WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 30, 2020 19
EDUCATION
Be aware of all the
costs for college
College is oft en met with excitement
and interest by students
pursuing their passions and
what they hope will be fulfi lling, lucrative
careers.
And the rising costs of college,
coupled with the growing number of
students taking on substantial debt
to finance their educations, make it
necessary that prospective students
consider their earning potential
when deciding on a major.
According to the College Board, the
average cost of college tuition and
fees for the 2017–18 school year was
$34,740 at private colleges, $9,970
for state residents at public colleges,
and $25,620 for out-of-state residents
attending public universities. Canadian
citizens studying in Canada can
expect to pay $6,571 per year, according
to Statistics Canada.
The cost of tuition and room
and board may catch parents’ eyes,
but there are some lesser-known
expenses associated with college
that can make attending school
even more expensive. According to
Cappex.com, a website offering ideas
on how to pay for college, the extra
costs of college can cost between
$250 and $500 per month.
The following are some lesserknown
expenses that college students
and their families may need
to budget for this school year:
Transportation: Commuter students
will need to drive to and from
campus, which involves budgeting
for gas, repairs, and auto insurance.
Students who live on campus may be
subjected to a high fee for a resident
student parking pass. Colleges in
the United States earn an average of
$4 million to $5 million in parking
revenues each year, according to the
most recent rate study from the National
Parking Association. A typical
four-year college or university in the
United States charges about $635 per
space for the school year. Other students
use public transportation or
ridesharing services to get around.
Those fees can quickly add up, too.
Students attending school far away
from home also need to budget for
plane tickets home during the holidays
and other breaks.
Fraternities and sororities: Many
students join Greek organizations
to fully immerse themselves in
the college experience and make
new friends. Many of these groups
charge fees to prospective pledges
and then semester dues once students
are accepted. Parties, trips,
living expenses, and other expenses
may come up as well.
Added fees: Many colleges and
universities charge technology fees,
sports center fees, and activity fees.
Exploring these fees in advance of
the school year can help families
create accurate budgets.
Dining out: Families spend hundreds
of dollars on campus meal plans
per semester, but students also like to
visit local eateries during the school
year. Snacks, lunches, and dinners
purchased from such establishments
can cost hundreds of dollars per
year. Farmer’s Financial Solutions, a
division of Farmer’s Insurance, says
off -campus dining expenses cost an
average of $770 a year.
School supplies: A new laptop or
tablet, textbooks, and other supplies
a professor requires can cost thousands
of dollars. The College Board
estimates students spend $1,300
on books and supplies in a typical
school year.
The cost to attend college extends
beyond tuition and room and board.
Many additional expenses can
stretch families’ budgets.
HIGHER ED TODAY
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The Census 2020 count may be
the most important and challenging
population survey that our country,
state and city have ever undertaken.
New York has historically been undercounted,
but this decennial tally
is taking place under particularly
challenging circumstances.
Undercounting can deprive us of
our rightful representation in Congress
along with millions of dollars
in federal support for public education.
Census data impacts funding
for the federal Pell Grant program,
adult education grants and a host
of other services that are vital to
CUNY and other institutions of
higher education. The importance of
achieving a fair and complete count
of every New Yorker has prompted
the state and city governments to
commit significant resources and
coordinate stakeholders. On Martin
Luther King Jr. Day, Gov. Andrew
M. Cuomo announced the creation
of the Census Council, co-chaired
by Martin Luther King III, Lucy Liu
and Lin-Manuel Miranda, to act as
the state’s coordinating arm in the
effort.
The law is that every person
should be counted, regardless of citizenship
or immigration status. But
the current climate of fear within
immigrant communities poses a
challenge to that goal; it is a concern
that hits close to home for New
York and especially for us at CUNY.
More than a third of our students
were born outside the country. They
and their families live in communities
that our own faculty experts tell
us are designated “hard to count,”
which include highly mobile people,
non-native English speakers,
undocumented immigrants, people
of color, low-income people and students.
Fortunately, CUNY students,
who reflect the full range of New
York City’s diversity, are uniquely
positioned to help achieve a fair and
accurate census count. A team of 220
students, two thirds of whom speak
a language other than English,
were being trained this month, even
before the spring semester started
this week, to be deployed as part
of CUNY Census Corps. They will
work in paid part-time positions
from January to end of May, getting
out the count at CUNY colleges and
venturing into the hardest-to-count
neighborhoods to ensure that the
people who live in those communities
are acknowledged and counted.
Participation in this missioncritical
task will enable CUNY students
to develop their leadership,
problem solving, teamwork and
communication skills. Equally important,
they will learn firsthand
the vital importance of civic engagement
— a core value of public higher
education.
Our efforts are being guided
by CUNY data resources, including
a mapping tool created by our
Center for Urban Research at the
CUNY Graduate Center that is being
widely used in census outreach
efforts across the country.
CUNY is also proud to be working
closely with NYC Census 2020
to administer and oversee the contracts
that have been awarded to
more than 150 community-based organizations
that will be at the frontlines
of this year’s census-related
education and organizing.
The key to a complete census
count is a determined, full-scale
and efficient partnership among
the leaders of New York State and
City and their institutions. CUNY
is proud to be an important part of
this partnership. We are working
closely with all our government and
civic partners to carry out this very
consequential endeavor.
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