For my undergrad studies I didn't worry about the 30% increase in tuition, well, because I received a grant to offset the addition costs...cool, that was fine. But now, simply 2 months after I was accepted into grad school the board of directors decided to increase tuition by 15%...now I'm screwed. I not only don't receive any grants or scholarships now but the only source of financial aid I get is from wonderful loans. In fact, 1 year at grad school will cost more in loans than 5 years of undergrad studies...come on! Everybody kept telling me that I should obtain more financial aid from grad school not less, and now debt is overtaking all of my financial obligations for what seems to be at least 10 years (according to my loan payment schedule). Hooray!
Now I understand the state is in a budget crisis and has been for a while...but the more you increase tuition the more likely it is that a student will either drop out due to high costs or simply not go at all. And you would think that if students are not paying tuition altogether, and less students may attend college because of it, the state would receive less money after their increases...well, unless the tuition increases are low enough to be negligible..WHICH THEY AREN'T!!
