Students,
parents strain to meet education costs
Wednesday, September 29, 2004 • By NICK
FALSONE and PRECIOUS PETTY • The Express-Times
People who didn't know better might have pegged Matthew
Finley as an extroverted overachiever while he was a student
at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
The former Bath resident joined every student advisory
committee his hectic schedule could bear. The groups
complemented his curriculum and served as good resume
builders.
More importantly, all of them provided free meals for
participants.
The school served lunch or dinner at the groups'
meetings and "that usually worked out to two meals a week,"
says Finley, who spent much of his time at Thomas Jefferson
close to broke.
He managed to survive on no more than $700 a month. The
bulk of that money paid rent on an off-campus apartment he
shared with another student.
Even with the coupons his mom mailed from home, there
was little left over for groceries, so Finley got creative
and started trading his free time for free food.
His strategy of necessity is the norm for many college
students who live in a world where eating sometimes plays
second fiddle to paying the tuition bill.
It's a world where covering the cost of higher education
has become increasingly difficult for students and their
parents.
A recent College Board report on tuition trends shows
that over a 10-year period ending in 2003-04, the average
tuition and fees at four-year public institutions rose 47
percent. Tuition and fees at four-year private institutions
went up 42 percent in the same period.
Thomas Jefferson charged Finley just under $20,000 per
year for tuition alone. That's comparable to the tuition at
some private schools in the Lehigh Valley and northwest New
Jersey, such as Centenary College in Hackettstown. Others
such as Lafayette College in Easton and Lehigh University in
Bethlehem charge much more; a year's tuition at both
Northampton County schools hovers around $29,000.
The price shoots up when housing, student activity and
technology fees, books and other expenses are added in.
Yet students and their parents manage.
There are small cost-saving measures -- taking advantage
of a free meal, for example -- but it's the larger ones that
have allowed almost every determined and qualified teenager
in the nation an opportunity to get a college
education.
The majority of students receive some form of financial
aid. Scholarships aren't just for exceptional athletes and
A-plus students anymore, and most are eligible for
government loans. Money's available for almost every type of
student.
Many cash-strapped families have found solace in the
community college system and four-year state schools in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which typically offer residents
lower tuition rates than private schools.
Going to community college and then transferring to a
four-year school to complete a degree program has become
commonplace in recent years, and community colleges are
seeing a boom in enrollment as a result. Warren County
Community College and Northampton Community College are both
poised for significant enrollment increases this year.
Four-year schools are picking up business, too. Both
private and public four-year institutions have also seen
increases in enrollment in recent years.
One of the factors has been a changing job market, says
Travis Reindl, director of state policy analysis for the
American Association of State Colleges and
Universities.
"The message that you really need a college education in
this economy is starting to sink in," he says.
In need of more than a
bachelor's degree
Finley knew in his junior year at Northampton Area High
School that he wanted to study biotechnology in college. At
a college fair, Thomas Jefferson struck him as the place to
go.
To succeed in the field, he believed he needed more than
a bachelor's degree. His expectation was to remain in
college well into his 20s in order to obtain a doctorate.
That would likely mean a six-figure investment. But Finley,
like most people, had financial limitations.
Four years later, he's completed his education at Thomas
Jefferson and has already begun his first semester of
graduate school at Temple University in Philadelphia. Now
22, Finley is on pace to earn his Ph.D. and he's hardly
spent a king's ransom.
Diligent research helped Finley realize the bulk of his
savings. He learned about a transfer program that NCC
offered in conjunction with Thomas Jefferson, and decided to
take the community college route to save money.
"The courses were basically identical," he says. "I
really didn't see the point of paying 10 times as
much."
Finley benefited from a scholarship that paid for
everything except his books at NCC. Living at home also
saved money and allowed him to work part-time while
attending school.
NCC President Arthur Scott says such a path is one of
the reasons why the college has been attracting so many
students recently.
"With the economy as shaky as it's been, it just makes
sense," he says.
Transferring has also become much easier, Warren County
Community College President William Austin says. Four-year
schools and community colleges are striking "articulation
agreements" on a regular basis, meaning credits
automatically transfer between the institutions.
"I think that says a lot to the general public," Austin
says. "The community colleges provide a really high-quality
education."
Even if Finley were to pay tuition at NCC, the cost
wouldn't have been astronomical. Students who live in
Northampton County are paying $91 per credit hour. Warren
County students can go to WCCC for $70 per credit hour. But
those rates are in danger of rising, particularly at
NCC.
Community colleges in Pennsylvania are suffering from a
shortage of state funding. NCC stands to lose $1.3 million
in funding this year as a result of the state's budget
approved in June.
A $3 per credit hour tuition hike is helping. So is an
increase in the amount of money Northampton County school
districts contribute to the college.
Scott says more state support is needed.
Community college leaders are working with Gov. Ed
Rendell, and are encouraged, he says.
In New Jersey, support from Gov. James McGreevey has
helped the college hold the line on its tuition this past
year.
"We've been treated very well by the state," Austin
says, adding WCCC has also benefited from a new program
McGreevey signed into law in July.
The New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward
Scholarship (NJ STARS) program provides high school students
who graduate in the top 20 percent of their class with a
free ride to community college.
After hearing about NJ STARS, Hackettstown resident Erin
Snead decided to hold off on her plans to attend the
University of Connecticut. The 18-year-old says the
expensive private school can wait. She'll try to get there
after completing two years at WCCC.
Snead, who graduated from Warren Hills High School in
June, hopes to save money by working part-time and living at
home through the next four semesters. She says she'll need
all the help she can get, considering that the field she
wants to study, pediatric medicine, requires at least eight
years of school.
"I'm going to be working my entire way through that,"
she says.
A valuable education
needn't be costly
As a veteran schoolteacher, 48-year-old Maxine Marsh
knows the value of a good education. She also knows a
valuable education does not have to be costly.
The Lower Nazareth Township resident mastered the
strategy Snead and Finley employed well before it became
commonplace.
Marsh, who teaches sixth grade at Nazareth Area Middle
School, began her postsecondary education at NCC. Two years
later, she switched to East Stroudsburg University where she
earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education.
Cost, she says, was a big part of her decision to attend
a community college and then a state school.
East Stroudsburg is one of 14 schools run by the
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which offers
in-state residents a significant tuition discount compared
to out-of-state residents. So Marsh caught a price break
after transferring to the Monroe County university.
But the price is going up for state schools. In July,
the system's governing body approved a 4.6 percent tuition
hike effective this fall. Tuition for in-state residents at
all 14 schools rose $212, bringing the price for one
academic year up to $4,810.
The tuition hike follows a $16.2 million increase this
year in the amount of money the state is giving the higher
education system to support its basic operations. However,
the increase is the first in years, and the system is
suffering from funding shortages as a result, says State
System of Higher Education spokesman Tom Gluck.
During the years when state funding remained unchanged,
the 14 schools saw increases in enrollment and general costs
of operations that contributed to a shortfall in money,
Gluck says.
Rises in health care premiums and utility bills are
among the general costs that have skyrocketed.
"It puts enormous pressure on student tuition," he
says.
New Jersey is feeling the same pressure, and many of its
state schools, including Rutgers University, have raised
their tuition rates this year as well. The typical full-time
undergraduate student from the state will pay $6,793 to
attend Rutgers this year, up $503 from last year. It's an 8
percent increase.
The average at other New Jersey state schools, which are
each governed by their own board, is about $4,937, but that
figure reflects tuition increases this year at many of those
schools.
The increases didn't go above 8 percent at any of the
schools this year because of a provision in the new state
budget requiring all public colleges to cap tuition
increases at that amount. Schools exceeding the cap will be
penalized with a significant loss of state funding.
Reindl says the tuition in both states is reflective of
a nationwide trend. State support is going down across the
board while enrollment is going up.
"It's almost like you're buying fewer groceries and
having a dinner party at the same time," he says.
How private schools'
funding is different
The tuition at private colleges and universities is
rising, too, though at a slower rate and for different
reasons, says Ron G. Ehrenberg, director of the Cornell
University Higher Education Research Institute.
Private institutions are not beholden to state funding
-- the bulk of their revenue comes from tuition or
endowments -- and unlike public schools, they face little
pressure to make room for more students.
"Lehigh, Bucknell, Lafayette the essence of what they
do, in terms of quality, requires a certain size," Ehrenberg
says.
It also requires great expense.
While many private schools jealously guard their
enrollment, they're willing to spend money if it means
better instructors, facilities and technology, he says.
Private institutions are like Sesame Street's Cookie
Monster, Ehrenberg says.
"His sole function in life is to grab all the cookies he
can and eat them. In private education, our primary goal in
life is to grab all the resources we can and make ourselves
better."
Annual college rankings encourage schools to take on
"Cookie Monster characteristics" because they are based, in
part, on how much colleges spend per student, Ehrenberg
said. If the amount falls, so does an institution's
rankings.
For students, a private school's single-minded drive to
get the best and most educational resources is a
double-edged sword. In order to reap the benefits of having
those resources at hand, students must first sow a hefty
tuition.
At private, four-year institutions nationwide, tuition
rose 6 percent from 2002-03 to 2003-04. That's well below
state schools' average 14 percent rate increase, but
ultimately it costs students more. A 14 percent tuition hike
at a state school translates into hundreds of dollars. The
same percent increase at a private school translates into
thousands of dollars.
Millions more will clamor
for education
According to the U. S. Department of Education, the
number of young people clamoring for a college education
will increase from 16 million now, to 18 million in
2012.
Donald E. Heller, an associate professor and senior
research associate at Penn State's Center for the Study of
Higher Education, says private college costs will continue
to creep up as more students reach college age.
"Demand increase is going to push up prices if supply is
constant, and supply has remained constant," Heller says.
"There aren't a lot of new private institutions, and they
haven't increased enrollment that much, so prices are going
up."
Administrators at local private schools say they're
bogged down by the same mounting costs community colleges
and state schools grapple with, and work equally hard to
hold the line against tuition hikes.
"Just like every company up and down the (Lehigh) Valley
our benefits costs have been rising, but they're rising far
faster than the sticker price of attending Lafayette
College," says Frederick J. Quivey, the school's treasurer
and vice president of business affairs.
The Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges is
one tool private institutions in the area use to keep costs
down. The nonprofit consortium -- formed in 1969 by Cedar
Crest College in Allentown, DeSales University in Center
Valley, Lafayette, Lehigh, Moravian College in Bethlehem and
Muhlenberg College in Allentown -- uses its size to leverage
better deals on everything from paper to mattresses to fuel,
says association Executive Director Tom Tenges.
Tenges estimates the association saves area schools $2
million each year.
But there are some expenses -- hiring new faculty,
maintaining a Web presence, keeping up with technological
advances -- that are impossible to rein in without
sacrificing the quality of students' educational experience,
says Bob Snyder, DeSales' treasurer.
"A doctor can only handle so many patients. If you have
a lot of patients, you have to increase the infrastructure,
just like we have to increase faculty," he says.
Wary of private and out-of-state tuition costs, Marsh
and husband Randall encouraged their 19-year-old son Peter
to focus on state schools when he began college shopping a
couple years ago.
He obliged and is now studying finance at Penn State
University's main campus. His sister, a sophomore at
Nazareth Area High School, will likely follow in her big
brother's footsteps and matriculate at PSU, Marsh says.
"I was the first one in my family to go to college,"
Marsh says, "so I was always more frugal when it came to
looking at the cost of college."
Although Marsh knows from experience that private
institutions have much to offer students -- she eventually
earned a master's degree at Marywood University, a small
Catholic school in Scranton -- she was relieved when Peter
chose Penn State, a land-grant public institution.
The Marshes began saving for his college education when
he was a baby, and paid off their mortgage early to free up
income for tuition bills. Peter helped by earning a partial
scholarship from PSU and took on a Stafford Loan. His
grandparents have also contributed to the family college
fund.
The university's tuition, fees, room and board aren't
cheap, but Marsh cringes when she thinks about what she'd be
paying had Peter decided to attend Lehigh University, one of
the schools he considered.
"I just couldn't see paying $32,000 for one school
year," Marsh said.
She isn't alone. Most parents couldn't imagine it
either, but many of them don't have to, even if their son or
daughter is attending a private school.
Financial aid to ease
college sticker shock
The College Board in 2003 reported that 60 percent of
students who attend private, four-year colleges received
some form of institutional aid.
The aid is designed to attract applicants who might
otherwise be unable to afford the sticker price for a
private college education. Many schools are beefing up their
aid programs even as federal and state governments cut back
on financial aid spending.
"The idea is that the student can have access, that the
student can make a choice regardless of the cost associated
with an institution," says Lafayette College Director of
Financial Aid Arlina DeNardo.
Between 55 and 60 percent of Lafayette's 2,285 students
receive institutional aid, the majority of them for the
entire time they attend the school.
The average need-based grant for students currently
enrolled in their first year at Lafayette is $21,229, which
covers about 75 percent of the college's $28,470 tuition
this school year, she said. The average grant for all
students enrolled at the school is $18,553.
Lafayette strives to meet 75 percent of a students' need
with institutional aid, DeNardo says.
Merit-based aid is a vital tool for private colleges
looking to attract top-notch students and a best bet for
middle- and upper-class students less likely to qualify for
need-based aid.
Typically though, schools set aside only a small portion
of their aid budgets for these scholarships; Lafayette
allocated about 10 percent of last year's $21.8 million
budget for merit-based aid.
There are exceptions, however. Centenary College splits
its budget equally between the two forms of aid.
For a long time, Moravian College offered only
need-based institutional aid to students, says Bernard J.
Story, vice president for enrollment.
Fearing their enrollment numbers would drop and the
quality of their student body diminish, the college began
tendering scholarships based on incoming students' high
school performance and test scores, he says. But not until
the late 1990s, more than a decade after the practice had
become commonplace at most private schools in the
region.
Before then, "our position was such that we were able to
attract good students without having to throw a lot of money
at them," Story says.
As time passed, Moravian found it was losing applicants
not to more prestigious schools, but to schools that offered
them better aid packages.
"It was a struggle making the switch from strictly
need-based to merit-based too, but the public demanded it,"
Story says. "The bidding wars prevailed and we just had to
get in the game."
Staying in the game is expensive, Heller says.
Institutional aid, like employee benefits and
technological maintenance, is a big budget item for many
private colleges and universities, he says. To remain
effective, aid must increase at a rate proportionate to a
school's tuition.
"The more financial aid you need, the more you have to
raise tuition. And the more you raise tuition, the more
financial aid you need," Heller says. "It can be a vicious
cycle."
Federal programs not
keeping pace with aid
Although private institutions are not dependent on
public money as are state and community schools, the
financial aid students receive from the government impacts
how much aid they distribute.
And while the cost of higher education has increased at
a seemingly exponential rate, student aid, particularly at
the federal level, has not. Many private colleges and
universities shoulder the burden with institutional aid so
their students don't have to.
"Any reductions or cuts from the federal or state grant
programs is something that (Lafayette) has to look at.
Fortunately, in the past few years, we have been able to aid
all the students who applied that qualified for financial
aid," DeNardo says. "The college-funded grants have had to
increase because the federal government hasn't kept
pace."
The maximum award for the Pell Grant -- the federal
government's chief contribution to student aid -- was $4,000
last year, but eligible students received an average award
of only $2,421. That translates to a meager 8 percent of
last year's tuition at Lehigh University, the region's most
expensive private school.
In 1992-93, the federal government set the Stafford Loan
limit for college freshmen at $2,625. And while the average
tuition and fees at private institutions in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey and other "middle states" rose $6,921 between
1993-94 and 2003-04, the loan limit has remained the same,
according to The College Board.
Although loan limits increase to $3,500 for sophomores
and $5,500 for juniors and seniors, the money available for
first-year students is just not enough to get some
applicants through the doors of a private school, says
Michael Corso, director of financial aid at Centenary
College.
"Tuition has gone up, but the loan eligibility has not,"
he says.
Of course, there are state-sponsored and private student
loans, but a Stafford Loan is superior because it is
accessible to families of all income levels. Pell Grants, on
the other hand, are for low-income families and structured
so as to help recipients keep their debt in check, Corso
says.
Changes to the government's financial aid system might,
however, be on the horizon. The presidential election this
year has spawned different proposals from both candidates
for loan programs and other programs intended to soften the
financial blow to college students.
President Bush proposes a $1,000 increase in Pell grants
-- the current maximum award is $4,050 -- for 33,000
low-income students who take certain college-prep courses in
high school. He also proposes raising the Stafford loan
limit to $3,000 for freshman and $4,500 for sophomores. The
limits for upperclassmen would not change under Bush's
plan.
Democrat John Kerry proposes a $13 billion, 10-year plan
to repay college costs to 500,000 students who take
public-service jobs after they graduate. He is also
promising up to $4,000 in new income tax credits to families
putting a child through school.
The Democratic nominee is also pledging $25 billion to
states to help them support their universities during budget
crunches.
Parents and students
looking for new aid
Many of the region's future college students and their
parents are watching closely to see how they might fit into
potential new programs and benefit from them. It's one of a
number of efforts they need to undertake in a time when
choosing a place for higher education isn't as
black-and-white as it used to be.
"When you look at a college degree today, and you look
at a college degree 30 or 40 years ago, you're assuming
you're looking at the same thing," Ehrenberg says, "but
you're not. What has happened to cars has happened to a
college degree. The nature of the product has changed."
College-bound teenagers have many more options to
consider to assure they're getting the best value in a
market where the price range is extremely varied.
Even some of the brightest ones such as Jeff Rothe of
Independence Township are struggling with their
decisions.
Rothe, a 17-year-old who earned his GED when he was 16,
has already taken 35 credit hours at Warren County Community
College. He wants to be a mechanical engineer, but he
doesn't know where he's going to go to get the degree he
needs for the job.
"I haven't even applied yet," Rothe says.
The decision isn't an easy one. He's considered both
Widener University, a private institution in Pennsylvania,
and New Jersey Institute of Technology, a state school.
"Financially, it would definitely be more convenient to
go to a state school," he says.
However, depending on what kind of scholarships Rothe
can win, Widener could still be the choice.
Applying for the scholarships has been a daunting
process, he says. As for applying for financial aid, he says
he hasn't even started, but plans on diving into the
paperwork soon.
The education at WCCC has given Rothe a jumpstart most
other prospective college students don't have, but the
considerations he's making are the same ones almost every
graduating high school student faces.
And Northampton Community College's Scott says these are
times when higher education is more necessary than
ever.
"Not everyone is capable of doing collegiate level work
that results in a degree," he adds, "but most everyone will
need some form of post-secondary education in order to
compete in the work force."
Whatever form that takes, education isn't getting any
cheaper.
Reporter Nick Falsone can be reached at 610-867-5000 or
by e-mail at nfalsone@express-times.com. Reporter Precious
Petty can be reached at 610-867-5000 or by e-mail at
ppetty@express-times.com.
Copyright 2004
The Express-Times. Used with permission.
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