With the tuition increase of 12 percent, students find themselves on a tighter budget and receiving numerous phone calls from stressed parents.
The allocation the University received from the state this year was significantly less than last year, which caused the increase of tuition.
Last year, in-state tuition was $5,250 and out-of-state tuition was $15,750, not including student fees.
This year, the increase has caused in-state tuition to go up to $5,880 and out-of-state to $17,640, without student fees, according to the executive director of Student Financial Services, Michael Reynolds.
“(The University) tries to come up with the least amount of increase as possible to keep the level of service and quality as it is on campus,” Reynolds said. “They don’t intentionally raise tuition, it’s a long process.”
Catherine DeHart, a sophomore in marketing, said because she is from South Carolina, the tuition increase has affected her.
“It put another burden on my family because out-of-state tuition is already high enough, adding more to it doesn’t help,” DeHart said.
Reynolds said the University tries to do the minimum increase possible to get by and keep all things normal.
“Anytime there is an increase, it will put a hardship on the student’s family,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds explained the applications for financial aid have not increased, and the number of applicants still remains at about 60 percent of the Auburn students. However, the use of alternative loans, or private loans, has increased.
Private loans are loans students can use once they have borrowed all the federal loans they can borrow.
“Alternative loans should be the last option,” Reynolds said.
DeHart said she has less allowance from her parents this year and more phone calls from her dad telling her to be frugal with her spending money.
“I walk to campus and plan on doing less road trips to save gas money,” DeHart said.
If a student does not qualify for financial aid and cannot get a scholarship, Reynolds recommends they get money through work study programs.
Reynolds said, many students have one or two jobs to help pay for their tuition at Auburn.
“Another great way to help save up for college are pre-paid college tuition plans,” Reynolds said.
A pre-paid tuition plan is a contract that will pay what tuition is, regardless if there is a tuition increase.
Therefore, if tuition increases while a student is enrolled in classes, the contract states the full tuition will still be paid.
With the economy dipping low, students hope the tuition will not increase again during their time at Auburn.
“I just hope tuition doesn’t go up again while I’m here,” DeHart said.
