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College costs go up By Merna Haridi
The average annual cost of a four-year private college went up by 5.9 percent in 2008 to $21,235. The average cost of a four-year state college went up to $5,491 in 2008. The College Office at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology (HSTAT) is an office that’s always open for students to ask questions to the college advisors on how to work out paying for college. Many seniors in HSTAT are still going through the process of searching for the right college and a few scholarship options on hstatcollege.com. Hstatcollege.com is a website mainly used by HSTAT students which provides them with information on SAT exams, scholarships, financial aid, and a series of steps that they suggest juniors and seniors follow throughout their school year. Carolina Cedeno, a senior in HSTAT, provided information on what scholarship and financial aid she’s applying for and how she spends her time in the College Office. “When it comes to paying for college, I’m not too worried because I applied for EOP, a scholarship that accepts students coming from a low income family with really good grades or has shown a great improvement and provides them with a countless amount of money,” said Cedeno. “And the College Office is like heaven!” stated Cedeno, “What I do there is have Ms. Boulay or Ms. Mednick look over my college essays and my supplements for colleges. I love looking over the shelves and the school college website because there’s everything you want to know about colleges. At the end of my junior year, the college office is where my head is mostly stuck in.” According to bmcc.cuny.edu, books and school supplies for state colleges range from $900 to $1,070. Transportation, food, and tuition fees are around an average of $4,500. About 53 percent of students attend four-year schools with annual tuition and fees below $9,000. Khaled Hussein, a sophomore attending a public college in New Jersey, talked about how much he spent during his freshmen year in college in tuition fees and school supplies. “I spent somewhere along the lines of $700 on textbooks, $1000 on tuition, and around $1000 on any other supplies I needed for my classes,” stated Hussein, “ I was also offered $10,000 financial aid which helped my parents a little from the fees they had to pay for me.” Students maintaining a grade point average of 3.65 or higher achieve a $2,000 merit scholarship, which helps in some of the expenses. More than $143 billion in financial aid is available for students in need. Labor unions, employers, and churches offer scholarships to students who are members in these community groups to help them in college. Ms. Christina Mednick, a college advisor in HSTAT, provides some options she has for students and what students look for in a college when applying for it. “We offer students one to two small scholarship options and help give information on what’s out there through hstatcollege.com,” said Mednick, “and students should choose the college that’s reasonable for them and meets their academics, whether it’s small or large, student’s should choose the right one for them |