about. 

I am majoring in Sociology and pursuing a certificate in Public Policy at Hunter College. This is my last semester. I just found out that I got accepted into graduate school in Spain where I will be getting a Masters in Education. I plan on being a teacher for at least the next few years after that. I am also considering going to law school eventually, but that would be many years from now. The reason that I chose this program is because if I work at a school, my tuition fees get waived. I wish I could say the same for my time at Hunter. I am paying for my education at Hunter College with a few different merit scholarships, both private and through my program at Hunter, without which I would not be able to attend school or I would have to make the difficult decision to take out a massive loan. The rest is covered with a combination of mine and my mother’s savings. To be able to be in the position to do this is an immense privilege that I do not take lightly. Because I am from New Jersey I do not qualify for TAP, Pell, or the Excelsior Scholarship. In order to pay for textbooks, food, rent, and a MetroCard I have been working part-time every semester and full time during summer and winter breaks. I wish that I was able to qualify for these types of financial aid because it would take away the stress of a huge financial burden for me and my family. I would have more time to not worry about working and actually have moments for rest and passion projects. 

I talk to students all the time, and the biggest barriers to education that I hear every day are always finances – CUNY is an institution built for working-class people, but the rising cost of tuition is making it less and less accessible. Every semester more and more of my friends have to drop out because they can no longer afford the cost of attendance. We need a free and fully funded CUNY so that every student has the opportunity to determine their own destiny, regardless of their financial status. The ability to pursue education is a human right and must be regarded as such. I wish that the state saw CUNY for the potential it has to be an engine of equity for all students, as well as an investment in the future of our economy and society as a whole.

I’m a junior majoring in Sociology. My future plans include graduate school to become a clinical therapist. I value all the resources available to be able to gain the skills necessary to further my career.

I am able to attend college through financial aid, including TAP and a Pell grant. I’m a first generation student, so furthering my education is more of a community achievement than anything else. Although I receive financial aid I have sought part-time employment to aid with my many expenses i.e food, bills, clothes, etc. I was unable, however, due to my heavy class load of 5 classes per semester. This class load is essential in order to receive the TAP and Pell grants which cap after four years.

A fully funded CUNY is fundamental to not only the success of thousands of students but the economy as a whole.